Mika an All-Star (sort of), Goodrow, Hunt healthy

The New York Rangers continue their mini-break after their long road trip.  They got  some good news when it was announced that Mika Zibanejad had been voted onto the All-Star team, Barclay Goodrow was off the COVID protocol list and Dryden Hunt was off Injured Reserve.   Although he was voted onto the team, Zibanejad will not go to the game for personal reasons.

Zibanejad an All-Star

Adam Fox and Chris Kreider had both been named to the Metropolitan Division All-Star team and there was one more possible addition because of the “2022 NHL All-Star Last Men In” contest. One player from each team in the league was named as a possible All-Star and Mika Zibanejad was the Rangers’ candidate.

That last selection was to be made by the fans and Ranger fans must have turned out in force, as Zibanejad was selected over Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov, Columbus’ Jakub Voracek, New Jersey’s  Jesper Bratt, Philadelphia’s Cam Atkinson and Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov.

The other’s selected by fans were Tampa’s Steven Stamkos from the Atlantic Division, Colorado’s Nazem Kadri and Anaheim’s Troy Terry.   Because Zibanejad cannot go, he is being replaced by Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel who finished second in the voting.

With those picks, the Lightning, Avalanche and Ducks are the only teams with three representatives on the teams of 12 players each.   The Rangers would have had three if Zibanejad had been able to play.

Goodrow back

The Rangers are getting healthy with the word that Barclay Goodrow is off the COVID protocol.  He was put on the list on January 10 and missed the last three games of the road trip.  That leaves only Alexis Lafrenière as the sole Ranger out on the COVID protocol.

The Rangers also got some good news with Dryden Hunt off Injured Reserve.  He had been hurt in the Rangers’ 5-1 loss to Vegas on January 6.  He suffered an upper body injury and missed the last four games of the road trip.

Will they play against Toronto? After practice on Tuesday, Coach Gerard Gallant said “They should be fine…they both skated today, I don’t see any issues with them. We’ll make a decision tomorrow.”

When asked if any of the call-ups had won a job in the lineup, Gallant was noncommittal. “They’re tough decisions, but they’re common sense decisions…they’ve all played well, they’ve all done a good job.  It makes it tougher.  I’ll make my decision based on our team going forward…if those guys are ready to come in, they’re probably going to play. ”

At any rate, Jonny Brodzinski and Tim Gettinger are headed back to Hartford.

That leaves either Greg McKegg or Morgan Barron the odd man out as they still need one of them to play even with Hunt and Goodrow back.