Anthony Duclair making the most of all his practice time

Rangers rookie Anthony Duclair did not dress for the second consecutive game, but he won't be sent to the Quebec Remparts -- at least not this week.

"In Anthony's case, if we send him back to junior, we can't bring him up, so we don't have the leeway of sending him to Hartford," coach Alain Vigneault said. "I've got a pretty good grasp of our time frame with him. He's going to practice and we'll see [about] the next game [Saturday in Montreal]."

Duclair, who has three assists in five games, took the news in stride. "I'm not the first guy to come into this league and sit out in the first few games," he said. "It [stinks] to have to go through it, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm 19 years old, still a kid playing against men. So it's definitely hard for me to sit out, but at the same time, I can watch some clips, things I can work on, and just work harder in practice and try to get back in the lineup as fast as possible."

Stepan not skating yet

In the last three games, Henrik Lundqvist has a 1.28 GAA, a .957 save percentage (90 saves/94 shots), and a shutout . . . Chris Mueller's goal and assist tied his single-game career high in points. The center, called up last week, has won 13 of 21 faceoffs (62 percent) in two games . . . Kevin Hayes, on the other hand, was woeful in the circles, going 0-for-10 . . . Dan Girardi, who played with stitches in his left leg from a blocked shot Sunday, led all skaters with four hits and had three blocked shots in 28:02. "I'm a warrior,'' he deadpanned . . . C Derek Stepan (broken fibula) has not begun skating.

Blue notes

Goalie Cory Schneider played in Vancouver, and Vigneault wished him well -- except against the Rangers. "With the opportunity he's getting here right now, I'm sure he's not going to let them down,'' he said. "I hope he doesn't have a lot of success tonight, but he's a great kid and a hard worker."