DALLAS — Justin Falk did nothing to deserve his being taken out of the Rangers lineup.
That was the sentiment from coach Alain Vigneault before Thursday night's 3-2 win over the Stars at the American Airlines Center, a game in which he replaced Falk with mercurial young defenseman Michael Del Zotto.
"Really like the way [Falk] played for us in those couple games there," said Vigneault, who had made Del Zotto a healthy scratch for the past three games. "I just feel like against Dallas, a puck-moving defenseman was a little bit more what we need. "
Del Zotto, who registered one shot on goal, played 15:30 while on a third pair with John Moore, who scored a goal. Vigneault, seemingly in a rush to catch a plane for Nashville for Saturday's game against the Predators, didn't have all that much to say about Del Zotto's performance afterward.
"I thought he was all right," Vigneault said. "No complaints."
The benching was a rude awakening for Del Zotto, and he now understands more fully that under this first-year head coach, any good he did in the past is worthless.
"Anytime you're struggling, it feels like you're almost forcing things and you're trying to do too much to overcompensate for the offensive side more than anything," Del Zotto said. "I guess [the goal is] just play a simple game and take the opportunities when they're there."
Rick Nash had another dominating performance in his second game back from a 17-game absence because of a concussion. He scored on a first-period power-play breakaway, drew a penalty shot midway through the third, and had two shots on net with seven more attempted.
"I think he's only going to get better," Vigneault said. "He made some elite player moves tonight 1-on-1. I think that line has a lot of potential and is only going to get better."
Before his first game back, Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Bruins at the Garden, Vigneault said he planned on playing Nash around 15 minutes. After 17:55 in that game, he got 15:34 on Thursday, and Vigneault laughed about limiting his ice time.
"We'll talk about that tomorrow," he said jokingly.
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Taylor Pyatt (concussion) worked out in New York, and the team still hopes he can join them on this five-game road trip, which continues Saturday night in Nashville before games against the Lightning, Panthers, and then the Bruins on the afternoon following Thanksgiving.
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Forward J.T. Miller remained a healthy scratch for the second straight game. … The Rangers had not played in Dallas since Jan. 7, 2011, when Zuccarello won the game in a shootout and Ryan McDonagh made his NHL debut.
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