A day later, the Rangers sent down forward Chris Mueller to Hartford. In seven games, the center posted a goal and assist while doing a solid job on faceoffs (38-and-26). Obviously, it’s disappointing for him because he did nothing wrong. Alain Vigneault even used him on a power play unit taking advantage of his right-handed shot. Mueller’s only goal came on the man-advantage in a comeback win over the Devils.

What it likely means is that Derek Stepan will be activated for Saturday’s game at Toronto. Obviously, that’s exciting. Stepan can certainly help offensively as well as defensively. Don’t forget, he’s a strong two-way playmaking pivot who plays power play and penalty kill. It’ll be interesting to see how much rust he has. Also, with Rick Nash going well alongside Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello, I would suggest playing Chris Kreider and Marty St. Louis with Stepan. Kreider definitely could use a boost.

With Mueller back down, that probably means Kevin Hayes sticks around and centers the third or fourth line. I’d like to think Vigneault will give Hayes a shot with Anthony Duclair and Carl Hagelin. But he could deploy Dominic Moore instead and have Hagelin and Lee Stempniak play together. Would a fourth line of Hayes, Duclair and Tanner Glass work? We’ll see.

Interestingly enough, Ryan Malone stays as an extra. Who would’ve thought? I think Mueller is a better fit. He earned it. But keeping Malone around isn’t the worst thing in the world for a team that lacks size. Vigneault can always plug him in.