New York Rangers injury update: Brett Berard out against Devils with upper-body issue
The New York Rangers will miss the spark that rookie Brett Berard provides when they face off with the New Jersey Devils on Monday at Madison Square Garden. The 22-year-old forward is out with an upper-body injury.
Berard played 15 shifts and logged 10:19 TOI in a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at MSG on Saturday. Four of those shifts came in the third period, and he finished the game.
He mostly played on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere against the Canadiens, though was eventually replaced by Artemi Panarin. Berard was minus-1 with two shots on goal, five shot attempts, one hit and one blocked shot.
Since Berard was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League last week, he has one goal, one assist and two points in four games, averaging 12:33 TOI. As important as the production, Berard injected some speed and life into a somewhat stagnant Rangers lineup.
Berard had an assist on Will Cuylle’s goal in his NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues last Monday at The Garden. He then scored his first NHL goal, a beauty off the rush, in his second game, a 4-3 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thanksgiving Eve.
Prior to his recall, Berard led Hartford with seven goals and 13 points. He led the Wolf Pack with 25 goals as a rookie pro last season.
Related: Rangers vs. Devils: 3 things to watch for in 1st clash between Hudson River rivals
Reilly Smith, Jonny Brodzinski back in Rangers lineup against Devils
With Berard out of the lineup, there’s a domino effect of moves and line juggling for the game Monday. Reilly Smith and Jonny Brodzinski are back in the lineup against the Devils, and Jimmy Vesey will be a healthy scratch.
Smith was a healthy scratch against the Canadiens after the 33-year-old forward played each of the first 22 games. He’s without a goal in nine straight games and has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) this season. During the morning skate Monday, he was reunited on a line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
Brodzinski also did not dress against the Canadiens after playing six of the previous seven games. The 31-yar-old, who, like Berard, brings speed to the lineup, replaces Vesey on the fourth line alongside Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom.
Vesey, the reliable 31-year-old, missed the first 10 games this season with a lower-body injury. But he played the next 13 games, scoring two goals and totaling three points. This is his first healthy scratch of the season.
The veteran forward hasn’t scored a goal in eight games and hasn’t had a shot on goal in his past four.
The other Rangers line combinations are Filip Chytil centering Panarin and Lafreniere, and Trocheck in the middle between Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko.
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