LOS ANGELES — Rangers coach Alain Vigneault’s nickname for Jesper Fast is “Quickie.”
And it could be just that for the lone Rangers rookie.
The fresh-faced freshman, who logged 10:13 in his NHL debut in the Rangers’ 4-1 defeat on Thursday at Phoenix, likely will be bumped from the lineup on Monday against the Kings if Ryan Callahan gets final clearance to go from the medical staff.
“I didn’t perform as well as I wanted to,” said the 21-year-old Fast, who was credited with one shot and one hit. “I don’t say it was good or bad — it was average.
“I didn’t do anything to earn my spot. Hopefully I will get another chance and do more.”
Fast, who admitted to being nervous through the first period (“It was tough to get through it”), said he had trouble adjusting to long stretches on the bench created by the use of power play and penalty killing units of which he is not a member.
The winger, who skated as a fourth-line alternate at Friday’s practice while Callahan slid into his spot on the unit with Brian Boyle and Taylor Pyatt, sat for a stretch of nearly five minutes in the first period and over six-and-a-half minutes in the second.
“It was harder for me to get into [the flow], but that’s part of the game. I can’t have that as an excuse,” Fast said. “Of course in the regular season, the best [players] should play, I can’t say I should have played more.
“If I get another chance, I have to get used to that.”