It seems unlikely the Rangers will have Blake Wheeler in the playoffs.
Asked for the first time in a while about Wheeler, who suffered a season-ending leg injury on Feb. 15, head coach Peter Laviolette said the 37-year-old forward has not yet resumed skating.
“He’s making progress, but it’s slow,” Laviolette said before the Rangers’ 4-2 loss to the Islanders on Tuesday night at UBS Arena. “I see him. He’s still on that long road. The team sees him every once in a while. When you’re in a situation like that, the hours don’t line up exactly.
“I met him just before I came here. [to Long Island]. I have to have a little talk with him. It was good to meet him, it was good. we miss him. ”
Wheeler missed his 25th straight game on Tuesday, just under two months after he awkwardly fell on his right leg against the Canadiens.
It was a horrifying sight, but it was as bad as it looked.
The Rangers placed Wheeler on long-term injured reserve the next day.
Wheeler ultimately finished his first (and likely only) regular season with the Rangers with nine goals and 12 assists in 54 games.
Wheeler became the second Rangers player to suffer a season-ending injury, as Filip Sitil missed the first 10 games of the season with a suspected concussion. Despite holding out hope of a return and being able to skate briefly on the practice field, Sitil suffered a setback in late January and was officially ruled out for the remainder of the season.
There has been no update on Szitil since then, but it’s safe to assume the Czech center is in a similar situation as Wheeler.
Matt Lempe was a healthy scratch for the fifth time in the past seven games against the Isles on Tuesday.
As a result, Jack Roslovic, who was a healthy scratch for the first time as a Ranger on Monday, returned to action.
He returned to his usual position on the right side of Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
Erik Gustafsson also replaced Zach Jones on the Rangers’ bottom pairing with Braden Schneider.
Igor Shesterkin started on Tuesday, making 25 saves in his 53rd start of the season.
The Rangers will have Wednesday off before taking on the Flyers at The Garden on Thursday.
