Welcome to the injury ward. Mika Zibanejad (broken left fibula) and Pavel Buchnevich (back, see more below) already were down and out for several more weeks. In Tuesday's loss to the Islanders, Rick Nash (groin, expected to miss approximately one week) and Matt Puempel (concussion, IR) joined them on the sidelines. For good measure, Jimmy Vesey did not skate at Wednesday’s practice while nursing an undisclosed upper-body injury (which The Post has learned is unrelated to a slash he took on the forearm Tuesday against the Islanders) and is questionable for the upcoming back-to-back, two-game swing through Winnipeg and Chicago that commences Thursday against the Jets. To fill Puempel's roster spot, Nicklas Jensen was promoted Tuesday, joining his Hartford teammate, Marek Hrivik on the parent squad.

Due to all the injuries, several players have to step up - such as Kreider and Stepan - while others, besides Jensen and Hrivik, get a chance to provide they should stay and play. One main individual, who falls under that header, is Oscar Lindberg. The Swedish center burst on the scene last year with seven goals in his first 13 games as a rookie. Subsequent to that hot start, he faded, resulting in him drawing pine time as a healthy scratch for 11 of his last 13 contests.

As Larry Brooks noted, Lindberg needed surgery to repair a hip injury after the season, which forced him to miss training camp. Since returning, Lindberg has played in just 12 games, and was a scratch in four of eight leading into Tuesday’s match in Brooklyn, recording one point (an assist) in 9:35 per game of mostly fourth-line duty. But due to all the injuries, Lindberg saw increased ice time, skating for 15:03, which resulted in maybe his best game of the season. With four forwards definitely out and one more possibly sidelined, Lindberg gets another lease on life, he needs to make the most of it or be relegated to press box status.

Our favorite, sarcasm dripping based on how frequently has been mentioned, Adam Clendening could get the call to rejoin the Rangers lineup Thursday night in Winnipeg. If that happens, it will be to provide a power-play right-shot counterpoint to lefty Brandon Pirri, who has one power play point his last 20 games, rather than to provide relief on defense. Pirri has been a lot streakier than I even expected. If he isn't getting his shot on net or producing offensively, his value is almost nil, even though defensively he has been slightly better than expected.

Clendening could dress as a seventh d-man/power play specialist. That would mean New York goes with 11 forwards and mixes in Clendening on the blue line. Part of the danger with that is Thursday's game is part of a back-to-back, so Friday's game could become concerning, especially if AV goes with the same forwards as Thursday. In addition, Kevin Klein should be benched but won't be, so that leaves Clendening in an odd space and who knows what his usage will be.

The lineup for Thursday — which might include Jensen — is unclear. Vigneault said he would use Lindberg in the middle against the Jets, likely on the third line, possibly with Grabner and Fast. Because of all the injuries and uncertainty over Vesey and Clendening, the lines are a major question but could be:

Kreider-Stepan-Vesey
Miller-Hayes-Zucc
Grabner-Lindberg-Fast
Jensen-Pirri-Hrivik

If no Vesey, move Zucc to top line, Grabner to second line and one of the fourth liners up a line. Play 11 forwards and use Clendening as 7th d-man/PP specialist.

If Vesey plays, it's possible one of the fourth liners sits and the alignment is as the prior sentence. If not, sit Klein and play Clendening.

Antti Raanta (5-1, .931, 2.20) will get the start against the Jets while Henrik Lundqvist (12-8-1, .912, 2.55) backs him up. As I wrote yesterday, if Raanta pays well, I would have him in net for Friday’s game in Chicago. Lundqvist needs to work with Benoit Allaire to iron out his difficulties, including positioning and improved focus when on the ice.

As Brooks noted today, Buchnevich’s timetable for a return is at a standstill. He is back on an off-ice condition program to strengthen his core. Buchnevich, who skated on his own Monday, was diagnosed with a protruding disc at the start of his rehab program. Finding this info out helps frame the reason why he has been sidelined so long and the original report of back spasms was off. The protruding disc could have caused spasms and to me it also remains to be seen if time and core strengthening will be sufficient to deal with the disc injury or if surgery will be necessary. If the disc is pressing on a nerve, then surgery will be required, likely ending Buchnevich'a season.

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