Rangers News: Long break couldn't have come at a better time
The New York Rangers came fresh off their Western road trip with two of a possible six points. But when the Rangers boarded their plane home there was much more to think about than the four points that were left on the table. Not only were Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky injured during the Calgary game, but before the game it was leaked that Henrik Lundqvist had a nagging groin/hip injury.
Luckily for the Rangers though they don't play another game until Thursday against the Atlanta Thrashers. This gives them a season high four games of rest between games, and it could not have come at a better time. Let's analyse the time tables for those injuries now.
Here is the injury status for all three players as of Saturday November 7th.
Brandon Dubinsky: As you probably know, suffered a broken wrist and would be out for three weeks. Dubinsky is an all around player, which is why his injury is so substantial. Dubinsky plays on the first line, he sees tons of power play time and he also playes on the penalty kill (which is interestingly enough where he obtained this injury).
Chris Drury: Suffered a concussion during the Calgary game and as of the 7th of November will be out for about a week. Chris Drury is also a relatively important forward for the Rangers, seeing second line duty and playing a massive amount of time on the penalty kill. Whether you like Drury or not you can't deny that he has been a force on the penalty kill recently, which as of right now is a big part of the Rangers game.
Henrik Lundqvist: His injury really did come out of left field, and scared alot of people (me included). If you had to chose between Lundqvist going down for an extended period of time and Marian Gaborik going down for an extended period of time (God forbid either happens) I am sure many of you would chose Gaborik. Henrik Lundqvist is the backbone of this team and, at least in my opinion, the most important member of this team. His injury just seems to be a nagging one that needs some rest.
Join me after the jump.
Okay so now let's take a look at how the rest helps the Rangers:
Brandon Dubinsky: Expected to miss around 21 days, which for the Rangers will equate to about 8 games. This is a substantial amount of time but you have to realize that without the long break we could be looking at up to 12 games missed due to injury. Of those 8 games that Dubinsky is expected to miss, two of them are the day before and the day of the three week mark. Maybe is Dubinsky heals quicker than we expect he can be seen a little earlier (obviously).
Chris Drury: His concussion set him aside for about a week. Looking at the schedule the four days of rest help him quite a bit. Drury actually might not even miss a game, if his healing process goes well, but if he does miss some games it will only be one or two.
Henrik Lundqvist: Last played Novemeber 3rd against the Vancouver Canucks. If Lundqvist starts Thursday's game against the Atlanta Thrashers then he would have seen a full 8 days of rest. And since reports have been coming out of practices that Lundqvist is sitting he should be fully over his nagging injury by then.
Hopefully this is the end of the injury bug. Just off the top of my head I can think of many Rangers who have been banged up recently and can really use the rest including Donald Brashear, Chris Higgins, Sean Avery, Ryan Callahan and Marian Gaborik.
Here is some other Rangers news:
As per Steve Zipay Tyler Arnason was suspended by the Hartford Wolfpack. Here are some highlights from the full story:
Arnason, 30, who signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Rangers last summer and was assigned to Hartford on Sept. 17, has been suspended by the club. Have not confirmed the reason or the duration. Chris Chappell has been summoned from Charlotte.
Although Arnason really never had a shot at making the team this is still interesting. The New York Rangers have confirmed that Arnason was suspended because he signed a contract with Dynamo Riga of the KHL while still honoring his contract with the Rangers. Apparently this "Gentleman's" agreement between the KHL and the NHL to not poach other players who are under contract is going nowhere.
As per the fourth period the Florida Panthers are shopping Nathan Horton. I know that a few of you thought that he might be a good pick-up for the Rangers with all of these injuries. I would agree with that I have always liked Horton and he puts up very good numbers for playing on a pretty bad team and he is quite young coming in at 24 years old.
Alright that's all for now. Jim wont be here till Friday so if you need anything you can send me an e-mail at Joe@blueshirtbanter.com. Don't forget you can follow me on twitter @Joe_Fortunato.