Next Man-Up
It is no secret that the New York Rangers are playing hurt right now with Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil, Barclay Goodrow, Ryan Lindgren and Tyler Motte all battered and bruised.
There will likely be others too.
This is postseason hockey, after all, and all three teams left standing will have a plethora of players badly beaten up and playing through the pain barrier with the tantalizing thought of lifting the Stanley Cup the only thing getting them through.
It is common this time of year for players to be banged up to the extreme, and we’ll know the full extent of just how bad some of those injuries really are once a champion is crowned.
However, because every team is in the same boat, the Rangers will need to get on with it, put on their big boy pants and adopt a next man-up mentality that is so often needed in the postseason.
If Strome and Chytil can’t play then the likes of Goodrow and Andrew Copp will need to step up to replace that kind of offensive production, while Kevin Rooney will have to win draws and play a real hard-nosed game in a fourth-line role.
Tampa’s missing players too, most notably center Brayden Point who has been ruled out for Game Five, so the Rangers will need others to step up and get the job done knowing full well the glittering prize on offer at the end of this grueling journey.