Alain Vigneault fielded the same questions last year, about the youth and inexperience of his team in critical positions. So when the Rangers coach is asked about his second line — Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes are all 25 years or younger — and Oscar Lindberg, his 23-year-old rookie third-line center, he didn’t seem concerned.
“We were all hoping those young kids would be able to step in and contribute [last year], and that hope became reality — they were able to do it for us,” Vigneault said after Saturday’s practice at the MSG Training Center.