Rangers Adjust Defensive Lineup with Soucy on Injured Reserve

Carson Soucy has been placed on injured reserve before the Rangers took on the Wild on Monday night. However, head coach Mike Sullivan made adjustments and didn’t revert to the defensive lineup used earlier in the season.

Although Soucy is expected to return soon, Sullivan decided to keep rookie Matthew Robertson in the top six after his strong performance during his four-game stint. This decision sidelined Urho Vaakanainen, making him a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

“That’s a tough call,” Sullivan remarked before the Rangers’ 3-1 defeat against Minnesota at Madison Square Garden. “We respect all the players and what they contribute to the team. These choices aren’t made lightly. Ultimately, I’m responsible for doing what’s best for the team in terms of the roster and lineup. But still, it’s a hard decision.”

Soucy suffered an upper-body injury during a match against the Rangers in Pittsburgh on October 11. He has been out of action for the last four games.

It was quite a scary moment, really, as the 31-year-old defenseman attempted to check Penguins forward Rickard Rakell but ended up hitting the boards face-first. He returned quickly but wore a red non-contact jersey. The team placed him on injured reserve to ensure he has enough time to heal.

“I think it looked worse than it felt at first,” Soucy shared. “There was definitely a shock when it happened. The next couple of days, I felt kind of stiff, but overall, I felt alright. The skaters get excited to come back and get ready to play again.”

“When you come off an incident like that, I guess it’s easy to see why they’d put me on IR. You just want to feel good before you get back in. So, in a way, it was a smart move overall.”

Initially, Soucy skated alongside Will Borgen through the first three games, but in the latest matchup against Minnesota, he lined up with Braden Schneider. Robertson evidently demonstrated enough skill to stay paired with Borgen as part of the second defensive pairing behind Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov.

Sullivan also mentioned that Vincent Trocheck, who is on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body issue, hasn’t started skating yet. The 32-year-old center is not expected to return until at least November 1.

“He was around today,” Sullivan said at the MSG Training Center on Monday. “He’s progressing well. I’ll keep you updated on his next steps.”

Meanwhile, Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin faced 31 shots, stopping 29, marking his fourth loss of the season.