Rangers recall 3 from AHL in wake of injuries
After deploying essentially the same configuration of skaters through the first 10 games of the season, aside from alternating Jimmy Vesey and Tyler Pitlick through Games 1-3 and Ryan Lindgren’s one-game absence due to injury, the Rangers will have a much different lineup in Minnesota on Saturday night against the Wild.
The Rangers will take the ice without three key regulars — Adam Fox, Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow — amid a slew of injuries and a baby announcement following the Blueshirts’ sixth straight win Thursday over the Hurricanes.
Fox has been placed on long-term injured reserve with a lowerbody injury, while Chytil was assigned to injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
Both injuries were sus- tained during Thursday’s game.
Additionally, Barclay Goodrow will not accompany the team to Minnesota as he joins his wife to welcome the birth of their son.
The plan was always for Jonathan Quick to get the start against the Wild, according to a source, but Igor Shesterkin will not be in uniform to back him up. Shesterkin was a little banged up after the most-recent victory and the Rangers have opted to take precautionary measures to ensure their No. 1 goalie isn’t injured further.
As a result, the Rangers recalled three players from AHL Hartford — forward Jonny Brodzinski, defenseman Connor Mackey and goalie Louis Domingue — to fill the holes in the lineup.
The Rangers lost Fox and Chytil before the start of the third period Thursday night, which gave some insight into how head coach Peter Laviolette will reconfigure the lineup.
Without Chytil, Vincent Trocheck was bumped up to center the second line between Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Goodrow followed suit and was elevated from the fourth line and placed in the middle of Will Cuylle and Blake Wheeler on the third unit, but the utility forward won’t be available Saturday.
The expectation is that Brodzinski will fill the third-line center spot, while Pitlick replaces Goodrow in his original spot on the wing of the fourth line alongside Nick Bonino and Jimmy Vesey.
The Rangers’ defensive pairs have been the same in all but one of the club’s first 10 games this season, when Lindgren was sidelined in the second matchup of the season with Columbus. In that contest, K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba remained together, while Erik Gustafsson slotted next to Fox and Zac Jones skated next to Braden Schneider.
The Jones-Schneider pairing had a particularly difficult night, being on the ice for two of Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner’s three goals. That makes a reunion unlikely.
The Rangers could tell Jones to do his best Fox impression and just line the 23-year-old blueliner next to Lindgren and keep the continuity of the rest of the pairs. It’s possible Laviolette could want to see something different, too.
When Fox exited Thursday’s game, Gustafsson replaced the 2021 Norris Trophy winner on the Rangers’ top power-play unit. Based on the way Laviolette talked about Gustafsson filling in for Fox, it’s safe to assume he will continue to do so with Fox sidelined for a minimum of 10 games.
“Gustafsson has been a first-unit power-play guy for most of his career,” Laviolette said. “So obviously there’s going to be a little transition there I think because of the [change in] hands. But if we need him to, Gus will be more than capable of jumping in.”
If Gustafsson moves off the second power-play unit to fill in for Fox, Jones should get the first crack at quarterbacking PP2. The power play is a signature part of Jones’ game and the Rangers would presumably want to see what he can do with the opportunity.
Though Miller will likely get the first call to the second power play, Laviolette could go with both Jones and Miller, with Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Wheeler. Cuylle is also presumably in the mix.
The Rangers successfully used the next-man-up mindset Thursday night to pull out the win, but they’ll need to maintain that for at least the next month.