The Rangers welcomed back one injured player completely and another one to contact practice Thursday. Their injured rookie remains out while another newbie had his initial cup of coffee end after one game, as he headed back to Hartford. As a result, there will be some moving parts before Friday's game against Columbus.
Chris Kreider, who potentially looked to be sidelined with a significant injury due to the lack of news forthcoming from the Rangers, surprisingly attended practice today. The problem, according to Kreider, was related to the neck spasms that forced him to miss four games earlier in the season. He said the symptoms he was dealing with "ran parallel" with post-concussion symptoms, but after a second opinion "they determined it wasn't that."
The speculation that many of us had about a concussion appeared not to be far off. Fortunately, that proved not to be the case. Kreider also had a cervical / spine exam, which given his return to practice today, did not reveal anything significantly untoward. Kreider praised the Rangers for their handling of the situation, putting his health above having his presence on the ice in game action. Look for Kreider to play with Mike Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello (can we blame him if the Rangers don't score seven goals? 😄).
Josh Jooris ditched his non-contact jersey for practice today. Jooris, who has been out since October 26 and only played in five games this season, likely will need a few practices before he is considered for game action. The problem, at least as of now, is there is no room at the inn for him. As it is, Oscar Lindberg is only in the lineup because Pavel Buchnevich, who remains out with back spasms, is sidelined. Once Buchnevich is back, Lindberg will be scratched. But when Jooris is ready and if Buchnevich is still out, he could replace Lindberg. Though another option remains.
Cristoval (Boo) Nieves, who made his Rangers debut Tuesday, was sent back down to make room for Kreider and preserve additional cap space. New York could have kept him around and scratched Lindberg, but opted not to go that route. If Buchnevich is still out and Jooris comes back but doesn't do much if he gets in for Lindberg, then Nieves could get another shot to fill in on the fourth line.
As a result of CK20 returning and Nieves going down to Hartford, the lines should be:
Michael Grabner remains with Derek Stepan and Rick Nash, as he was Sunday and Tuesday.
Kreider recreates the KZZ line with Zuccarello and Zibanejad
Jimmy Vesey and J.T. Miller are reunited with Kevin Hayes.
Jesper Fast slides back down to the fourth line to play with Brandon Pirri and Oscar Lindberg.