It was darn near impossible for Matt Puempel to contain his excitement after his first skate as a member of the Rangers.
The 23-year-old forward was claimed off waivers from the Senators on Monday, and got his first taste of wearing the Broadway Blueshirt at the morning skate at the Garden before he sat out Wednesday night’s awful 6-1 loss to the Penguins.
Coach Alain Vigneault said he didn’t have an extensive first-hand knowledge of Puempel from the few games he coached against him while the youngster was with the Senators. Vigneault said he wants to see him in a few practices before considering him for the lineup.