In Montreal: Nash sees return next week; AV "we're due; DZ out

By Steve ZipayNovember 16, 2013

Greetings from Montreal:

“I believe we’re probably due to have a good one”.

That’s was coach Alain Vigneault’s forecast for tonight’s match against the Canadiens, who have not lost to the Blueshirts in eight games at Bell Centre reaching back to 2009. Montreal won 2-1 in a shootout last night in Columbus.

“The fans in this building help out both teams,” Vigneault said after the morning skate, “for any team coming into this building, with the tradition, it’s so easy to get yourself focused and prepared to play. I have been told the Rangers have been struggling for a period of time…that would be an understatement.”

As reported yesterday, Cam Talbot (3-1) will be in goal and Henrik Ludnqvist will start against the Kings Sunday. So why the rookie? “It’s the back-to-back and Cam’s played real well,’ Vigneault said. “We haven’t won in quite a few years, it’s time to give Talbot a chance.”

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My longer piece on this is up on newsday.com but in brief, Rick Nash, the Rangers’ prized power forward who will miss his 16^th game after suffering a concussion on Oct. 8, has targeted Tuesday’s home game against the Bruins or Thursday’s road game in Dallas for his return. (I’ll be there for both, so please continue to follow here and @stevezipay on Twitter for up-to-the-minute info and commentary.)

“Hopefully, one of (those) games, for sure,” Nash said Saturday morning, after his eighth straight day of either practicing or skating, “as long as there are no setbacks. Everything’s been positive and I’ve been pushing it every day.”

At this point, Nash said, it is a matter of conditioning and building his leg strength, because he is free of the headaches that plagued him since the high hit from San Jose defenseman Brad Stuart. “I’m feeling better than I thought I would,” said Nash. “I’ve only had two (full, with contact) practices with the team, plus the morning skates, I think I need a little more down-low work, 3 on 3…”

Defenseman Ryan McDonagh said he thought Nash “really wants to be back, but he’s taking the right steps. In practice, seems like he hasn’t missed a beat.”

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Michael Del Zotto is a healthy scratch for the second time this season. Clearly, both sides are disappointed in his performance so far,

“In my estimation, he’s trying hard and working on difference aspects of his game. I’ve been told there’s more to his game, I’m hoping he’ll react in same way Zuccarello did (when he was scratched). He was fighting it a little bit,” Vigneault said, and came back to be one of the best forwards in the last five or six games.

It’s a little more complicated with a defenseman, however, who said the biggest issue “is probably my consistency in all areas… I wasn’t expecting it, it’s but not my decision, I have to accept it, and as the coach told the media, respond when I’m back in.”

Del Zotto, who is 1-3-4 in 16 games and a minus-4, is being replaced again by Justin Falk, who will play his fourth game of the year on the third pair. “Less is more, especially early on,” said Falk. “Make the headman pass, get a bump, give a bump.”

Asked how he would respond, perhaps against the Kings Sunday, Del Zotto said: “You try to be a difference-maker, try to help the team any way I can… come to the rink every day ready to play.”

Vigneault dismissed the suggestion that Del Zotto might be running out of chances: “It’s a long season, we’re not even at the 20-game mark.”

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Projected lineup

Goal:

Talbot

Lundqvist

Lines:

Kreider-Stepan-Zuccarello

Hagelin-Richards-Callahan

Boyle-Brassard-Dorsett

Miller-DMoore-Pouliot

Defense: