ST. LEWIS — The Rangers were forced to use 11 forwards and seven defensemen at the last minute.
Mika Zibanejad was a late scratch in Thursday night's game against the Blues after the Swedish center took to the ice to warm up and didn't participate in the line rush before heading to the locker room.
He was sick and did not practice Wednesday, but was expected to be available for Thursday's game.
“Things are changing from team to team,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after the Blueshirts lost 5-2, dropping their third straight game. “Morning skate, he was good. Things got bad right after the game started. He was out warming up, so we thought we were going to do well. He'll rest a little bit and then come back. .”
The Rangers were more interested in signing Jacob Trueba, who missed the past two days of practice for what the club cited as personal reasons.
Matthew Robertson was called up late Wednesday in case Trouba was unavailable, but the defenseman returned to Hartford late Thursday.
The Rangers captain, whose wife Dr. Kelly Tyson Trouba is pregnant with their first child, was finally able to play, returning to his usual defensive post on the right side of K'Andre Miller.
Without Zibanejad, Zach Jones returned to action for the first time since Dec. 15.
Additionally, Kaapo Kakko participated fully in the Rangers' optional morning skate on Thursday, but the Finnish winger was not fit for the game.
This is the 20th consecutive game Kakko has missed due to a lower-body injury.
“still [regular] Jersey,'' Laviolette said, declining to say whether Kakko would be ready to return from long-term injured reserve and return to action Saturday in Washington. “There are no limits. Good job.”
Tyler Pitlick also participated in the morning skate wearing a red non-contact jersey.
Pitlick, who missed his fourth straight game on Thursday, is still expected to be sidelined week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Jake Lecishin made his season debut for the Rangers on Thursday night under the same circumstances as last year.
The Rangers claimed Leshishin off waivers from Las Vegas in January of last season, when a rash of injuries caused the club to add depth up front.
Now that injury problems have returned and are impacting the club's AHL affiliate, so has Leshishin.
“I was really excited,” the 24-year-old said of his first memories of 2024 after the Rangers' morning skate. “I have worked hard to come back.” [Hartford’s] Lineup after injury. So knowing that my game is trending in the right direction toward earning a call-up feels very rewarding and I'm really excited.”
Vincent Trocheck scored his 13th goal of the season and seventh goal of the season on a power play 10:58 into the third period.
He currently has 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in his last six games and 16 points in his last 12 games.
