Update: Washington on a gorgeous goal by Evgeni Kuznetsov in the third defeated the Islanders 2-1 to win Game 7. The Capitals and Rangers will meet for the fifth time in seventh years. Start date of the series still TBD.
The Rangers announced today that Mats Zuccarello is out indefinitely with an 'upper-body' injury. That injury occurred when he was hit by a Ryan McDonagh slapshot late in the first period Friday. Today's announcement didn't come as a huge surprise. I think we all were hoping that he would be able to go in Game 1 but his absence doesn't really surprise a lot of us.
Of course, we still don't know what the injury is, as the vagueness of it is par for the course in hockey. The shot looked to hit Zucc in the helmet, not catching his jaw or head directly. But even with the angles seen, it's hard to 100 percent say that what it looks like is the case. If it did hit his head directly, then a concussion may be the least of his concerns, as a subdural hematoma or fracture has to be a possibility.
The benefit of clinching in five and the Isles-Capitals going seven means that Zucc has a few more days to heal. Game 1 may be Thursday with Game 2 Saturday or Sunday. Presuming that is the case, and if Game 2 is Sunday, that would give Zucc nine days between games if per chance he could be able to go Sunday. If Zuccarello does have a concussion, which seems to be the prevailing view as to what the injury is, then all bets are off as to when he could be back.
What I wrote about 36 hours ago is still true now. "Losing Zucc would be huge, as he plays bigger than his size, is not fazed by the moment and a perfect complement to Brass and Nash. In addition, if he is out, that shifts up the lines, with St. Louis likely to move up to the top trio, Fast to play with Hagelin and Hayes and James Sheppard to get back into the lineup with Moore and Glass." Even though it was an optional only practice, it looks like it with be Nash-Brassard-MSL, Kreider-Stepan-Miller, Hagelin-Hayes-Fast and Glass-Moore-Sheppard. Sheppard's size could help against Washington or the Islanders. The Rangers will call up a forward after the Wolf Pack's next game. The could be Ryan Bourque or Oscar Lindberg.
The good news from today is that Kevin Klein, out since March 11 with a fractured left arm suffered when he hit by an Ovi slapshot, is ready to go. In fact, he said that if there as Game 6, he would have been ready to play then. Matt Hunwick has filled in nicely for him but with Klein ready to go, he will be in the lineup. The pairings will be interesting. I expect to see McDonagh-Girardi, Staal-Boyle and Yandle-Klein. That said, you could see some mixing and matching, though I would be reluctant to pair Yandle with Boyle, especially against Washington and the Ovi line.
News broke today that the Bruins have asked to speak with assistant GM Jeff Gorton. As we know, Gorton has a history with the Bruins. If you don't, Ty Anderson summed it up nicely today, which shows just how good he was there in addition to how valuable he had been in NY.
During Gorton’s tenure with the Bruins, he traded Andrew Raycroft to Toronto for then-prospect Tuukka Rask, and was in charge of the 2006 NHL Draft that brought Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic, and Brad Marchand to the Black and Gold. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci were also drafted during Gorton’s tenure with the B’s, albeit with Gorton as an assistant general manager. He was also the general manager when the club signed Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard.
As good as Gord Clark has been, I wanted Gorton, who has worked under GM Glen Sather for nine years, to be the next GM in New York when Sather retires. As I tweeted earlier, my hope is that Sather makes that succession plan formal, so that Gorton doesn't leave. Especially if he is to go somewhere within the division.
Islanders-Capitals set to go for Game 7. Back later with an update. I would love a quadruple overtime game, like what happened in the Patrick Division semifinals back in 1987. Not only because of the physical toll it would take on both teams, but also because of how great the hockey and storyline would be.