Rangers' Rick Nash misses second straight game

Rick Nash, who injured his back in practice Thursday, missed his second straight game Saturday night. The target for his return is Tuesday night, when the Rangers host the Hurricanes, but coach Alain Vigneault did not commit to that.

"He's just not good enough to go," he said before the Rangers faced the Coyotes to conclude this two-game road trip. "He should be all right in the next couple of days."

Boyle in lineup

Dan Boyle, who returned to the lineup Saturday night after being a healthy scratch for two games, remains the sixth defenseman -- for the moment. The onus is on the 39-year-old veteran.

"It's probably Dan's [job] right now" said Vigneault, who sat rookie Dylan McIlrath. "Depending how Dan plays, at the end of the day, that's the biggest thing. He's got to play better than he has so far, he knows that, he'd be the first one to tell you, and tonight he's getting another opportunity.

"In Dylan's case," Vigneault said, "we've seen a good, steady progression. The last game was probably his best of the regular season . . . He's made some good strides."

Blue notes

It was a homecoming for Keith Yandle, who played here for parts of nine seasons and was honored with a scoreboard tribute. "I feel that he's coming along as far as defensive awareness," Vigneault said, "and on our power play, he's picking it up. Only going to get better." Yandle was 1-6-7 in 13 games . . . After charting the Avalanche game, Vigneault had high praise for the Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-J.T. Miller line. "They had one of the best games any line has had this year," he said.