BUFFALO — Kevin Klein had an unusual defense partner during Tuesday’s morning skate: forward Josh Jooris.
It sent a clear signal that Klein, 31, would not be dressing against the Sabres. At one point during the drills, assistant coach Jeff Beukeboom, in charge of the defense, spoke alone to Klein, who didn’t seem pleased with the decision.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault gave two reasons for the switch to Adam Clendening, who had played in just six games: “One, there’s no doubt, in my estimation, Kleiner can play better than what he’s played, and the other part is, since losing Mika (Zibanejad, broken fibula), and that righthanded shot on the power-play, we tried different things, but we felt it was time to give Adam a look on ‘D’ and on the power play.