from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

“I agree that we’ve looked good at different points, but we haven’t been able to put together a full period or a full game,” coach Alain Vigneault said after Friday’s one-hour practice session. “I don’t want to give our team an excuse, but a lot of that has to do with our challenging training camp schedule.

“The game in Phoenix was only the second time we had even close to our full lineup together — we had most of the group in the [exhibition] game in Vancouver — and that’s made it difficult,” he said. “Everything takes time. This is no different.

“Having said that, I’m confident that the 48-hour window we’ve given the guys before our next practice on Sunday will be very beneficial to getting the team to play at the pace we need to sustain.”

The tempo that has come and gone and the hard forecheck game that has been absent both should be bolstered, if not remedied, by Ryan Callahan’s expected return against the Kings. The captain said he will be “100 percent when I come back,” unencumbered after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum immediately after last season’s playoffs.

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