Callahan to Miss 3-4 Weeks, Powe Called Up
A broken thumb sidelines the captain and it can't come at a worse time.
Just when things were starting to look up the Rangers have lost their captain Ryan Callahan for 3-4 weeks due to a broken thumb.
The Rangers announced late this afternoon that Callahan suffered a broken thumb in Wednesday night’s 2-0 win at Washington, which snapped the Rangers’ (2-4-0) three-game losing streak. Callahan missed the season’s first game after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder - which he played through most of last season - in May.
Replacing the captain in the lineup will be defensive specialist Darroll Powe who had a very strong preseason. It might come as a surprise to some that the Rangers aren't calling up Chris Kreider with a top-six forward going down with injury but I wouldn't read too much into Kreider not getting the call. I'd expect J.T. Miller to get more significant ice time with Callahan out of the lineup and for Powe to slot into the bottom six.
Obviously this is brutal news for the Rangers after an uplifting 2-0 win over the Capitals last night. The Rangers are now without Ryan Callahan, Carl Hagelin, and Rick Nash for the foreseeable future. Carl Hagelin is not eligible to play until October 29th according to Andrew Gross and Rick Nash's status is a giant question mark at this point. Three of the club's top six forwards are sidelined with injuries.
In five games this season Callahan has three goals, two of which came on the powerplay, and he leads the team in hits and leads all Rangers forwards in blocked shots. It goes without saying that he is going to be seriously missed in the Rangers lineup, especially with Nash and Hagelin still out.
In other Rangers news Cam Tablot has been sent back down to Hartford and Jason Missiaen has been called up to serve as Henrik Lundqvist's backup for Saturday's game against the struggling New Jersey Devils. Missiaen is 6'8" and has never played in an NHL regular season game before. Cam Talbot is expected to start this weekend for the Hartford Wolfpack.
So... thoughts on this news guys and girls? I'm sure we'll have more for you regarding Callahan's injury and the impact it will have on the team tomorrow but I just wanted to get something up to give you guys a place to discuss this gutting development for the Rangers.
Have at in the comments.