New York Rangers Surprised by McDonagh’s Early Return
New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Recap
When Game One of the New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins series started everyone thought the Rangers had the edge in net. This had a ton to do with the fact that Henrik Lundqvist was starting for the Blueshirts and Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins starting goalie, was out with an injury. The Rangers star defenseman and Captain, Ryan McDonagh, was also out of the line-up for game one with a hand injury, but the New York Rangers have won without him before.
Yet, things took a turn for the worse when the stick of Marc Staal came up and through Lundqvist’s mask clipping his eye during the first period of the first game of this series. Lundqvist looked hurt, but completed the first period. Unfortunately, the last play of that first period was a goal by Patric Hornqvist at 19:42 and it wasn’t his last.
The New York Rangers ended up not only losing Lundqvist, but the game too.
On the brighter side of things, Lundqvist returned for Game Two, while Pittsburgh star goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was still sidelined. Yet, McDonagh still was out with no timeline of return. Nonetheless, the Rangers would rebound and win Game Two 4-2, which evens the series up (1-1).
New York Rangers Receive a Pleasant Surprise
On Monday morning, the New York Rangers saw a great sign and informed the fans of some good news. Ryan McDonagh was on the ice skating.
Ryan McDonagh has been out since blocking a shot from Columbus Blue Jacket, Brandon Dubinsky, which led to him missing the final three games of the season and the first two games of the playoffs.
To Alain Vigneault’s surprise, McDonagh practiced with a white jersey Monday. Meaning he had no limits while playing. The players were all surprised to see him on the ice and it added extra energy to the team.
Vigneault has been quoted saying the McDonagh will not play in Game Three, but he also smirked and said, “stranger things have happened.”
If McDonagh is to return to the line-up for Game Three, you would have to expect a few things. One, Brady Skjei or Dylan McIlrath will sit. Who will Alain Vigneault chose? Both looked cool, calm and collective on the ice. Skjei was not afraid to be on the ice with the NHL’s biggest star Sidney Crosby. He also was not afraid to use his body on Crosby.
Second, McDonagh returning will mean the obvious. The New York Rangers top defenseman will be back to log big minutes against either Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. This could be a defining moment in the series.
Last, if McDonagh returns for the Rangers and Fleury doesn’t, you would have to expect the Rangers to gain an edge in the series. If he could shut down the top two players on the Penguins, you would expect Lundqvist to outplay Zatkoff.
However, don’t forget that Fleury and the backup Matt Murray practiced on Monday with the Penguins. Nonetheless, their appearance in Game Three is a game-time decision.
Next: New York Rangers with a Physical Advantage
McDonagh on the ice was definitely a step in the right direction, yet he is still listed as day-to-day. Could he make a surprise appearance in tomorrow’s game? Well, stranger things have happened.