Headshots take out Vesey, Staal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Alain Vigneault didn’t use the word concussion, but he didn’t need to.

The Rangers coach made it pretty clear what was likely wrong with Marc Staal and Jimmy Vesey, his two players who were both forced from the team’s 5-2 loss to the Predators on Saturday night with separate unpenalized hits to the head.

“They both took shots to the head, so they were held off,” Vigneault said. “We’ll know more [Sunday].”

Staal, the defenseman with a long history of concussions, was plowed head-first into the boards by Predators defenseman Alexei Emelin with 11:12 remaining in the second period. He rose relatively quickly but went straight to the locker room and did not return.

Less than a minute later, Vesey took an elbow to the face from Nashville forward Filip Forsberg, leaving him with a mouthful of blood. Vesey did return for one shift, but didn’t play the final 7:19 of the period and didn’t come out for the start of the third.

The Rangers were carrying just 12 healthy forwards, so they are likely to call someone up from AHL Hartford for the second game of this two-game road trip coming Monday night in Dallas. Candidates include winger Vinni

Lettieri, who played 10 games with the club before he wasn’t recalled after the All-Star break and who scored a goal in the Wolf Pack’s 3-1 win over Providence on Saturday in Connecticut. Center Boo Nieves played 28 games with the Rangers earlier this season, while both firstround picks, Lias Andersson and

Filip Chytil, are both down there, as well.

If Staal can’t play on Monday, then it’s likely Steven Kampfer would draw in after he has been a healthy scratch for five straight and 22 of the past 27.

There was no update on the status on Pavel Buchnevich, who is out indefinitely with a concussion after he took an inadvertent elbow to the jaw on Thursday.

Forward Cody McLeod played his second game as a Ranger. There was a first-period video tribute to McLeod’s short time in Nashville.

He had four hits against the Predators in 12:04 of ice time. He tried to goad Ryan Ellis into a fight, but never could find a willing combatant.