Rangers to Play Without Key Players
The Rangers will be missing Noah Laba and Urho Vaakanainen for their upcoming match.
Laba, who centers the third line, is dealing with a lower-body injury, while Vaakanainen has an upper-body injury. These issues have been recurring, unfortunately, for both players.
They both exited early during Wednesday’s loss to the Devils and couldn’t make the trip to Columbus on Thursday, where the team is looking to secure consecutive wins.
When asked about the possibility of placing either player on injured reserve, head coach Mike Sullivan indicated that both will be assessed on a week-to-week basis.
This means the Rangers will need to continue adapting. JT Miller has resumed skating on the third line alongside Connor Sheary and Ty Carty. Additionally, Taylor Radish has been moved to the line with Vincent Trocheck and Will Quill.
In terms of production, Laba has made notable contributions, scoring nine goals and accumulating 21 points. Moreover, he has played a significant role in penalty shootouts, a skill he developed during his rookie season. Interestingly, in practice on Saturday, Connor McKee took Vaakanainen’s spot on the third defense pairing, as the latter has only managed to play 33 games this season.
These injuries for Laba and Vaakanainen are just the latest setbacks for the Rangers this season.
Miller has seen time on the disabled list twice, while defenseman Adam Fox has been on long-term injured reserve. Both Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick have also been absent from the ice. This constant reshuffling has posed challenges for Sullivan regarding lineup combinations. Laba was sidelined for three games earlier in January, and now Vaakanainen finds himself in a similar situation.
When discussing the Rangers’ recent defensive struggles, particularly with the potential debut of goaltender Dylan Garland, Sullivan suggested they “could be stingier.”
The team has allowed at least four goals in each of their last three losses, which is quite a contrast to their previous success, winning eight out of nine games during the Olympic break.
“It all starts with our puck management,” Sullivan elaborated. “If we’re turning over the puck in dangerous areas, it complicates getting into our defensive structure.” He noted the team’s tendency to chase games, suggesting that their recent puck management hasn’t been as strong as when they were more successful.
After their game against the Jets on Sunday, the Rangers will have a favorable schedule, playing nine of their next ten games at home, with only a single away game against the Maple Leafs.
Mika Zibanejad is set to participate in his 999th career game on Sunday, and if all goes well, he will achieve his 1,000th career game on Monday against the Senators, his former team. Remarkably, he has racked up ten points in his last seven games.
