Jesper Fast ready to help

          You’ve got to wonder if Jesper Fast would have been back here sooner if not for a high ankle sprain that sidelined him right after he had been sent to Hartford.... after playing eight games for the Rangers out of training camp.

          Head coach Alain Vigneault liked the young Swede’s speed and smarts---he called him “Quickie” during camp---and played Fast on the fourth line to get a sense of how he’d adjust to the NHL.

         Well, Fast is back after scoring 17 goals and 34 points in just 48 games with the Wolf Pack and being described by Assistant general managers Jeff Gorton and Jim Schoenfeld as “the best player on the ice” when they took in the Pack’s game in person on Sunday.  

         Fast scored twice and added an assist, and today was at practice in Westchester, skating on a line with Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin, a trio that likely will stick against the Hurricanes on Tuesday at MSG.  It should be noted that Fast was a plus-14 and had eight power play goals in the A.

         Playing 20 minutes a night in Hartford, Fast said he thought he was “more ready mentally” than in October, when he played in place of Hagelin, who was recovering from shoulder surgery. “Up here, everyone is a great player; one small mistake and you will be in trouble.”  And with all those games and practices, Fast feels more comfortable on the smaller North American rink.

           “It’s a great opportunity to play with players who have their skills,” he said, referring to his linemates. “The coach (Ken Gernander) has had a lot of confidence in me, so I feel I’m ready to help.”

             Said Vigneault: “I like his hockey sense, his speed, his willingness to play at both ends of the rink. For the past month, I’ve been told over and over again that he’s playing really, really well.”

           In Chris Kreider’s absence, the Rangers could use more speed and skill.  (There is still no timetable for a return for Kreider, who was working out at the team’s practice facility wearing a black Velcro brace on his left hand. I asked him whether he was feeling better and improving day-to-day, and he answered yes to both. Nor was there any update except Vigneault’s “coming along” assessment when asked about Ryan McDonagh, who will miss his third game tomorrow with an injured shoulder).

          Fast’s arrival wasn’t the only change upfront. Rick Nash moved back to the left side of Derek Stepan, and Martin St. Louis went to the right side, where St. Louis, Vigneault and Richards have said he is more comfortable. The familiarity of that unit, Vingeault hopes, will translate to the power play, which has been struggling without Ryan Callahan, McDonagh and Kreider.

          Brian Boyle’s one-game experiment with Nash and Stepan is over, and he is back on the fourth-line left wing with Dom Moore centering and Derek Dorsett/Dan Carcillo on the right.  The Zuccarello-Brassard-Pouliot trio remained intact.

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          With a Devils loss of any type tonight guaranteeing that the Rangers clinch a playoff spot, Vigneault said he would be glued to the television; Richards said he’d be checking on the internet.