The Rangers’ extended All-Star break – seven days without a game – wasn’t enough to heal one of the team’s most important players.
Rick Nash, injured blocking a shot with his left leg on Jan. 22, is not expected to be in the lineup Tuesday when the Rangers resume play against the Devils in Newark.
Nash, who missed the last two games before the break – after coach Alain Vigneault originally expected him to miss no time at all – is still having pain and trouble walking.
Vigneault told reporters Monday that Nash had a CT scan which, like an MRI he had before the All-Star break, showed a deep bone bruise and no broken bone(s).
Also missing practice Monday was Rangers’ captain Ryan McDonagh, who represented the team in Nashville over the weekend.
McDonagh, like Nash, as important as any Ranger other than Henrik Lundqvist, has had a noticeable upturn in his game in recent weeks, not only defensively, but adding to the attack (he has a goal and six assists before being blanked in two games last weekend).
His greatest weapon, his speed, is again apparent, after a difficult stretch.
“I feel a lot quicker on the ice, with our without the puck, and it helps too when you’ve got confidence, not only within myself, but in the guys on the ice with me, of maybe coming up with a puck,” McDonagh said before the break.
“Any time there’s a battle on the boards, or a 50/50 battle, we were winning a lot more of those more consistently over the last stretch here. We’ve been in games because of it. When I know and feel that we’re going to come out with those pucks, you can kind of anticipate and give yourself an opportunity where if (a teammate) comes out with that battle you can be an option for him and make some plays with some time and space hopefully.”
He’s not alone among the improving, or at least those trending upward (as the Rangers have gone 8-5-1 in their last 14, after 3-9-2 in the previous 14) after poor starts. That list includes Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello. Derick Brassard had one of his worst games of the season last Sunday in Ottawa, and responded with a five-point night vs. Buffalo on Monday. Kevin Hayes has gotten marginally better. Viktor Stalberg, too, and yes some of the Rangers’ important defensemen, including Keith Yandle and to a lesser degree, Dan Girardi.
“It’s huge,” McDonagh said. “This team, we need everybody. It’s not just a handful of guys that are going to be able to carry this team to wins every night, and we know that. We’re going to have to pick each other up and if a guy’s not on one night, or not 100 percent there, we need everybody to help pick up the slack and continue to try and do your job the best you can. We’ve got guys in great roles on this team and I think we’re really starting to hone in on that now and understanding what gives us the best chance to be successful.”
The improvement in overall play has remained inconsistent, at best, but miles better than it was from late November through most of December.
“We’ve kind of found some common ground as far as the way we’re playing and we’ve got to find a way to minimize our mistakes,” McDonagh said. “It seems every couple of ones we do make, they’re finding their way into the net against us. So we have to continue to focus hard on when we have the puck, make sure we’re not giving it up easily, and when we don’t have it, working hard to get it back. Those are two areas that’ll help us to keep the goals-against down.”
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