'CLOSE' CALL By LARRY BROOKS Left foot injury leaves Thomas in doubt vs. Dallas
Gallant : Reaves going in right direction, but availability for opener still unknown
According to head coach Gerard Gallant, Ryan Reaves’ projected ability for the Rangers’ Oct. 13 opener at Washington “is going to be close” following the left leg injury he sustained after that awkward dance in the corner with P.K. Subban midway through the first period of Wednesday’s game against the Devils.
“When he left the game I said, ‘No,’ but the last couple days it’s going in the right direction,” Gallant said following practice Friday. “I can’t really say, but I think it’s going to be real close.”
The Rangers did a fair amount of mixing of their combinations Friday,
with Morgan Barron and Dryden Hunt flanking Kevin Rooney while Filip Chytil skated between Sammy Blais and Julien Gauthier as bottom-six units. (Mika Zibanejad had Alexis Lafrenière and Vitali Kravtsov as his wings and Ryan Strome skated between Barclay Goodrow and Kaapo Kakko, while Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider rotated through the line drills.)
The Blueshirts, currently carrying 15 forwards and eight defensemen, need to cut the roster by two before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. If Reaves is placed on IR, the club could keep an extra forward, but that would mean the enforcer would be ineligible to play in the first four games.
The Rangers have been expected to name a team captain prior to the opener, but Gallant wasn’t exactly declarative in addressing the subject. A possibility thus seems to exist that they might go without one for the fourth straight season.
“I’m still discussing it with Chris, we’ve been talking about it quite a bit in the last couple of weeks,” Gallant said, referring to general manager Chris Drury. “I’ve talked about it quite a bit where I came from different teams and it’s more important to me that the 23 guys are a big part of our group. That’s the most important thing.
“We’re going to make a decision soon, and we’ll decide what we’re going to do, but the biggest thing for me is that I need 23 guys to be leaders.”
➤ Gallant confirmed the obvious: Zac Jones was sent to the AHL Wolf Pack on Thursday through no fault of his own.
“Jonesy did nothing wrong,” the coach said. “Everything Jonesy did at camp was excellent, he keeps going in the right direction, but it’s all about numbers and how many you can keep.
“He’s a young player, we like him a lot and he’s going to be in New York a lot. But with the depth we have on the blue line we had to make some tough decisions and that was a tough one.”
Same foot, new injury — and a growing concern for Andrew Thomas.
The Giants listed Thomas as questionable with a left foot injury for Sunday’s game against the Cowboys, which raises the possibility right tackle Nate Solder will fill Thomas’ shoes on the left side and Matt Peart will start on the right side. Safety Jabrill Peppers and wide receivers Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton all were ruled out with hamstring injuries.
The Giants won without Slayton and Shepard last week, but losing Thomas — who has allowed one quarterback hit and no sacks on 185 pass-blocking snaps in a breakthrough year — would be a different story. So, how is he feeling after limping around the practice field for three days?
“Sore,” Thomas said. “Right now I’m focusing on every day doing what the trainers ask of me.”
Thomas was a limited participant Thursday and Friday after sitting out Wednesday’s walk-through. He was injured against the Saints, though it is unrelated to his left ankle surgery during the offseason.
“I was in the rotation [both days] with Nate and Matt,” Thomas said. “We’ll see how it feels on Sunday.”
Head coach Joe Judge promptly stopped using ingame rotations over the last three weeks as injuries to Shane Lemieux, Nick Gates and Ben Bredeson shredded depth. The offensive line played its best game in two seasons last week.
If Peart is needed, it will be his first offensive action since 19 snaps in Week 1. Peart lost the starting right tackle job to Solder in training camp, tried his hand at guard last month and now could face the biggest challenge of his two-year career against a defensive line leading the NFL in pressures created off complex stunts.
“It’s having a mentality of always staying ready,” Peart said. “You never know when your number is going to get called in this game. We get after it in practice to make sure.”
Solder is coming off his best game of the season, but allowed 20 sacks in two seasons (2018-19) as the Giants’ left tackle before opting out last season. He has allowed two sacks in four games at right tackle.
“I’m always of the impression that this is a competitive sport and the best five play,” Solder said. “What my role is, is whatever I make it. If a guy needs a little bit more something here or there then we can do that, but I’m just here to be whatever support I can be.”
➤ The Cowboys listed WR Amari Cooper (hamstring) and RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee) as questionable, but both are expected to play. DE Dorance Armstrong and S Donovan Wilson are out.
➤ Judge explained that part of his normal Friday routine is to look ahead at the next weekend’s opponent so he knows what to incorporate in the next few practices. In this case, he will peek at the Rams before facing the Cowboys.
“I make sure anytime I look ahead to the next opponent, I end the day going back to the opponent we’re on,” Judge said, “so you get your mind back in that thinking.”