NICK OF KLEIN
Defenseman is out three-to-four weeks
WASHINGTON — The Rangers have used adversity as a steppingstone to the NHL’s upper echelon, thriving in the absence of indispensable (or not) franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
Now, they will get the opportunity do so again, given that stalwart right defenseman Kevin Klein will be sidelined for an extended period after being struck flush on the left arm/elbow by an Alex Ovechkin shot with 19 seconds remaining in Wednesday’s 31 victory over the Capitals.
Klein, who underwent Xrays immediately following the match, returned to New York on Thursday to be examined by club physicians while his teammates bivouac here through Friday before leaving for Buffalo, where the Blueshirts play the Sabres on Saturday.
The club was not specific in citing Klein’s exact injury, but announced the 30yearold defenseman, who has been such an integral part of the team’s success, will be sidelined for threetofour weeks with an “upper body injury.”
That means that Klein can be expected to miss nearly all, if not all, of the 16game run down the stretch. The season ends four weeks from Saturday, on April 11, with the playoffs set to begin the following week.
Matt Hunwick, who has been a healthy scratch the past seven games, will get the first opportunity to replace Klein in the lineup. Hunwick had formed half of the sixthdefenseman rotation utilized by coach Alain Vigneault until the March 1 acquisition of Keith Yandle, playing in 40 of the club’s first 61 games.
Hunwick, a smallish, puckmoving lefty will have to move to the right side on the third pair with Yandle while righty Dan Boyle assumes a more permanent spot on the second pair with Marc Staal. That’s not ideal in either case, given Boyle’s persistent difficulties in his own end of the ice and coach Alain Vigneault’s reluctance to match No. 22 against the opposition’s top two lines or use him on the penalty kill.
Indeed, Boyle has averaged 41 seconds per game of shorthanded time while Klein has averaged 1:48 on the penalty kill, trailing the Big Three of Dan Girardi (2:47), Ryan McDonagh (2:39) and Staal (2:13). Boyle’s issues defending the net were highlighted by his inconceivably soft attempt to deny Anders Lee on a wraparound that beat Cam Talbot on Tuesday on the Island.
But now there’s really no choice for the Rangers, who have gone 401 while allowing a sum of five goals since acquiring Yandle. Not that No. 93 has fit in seamlessly. He hasn’t, the transition from the Coyotes made more difficult due to the paucity of practices.
But the McDonaghGirardi shutdown pair is playing at a peak level following a bumpy first four months and the StaalKlein second matchup pair has been extremely reliable. Vigneault didn’t do it often, but over the past couple games, the coach had occasionally paired Klein with McDonagh while reuniting the familiar GirardiStaal pair.
Now, flexibility and stiffness are both issues going forward without Klein, who was not only strong in his own end but having a career year offensively with nine goals and 26 points to lead the blue line in both categories. Yandle, who recorded 37 assists and 41 points with Arizona, has not yet tallied a point as a Ranger.
The Blueshirts will not recall a defenseman in the foreseeable future, given cap issues that could spill into next season depending on when Lundqvist is deemed ready to rejoin the team.
Veteran defenseman Chris Summers, obtained from Arizona as part of the Yandle deal, would merit consideration, but he is also a lefty. If the Rangers look for a righty, veteran Mike Kostka, who was overmatched during a sevengame trial run early in the season, and 2010 firstrounder Dylan McIlrath, who has made strides in Hartford, are the most likely suspects.
For now, at least, the responsibility will fall to Hunwick while the Blueshirts hope Klein is able to return for the opening of the playoffs.
Then again, the way things have gone for the Blueshirts, 1212 in their last 15 and 1323 in Lundqvist’s absence, Hunwick probably will establish himself as a candidate for the Norris Trophy.