The injuries are beginning to pile up for the New York Rangers. Game 3 in Tampa saw Ryan Strome and Barclay Goodrow suffer injuries that could have possibly held them out of Game 4. Ryan Strome gave it a go in warmups before Game 4 in Tampa last night but ultimately felt he couldn’t give it a go. Barclay Goodrow was able to play and seemed to be his usual self.
Unfortunately, with six minutes remaining in the 2nd period, the Rangers’ 3rd line center Filip Chytil went to the locker room and never returned to the ice. The team calls it an “Upper-Body Injury,” which he sustained after a hit from Tampa’s defender Victor Hedman.
The Rangers’ depth is in serious peril right now, with their 2nd,3rd, and 4th line centers all suffering from some ailments sustained during the two-game road trip to Florida. It’s quite the turn of events from when they boarded their flight to Florida for Games 3 and 4 with a 2-0 series lead, and everyone was healthy (at least as healthy as any players are this far into the playoffs).
The Rangers desperately need Chytil and Strome to change the momentum back in their favor after losing two straight to the two-time defending champions. Gerard Gallant uttered a familiar statement regarding Chytil’s injury, stating, “He should be fine, but we’ll have to wait and see.” That’s as much as we’ll get from Gallant on any injured players at this point in the season, so we’ll have to wait and see come game time tomorrow night.
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The silver lining is that Strome seemed almost to be able to go as he skated with the team in warmups. Perhaps another day of rest and treatment on his “Lower Body Injury” will get him over the hump and on the ice for Thursday night’s Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.
If either or both can’t go, look for the Rangers to shake up the lines in hopes of generating more offense than they did in Game 4.
