Zac Jones back in Rangers' lineup for second straight game after nearly two months on bench

GREENBURGH — It had been a long time out of the lineup for Zac Jones before the 24-year-old defenseman was pressed into duty for the Rangers’ game Wednesday against the Boston Bruins. It had been so long, in fact, that Jones looks different now. He got his hair cut short, and he’s missing one of his front teeth.

“They're all fake, the four ones in [front],’’ Jones said of his teeth Friday, after the Rangers’ morning skate prior to their game at Madison Square Garden against the Pittsburgh Penguins. “Finally, one ended up falling out.

“Makes me look a little tough, at least a little bit,’’ he said, jokingly.

Before Wednesday, Jones went six weeks without playing — he was a healthy scratch for 18 straight games. But with fellow defenseman Urho Vaakanainen missing a second straight game due to illness, he was back in the lineup again Friday as the Blueshirts played their last home game before the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off break.

“It was great,’’ Jones said when asked how it was when he did get back in Wednesday after all that time off. “I mean, it's a ton of fun to play hockey. It was awesome. I felt good out there. Felt fresh.’’

It’s been a frustrating last two seasons for Jones, the Rangers’ third-round pick in the 2019 NHL draft. As the seventh defenseman last season, he had limited opportunities to get into the lineup and played just 31 games (two goals, seven assists, eight penalty minutes, a +1 plus/minus rating). And although he was expected to be a lineup regular this season, that hasn’t turned out to be the case.

First, rookie Victor Mancini impressed so much in the preseason that he got some time over Jones early on, and then trades for Vaakanainen (acquired from Anaheim in the Jacob Trouba deal) and Will Borgen (acquired from Seattle for Kaapo Kakko) pushed him back into the role of an extra. He played in 27 of the Rangers’ 53 games entering Friday (one goal, seven assists, 10 penalty minutes, +3).

Jones expressed frustration over his situation after a New Year’s Day practice, but he’s been quiet since, as the Rangers went 10-4-3 over the next 17 games to climb back into the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. So while he conceded “the last month-and-a-half haven't been the easiest,’’ Jones worked hard to stay ready in case he was called on.

“Being a guy last year that was in it the whole year, I learned how to just kind of roll with the punches sometimes,’’ he said. “And obviously some days are better than others, but (I’ve focused on) just coming to the rink, ready to play, no matter what day it is, what the situation is, and going from there.’’

In Wednesday’s game, Jones stepped into Vaakanainen’s spot on the third defense pair, partnered with Braden Schneider, and played 13 minutes and 30 seconds with a shot on goal and a +1 rating. Afterward, he was praised by coach Peter Laviolette.

“I thought he was really good . . . not just moving the puck, and the skating, but for me, it was the way he attacked offensively in the defensive zone, the way he closed,’’ the coach said. “It was extra attitude in what he was doing out there. And that's what we've been looking for. And I thought he really responded with a big game.’’

Jones said he appreciated his coach’s compliments, but he knows that playing well in a spot start doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily have a chance to earn a look when Vaakanainen is feeling better and ready to return. He was asked if he felt pressure to score three goals Friday to try and convince Laviolette he should stay in the lineup.

“You come into the lineup… and you want to stick to your game, in a sense,’’ he said. “But at the same time . . . I’m not going to say that’s not a thought in my mind.

“If I play well enough and I get taken out, then so be it, I get taken out,’’ he said. “ . . . (but I'm just)  letting everything else go, and just going out and playing hockey, playing the game I love, and not really worrying about what's happening tomorrow.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.