SUNRISE, Fla. — Whether this was the intention or not, the fact of the matter is Michael Del Zotto has become the Rangers’ whipping boy.
For the eighth time this season and the seventh time in the previous 22 games, Del Zotto was made a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout win over the Panthers at the BB&T Center. The former wunderkind defenseman has spoiled under new coach Alain Vigneault, and his future with the franchise has never looked more unstable.
“In the last two games, Michael was just jittery with the puck, where it caused some turnovers and led to quite a few scoring opportunities for the other team,” Vigneault said before the game, having played Del Zotto in the past 10 straight, five of which he played more than 20 minutes, including Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Capitals in Washington when Del Zotto stepped up for the injured Anton Stralman and played a season-high 24:37.
It’s no secret general manager Glen Sather has been shopping Del Zotto for a trade, but he was yet to have a buyer for the 23-year-old carrying a $2.55 million salary-cap hit for this season and who is set to be a restricted free agent after this season.
“I think at this stage, it’s more up to him,” Vigneault said about Del Zotto getting back into the lineup. “The way that his identity is, he’s supposed to be an offensive defenseman. He’s supposed to be able to beat the forecheck, join the rush at the right time and help out on the power play. Those things have been there, but they haven’t been there on a consistent enough basis to say that even if he has a bad game or two, he’s an automatic shoo-in.
“The way he’s played, he’s fighting for that third pair D. Depending on his performance, he’s either in or he is out.”
Rookie defenseman Conor Allen played for the second straight game after making his NHL debut in Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Lightning, yet Allen didn’t see the ice after the 12:13 mark of the third period.
“We’re down by a goal, trying to push the pace with our experienced guys,” is how Vigneault explained it.
After playing 17:34 in regulation, Chris Kreider didn’t play in the overtime, the third straight overtime game that has happened.
“I had four [forward] duos in mind that I thought at that time were just playing a little bit better and I went with those guys,” Vigneault said.