Brett Howden Sidelined Three to Four Weeks with an MCL Sprain

The New York Rangers finally provided an injury update on Brett Howden, who left Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers with a reported “knee sprain”. Howden underwent an MRI yesterday to determine a more definite timeline, and the results aren’t too promising. Howden will miss the next three to four weeks, which means he will be out of commission until the end of February at the very least.

Prior to his injury, Howden’s production has been on a steady decline as he’s recorded a mere five points in his last 31 games. The timing of the injury couldn’t have been worse either, with David Quinn finally bumping Howden up to the third line in an attempt to jump-start the 20-year-old on Tuesday night. Howden only logged 4:43 of ice time before exiting down the tunnel to the locker late in the first period.

With the Rangers finally having some clarification on Howden’s injury, we’ll see if they decide to make a recall from Hartford to replace Howden in the lineup. Lias Andersson would be the obvious choice given that the Rangers are now short a center. The Rangers also need a spot for Mats Zuccarello, and potentially Pavel Buchnevich, who could both return tonight against the New Jersey Devils. We’ll have a much clearer picture on the Rangers’ lineup come warmups tonight at 6:30 pm.