McDonagh absence aided by schedule

The Rangers played a third straight game without their captain, Ryan McDonagh, when they managed to take a 4-3 shootout victory against the Canucks on Sunday afternoon at the Garden. This was the day that McDonagh’s “mild” abdominal strain was supposed to be reevaluated, but coach Alain Vigneault had not spoken to doctors and didn’t have an update.

“Because it was an afternoon game, I haven’t talked to my medical staff,” Vigneault said. “I haven’t talked to anybody.”

This was an injury that McDonagh had been playing through for a while that finally came to a head, first keeping him out against the Hurricanes last week in Carolina. It helped that they won that game, 6-1, just as they won Friday night, 2-1 in overtime against the Red Wings at home.

With another win Sunday — while notching eight in a row at home and 10-of-12 overall — there likely isn’t a rush to force McDonagh back before he is absolutely ready. The upcoming schedule should help, as well, with the Rangers getting the day off Monday before being home to the Panthers on Tuesday. That’s followed by two more days without a game before Friday’s Garden match against the Hurricanes, and then another three days before the Dec. 5 against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

In McDonagh’s absence, the duo of Brady Skjei and Kevin

Shattenkirk have become the de facto first pair, with Skjei getting a team-high 27:89 — including 26:43 at even strength — while Shattenkirk got 25:30, with 22:38 at even strength. Shattenkirk was also the third player to go in the shootout, beating goalie Jacob Markstrom with a slick wrist shot to keep the skills competition going. Emerging fourth-line center

Boo Nieves missed his first game after he suffered a hip-pointer injury late in the first period Friday. Vigneault had said the injury “shouldn’t be something serious,” and Nieves took part in an optional practice Saturday and the pregame warm-up Sunday.