Jimmy Vesey was injured in the Rangers' 5-1 loss to the Kings on Saturday, his third straight game and fourth in the last six, and head coach Peter Laviolette talks about it. If you ask me, it's not the veteran's failure. Things to do on the ice.
“Jimmy was a very good player, but when someone is out of the lineup, the same could be said for Johnny.” [Brodzinski]but Jimmy was good when he was there, but at this time, I decided to go with another player, ”said Laviolette. “Right now, I like what the guy is doing on the ice.
“That doesn't mean a player who's out of the lineup is necessarily doing anything wrong.”
Laviolette chose to replace Vesey on the right side of the fourth line with energetic and physical 22-year-old Brett Berard, with Sam Carrick in the center and Adam Edstrom on the left. did. Berard was promoted from the AHL Wolfpack on November 24 when Filip Sitil was out of the lineup with an upper-body issue.
Chris Kreider was sidelined for some time, Riley Smith suffered a scrape in a game, and Berard was crushed by Kirby Dach on Nov. 30 and missed three games with an upper-body issue of his own. He returned on Dec. 9 against Chicago, ejecting Vesey. of the lineup.
This is the first time since returning to Rangers in the 2022-23 season that the 31-year-old winger has been injured for more than one game at a time. Vesey, who has three points (2-1) and averages 9 minutes, 34 seconds of ice time in 15 games, was injured once at the start of the 2022-23 season and has since been replaced by coach Laviolette. He was injured twice in the first week of last season.
Vesey suffered a lower-body injury early in camp and played the first 10 games on LTIR. Since his debut on November 3, the fourth line, which has paired primarily with Carrick and Edstrom, has posted a 51.23 mark with a Corsi of over 96:28, scoring two goals and conceding three goals for an expected goal share of 53.34. .
With the addition of Berard, the unit posted a 59.26 Corsi in 13 minutes, 13 seconds, and an xGF of 50.43 entering this match with no goals scored and two goals conceded.
“I think they're different players,” Laviolette said of Vesey and Bérard. “I thought Jimmy usually started in the defensive zone and did a really good job. I thought the line was effective and the same was true when Johnny was in the defensive zone.
“but [Thursday with Berard] I liked the way that line played in Buffalo and was probably our best and most effective line. ”
“But we really don’t have an answer for Jimmy,” the head coach said. “He's a good player, but he's obsessed with numbers right now.”
Igor Shesterkin gave up five points on 21 shots and was ejected at the 5:04 mark of the second period. This was his 29th game for the club and his 22nd start. He made his 22nd start in Game 35 last year. Game 30 in 2022-23. And in Game 39 of the 2021-22 season, he was sidelined for more than three weeks with a lower-body issue in December.
Chad Ruhwedel, recalled from Hartford to serve as the seventh defenseman, has played in his previous three games, one with the Blueshirts (Oct. 19, Toronto) and 11 with the Wolfpack. He was wounded for the 16th time.
The Rangers embark on their final road tour before Christmas with stops in St. Louis on Sunday, Nashville on Tuesday and Dallas on Friday.
