MONTREAL — Even if his availability is uncertain, Rangers top-line center Derek Stepan did make the trip north with the team as he recovers from surgery to repair a broken jaw.
As expected, coach Alain Vigneault was coy about the possibility of Stepan being able to play in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre. The Rangers hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven contest.
“I couldn’t say right now,” Vigneault said. “I have no idea.”
The coach did say participating in a morning skate “would be a minimum” for Stepan to play. If he were available, Vigneault said Stepan is “going to need some facial protection, without a doubt.”
Vigneault did divulge 21-year-old forward J.T. Miller was the only player not to make the trip, as he sustained an “upper-body injury” as a result of getting shoved into the goal post by Montreal defenseman Alexei Emelin midway through the second period of Game 4.
In a rather surprising revelation, The Post confirmed 22-year-old Swede Oscar Lindberg is with the team, as he has apparently become a viable option to replace Miller if Stepan cannot play. Lindberg had been a part of the “taxi squad” group that was called up but has not been practicing with the team, and yet Lindberg — and third-string goalie David LeNeveu — are the only players in that group to have joined the Rangers.
With Dan Carcillo set to serve the second game of his 10-game suspension, it seems Lindberg is vying for the possible opening at forward with 22-year-old Jesper Fast, who did play 11 games with the Rangers this season while Lindberg played 75 games for AHL Hartford, notching 18 goals, 44 points, and 58 penalty minutes.
The Rangers’ penalty kill stopped seven of eight Montreal power-play chances in Game 4, and is now 29-for-30 over the past nine games. The Canadiens’ power play was 10-for-38 this postseason coming into this series, and yet is 1-for-17 against the Rangers.
“You have to give them credit,” Canadiens captain Brian Gionta said. “But at the same time we’ve got to find a way to solve that.”
Added forward Tomas Plekanec : “Obviously, we had a lot of power plays [in Game 4] and it would be nice to get more than one goal. Special teams is one of the things that we haven’t been good enough in this series so far, so it would be a good time [Tuesday] to turn that around.’’