The Rangers were already suffering an injury hours before Tuesday's overtime loss to the Stars, with Chris Kreider placed on injured reserve retroactive to Sunday with an upper-body injury.
However, the situation in the batting lineup worsened as center Filip Sitil left the game against Dallas with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Head coach Peter Laviolette, as expected, did not provide many details after the Blueshirts' 5-4 loss.
He reiterated twice that Sitil was injured and was being evaluated, including after a second question asking if this was related to a previous injury or concussion.
Sitil's last shift of the night ended with about four minutes left in the second period, and he was off the bench for the remainder of the game once the third period began.
While the specific injury and details of Sitil's condition remain unclear, the 25-year-old has had a number of sidelines throughout his career, suffering what appeared to be the fourth concussion of his career in just 10 games last year. I was forced to stretch. season.
He returned to his native Czech Republic during his recovery period and suffered a setback in January, but ultimately returned for the Blueshirts' playoff appearance.
Sitil also missed seven games earlier this season with a non-concussion upper-body injury.
When healthy, Cityl has been one of the Rangers' most productive players this season with 10 goals and 17 points, and has recently been a mainstay on the third line alongside Brett Berard and Will Quill.
But if Chytil misses time, the Rangers will have to rejig their line without Kreider as well.
Johnny Brodzinski skated with Mika Zibanejad and Riley Smith in place of Kreider for the second consecutive game Tuesday.
They brought back Matt Lempe from AHL Hartford to take Kreider's spot on the roster, but Lempe was injured after boarding and elbowing Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on December 20th. , was required to play in the final game of an eight-game suspension and was unable to play in the game. Dallas.
Vincent Trocheck, who scored two goals for the Rangers, was responsible for the Stars' fourth goal despite a sequence that started with a brutal turnover by K'Andre Miller in the corner of the Blueshirts zone.
Trocheck lost sight of Thomas Hurley, who was floating in front of the net, and ultimately allowed Hurley to take an open shot.
“However, the fourth goal was my fault, so it doesn't mean anything if we don't win the game,” Trocheck said of his goal and line performance. “So I have to clean it up.”
John Giannone, who has been with MSG Networks since 2002 and is a host and reporter for the Rangers studio, said on the pregame show that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer a month ago.
He has already started treatment and says his prognosis is “good.”
Rangers Hockey Fight Cancer Night was held at the Garden on Tuesday.
“It was after my annual physical,” Giannone said on the pregame show. “Blood tests were increased, an MRI was performed, and finally a biopsy made the diagnosis.”
