Jacob Trouba out 2-3 weeks with lower-body injury for Rangers
After adding three players to their roster ahead of the NHL trade deadline, the New York Rangers must subtract captain Jacob Trouba for the next 2-3 weeks because of a lower-body injury.
Concern arose when Trouba missed the past two practices after the Rangers were off the previous two days this week. General manager Chris Drury confirmed the injury and timeline Friday, and said Trouba will not need to be placed on injured reserve.
Trouba logged 19:43 in ice time in a 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday. That’s two minutes fewer than the 21:46 he’s averaged in 60 games this season. He had four blocked shots Monday and didn’t play the final 5:03 of the game.
Related: Rangers acquire Jack Roslovic in final minutes before trade deadline
Rangers will be without injured Jacob Trouba for 2-3 weeks
The 30-year-old defenseman has been healthy all season. The only two games he’s missed up until now were because of a suspension for elbowing in late January. Zac Jones capably stepped into the lineup to replace Trouba in those two games, a pair of wins that started a season-high 10-game winning streak.
They have options to replace Trouba this time around. The Rangers acquired veteran defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier on Friday. The 2017 Stanley Cup champion is a stay-at-home right-shot defenseman and could easily slot into the lineup.
However, Jones has been New York’s seventh defenseman all season. He has five points (one goal, four assists) in 17 games.
The Rangers, who’ve lost three of four (1-2-1) since that 10-game win streak, host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday to kick off a three-games-in-four-nights stretch. So, there’s a chance both Ruhwedel and Jones will get game action.
Along with Ruhwedel, the Rangers acquired center Alex Wennberg and forward Jack Roslovic before the trade deadline. Wennberg has practiced twice already with his new team and Roslovic is expected to arrive in time from the Columbus Blue Jackets to be available Saturday.
Trouba leads the Rangers with 170 blocked shots this season and is second with 165 hits. He also has 22 points (three goals, 19 assists).
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