Rangers coach Alain Vigneault decides to make Dominic Moore a healthy scratch

New York Rangers center Dominic Moore shoots as Calgary Flames... — New York Rangers center Dominic Moore shoots as Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano defends during an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

By STEVE ZIPAYsteve.zipay@newsday.comNovember 10, 2015

Dominic Moore was a healthy scratch Tuesday night for the first time since March 1, 2014.

"Anytime you're faced with decisions like that, it's not easy, especially with a guy like Dom and what he's done for our team," coach Alain Vigneault said about the veteran center. "But I'm looking at the big picture and trying to see if I can't come up with a combination."

Vigneault explained that only one of the natural centers on the third and fourth lines, rookie Oscar Lindberg, has made a successful switch to the wing. Neither Moore nor Jarret Stoll has been productive on the flank.

Moore has one point in 14 games.

Vigneault has used Moore on the left and Stoll on the right. He had tried Moore with long-time wingers in Montreal on Oct. 15, and wanted to give Stoll, signed as a free agent, a chance to play with two true wingers, in this case, Emerson Etem and Jesper Fast. For most games, Stoll, who is 1-2-3, shared faceoffs with Moore. Stoll, a righty, is second on the team in faceoff win percentage (56.7). Moore, a lefty, is at 50.4 percent.

Former Marine honored

Matias Ferreira, a former Marine from Wantagh who was injured by an explosive device in Afghanistan in 2011 and lost both legs from the knees down, was honored during the first period.

On Oct. 14, Ferreira, 26, was leaving his wedding rehearsal, and jumped from his pickup truck on his prostheses to assist at the scene of a car crash in Howard Beach and freed a baby trapped in the smoking vehicle. He and his brother and future father-in-law helped the mother, who was driving, and stayed until paramedics arrived.

Blue notes

Henrik Lundqvist passed Mike Richter into first place on the franchise list for regular season and playoff appearances combined with 743 . . . Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce, 20, who grew up a Rangers fan in Tarrytown, N.Y., played at the Garden for the first time as a pro. Pesce recalled skating during an intermission as a 6-year-old in a youth game. It was his eighth NHL game, and about 20 friends and relatives were in the stands.