New York Rangers injury update: Will Cuylle sick, Chris Kreider travels, Adam Fox skates on own
While Chris Drury and the other 31 NHL general managers are working the phones on trade deadline day, it was business as usual at New York Rangers practice on Friday. The Rangers went back to work after a day off, preparing for a huge game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon at Canadian Tire Centre.
The Rangers and Senators are deadlocked for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The teams each have 67 points, though the Senators have one game in hand. Needless to say, it’ll be a huge four-point swing on the line Saturday.
The Rangers deployed their usual lineup at practice on Friday, with a few things to note.
One is Will Cuylle’s absence, which was due to an illness, not trade-related reasons. Coinciding with that is Chris Kreider, who skated in Cuylle’s spot alongside J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad. He was likely just a placeholder, but it was good to see Kreider getting some more reps at practice. He’s been very limited since landing on IR with an upper-body injury, but appears to be working his way up to speed. Kreider has missed six games with his latest injury.
According to coach Peter Laviolette, Kreider remains day to day, though the 33-year-old forward will make the trip to Ottawa with the team. We’ll see what shakes out with Cuylle and if the power forward is able to play Saturday.
Adam Fox remains on IR with an upper-body injury and still is not practicing with the team. He’s missed four games.
“He’s been skating. He’s still on the IR and been skating on his own,” coach Peter Laviolette told reporters.
Related: Rangers trade grades after acquiring Carson Soucy from Canucks
Rangers practice without newest defenseman Carson Soucy, will join team in Ottawa
We’ll have to wait to see where the newest Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy will slot into the lineup. Rather than practicing with the Rangers on Friday in New York, the 30-year-old will join them in Ottawa.
The Rangers acquired Soucy on Thursday night from the Vancouver Canucks for a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
“Big left shot D,” Laviolette said. “He can take down some minutes. A lot of experience. He’s a good defender. It’s a good pickup.”
Laviolette said it’s likely Soucy will make his Rangers debut Saturday, though he didn’t provide any hint as to what pairing he’d be a part of. The coach added he wanted to speak with Soucy and the other defensemen before finalizing any plans for Saturday.
PREGAME UPDATE: Soucy will play, skating on a pair with Zac Jones. Calvin de Haan is a healthy scratch
Zac Jones was taking some reps on the penalty kill in practice, likely serving as a placeholder for Soucy. Also important to note is that Jones was still taking reps on the first power-play unit, an indication he won’t be the defenseman to come out of the lineup if Soucy plays.
The defense pairs without Soucy at practice were as follows:
Urho Vaakanainen – Braden Schneider
It’s possible Vaakanainen will draw out of the lineup for Soucy, who could pair with Schneider on the second unit. Vaakanainen has been serviceable for New York, and has two goals and nine points in 30 games played with the Rangers, while averaging 15:59 TOI. Calvin de Haan is the likely other option to come out of the lineup if Soucy is in.
Also worth noting is that Soucy played for an extended period of time with Will Borgen as a pair with the Seattle Kraken. But Borgen and K’Andre Miller have developed into a very good pair for the Rangers, so splitting them up may not be in New York’s best interest.
Chad Ruhwedel was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Thursday and was the extra defenseman at practice. Right now, the Rangers have eight healthy defensemen (five left-hand shots) on the active roster.
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