Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said earlier in the season a player only gets so many kicks at the can, and it seems as if defenseman Michael Del Zotto is nearing that limit.
When the Rangers take on the Canadiens on Saturday in Montreal, Del Zotto will be a healthy scratch for the second time this season.
The 23-year-old will be replaced in the lineup by Justin Falk, who has played in just three games this season and hasn’t dressed in the past 11.
Del Zotto was scratched on Oct. 19 in Newark against the Devils, three nights after missing a game in Washington with the flu. In the 16 games he has played, he has one goal, three assists and a minus-4 rating.
“Well, I see a lot of good things from Michael,” Vigneault said before Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Devils at the Garden. “He’s really committed. I see him working extremely hard on the ice, I see him working extremely hard off the ice. … So there’s a lot there to work with and it’s our job as coaches to get player to improve. Michael is no different than any one of our player. It’s our job to get him to become the best that he can be.”
Fourth-line center Dominic Moore will rejoin the lineup after missing seven games in a row with an oblique strain. Moore will be replacing Brandon Mashinter, and is likely to start between Benoit Pouliot and J.T. Miller.
“I can’t wait to get back in there,” Moore said. “You can’t worry about [the injury]. You just have to prepare as best you can.”
Rick Nash practiced for the second straight day, but dropped the no-contact jersey and took a couple of bumps and hits.
“Everything is right on track,” said Nash, who took line rushes as an eighth defenseman, but got some time with the first power-play unit. “I’ve got to keep getting my legs underneath me and keep feeling more in shape.”
Nash went with the team to Montreal, the first time he has traveled since suffering a concussion on Oct. 8, the third game of the season. Saturday will be the 16th game in a row he has missed.
Vigneault was not at Friday’s practice, leaving for Montreal early for a personal matter.
Taylor Pyatt did not practice and has still not skated since suffering a concussion on a hit from the Blue Jackets’ Fedor Tyutin on Nov. 7.