Matt Hunwick gets his shot with the Rangers

You can't play in the NHL without heart and skill. You can play without a spleen. Matt Hunwick does.

Hunwick, whose role as a Rangers defenseman will increase as John Moore sits out his five-game suspension, had his ruptured spleen removed while playing for the Bruins in April 2009 after a collision in Game 1 of a playoff series against Montreal.

On Saturday night, Hunwick, 29, started the 300th game of his NHL career and eighth for the Rangers after being drafted in the seventh round by the Bruins in 2004 and signed to a one-year contract by the Blueshirts in July.

"He's played well for us," coach Alain Vigneault said. "He's the defenseman in training camp who came out of there in our seventh slot, and now because of our injury and suspension situation, he's going to be asked to play more minutes. Players always want more minutes and ask for more responsibility, and he's going to get a chance to show what he can do."

Against the Wild on Monday, Hunwick had two assists, his first points as a Ranger. With Moore sitting in the press box, he could see some time on the second power play.

"I'm a little more comfortable here, but I have to keep earning the minutes from the coaches," Hunwick said.

Hitting the scoresheet builds confidence, "but the things that stick with me are the goals against," he said, recalling his recent failure to box out on a goal when his man was leaving the corner. "Simple play, got to make it."

Hunwick, who grew up in Warren, Michigan, captained the University of Michigan in 2006-07 and graduated with a degree in economics. Boston traaded him to Colorado for a prospect in November 2010 to free up cap space. Hunwick occasionally played 20-plus minutes a night for the Avalanche.

On the third pair here, Hunwick isn't expected to play that many minutes, but he has shown his smarts. On Oct. 19, he was awarded the Broadway Hat because of a quick defensive play, jumping in to sweep the puck off the goal line behind Henrik Lundqvist, a play that changed the dynamic of the first period against the Sharks.

In 299 games, Hunwick, listed at 5-11, 190, had 16 goals and 53 assists. His last goal, oddly enough, came against the Rangers on March 17, 2012.

And that was without his spleen.

Ye'r out

Nov. 2, 1998 In retaliation for a cross-check, David Shaw slashed Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux's throat and chest and was banned for 12 games.

May 23, 2014 Dan Carcillo was banned 10 games for abuse of an official when he pushed linesman Steve Driscoll during the Eastern Conference finals. The suspension was reduced to six games after an appeal.

April 16, 2012 Carl Hagelin was tossed for three games for elbowing Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson in the head during the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

April 26, 2009 Coach John Tortorella was suspended for a game after throwing a water bottle and brandishing a stick at a Washington Capitals fan during Game 5 of a first-round series.

Stepan's adopted Olympic puppy

Remember when David Backes of the St. Louis Blues helped rescue some stray puppies from the streets of Sochi during the Winter Olympics?

Well, one of them -- Jake -- is thriving in the New York apartment of Team USA teammate Derek Stepan and his wife, Stephanie.

"He's about a year old, we think," said Stepan, who this summer adopted the tan "purebred mutt," as Stepan described him, from Backes, who arranged to have two pups (the other was nicknamed Sochi Junior) brought back to the U.S. Backes and his wife, Kelly, already have four rescued dogs.

"They were brought back to St. Louis, were quarantined for a month, and when he got all his shots, Stephanie went to get him," said Stepan, who described Jake as "about 50 pounds. He's kind of a scaredy-cat, doesn't like to be touched yet. When Mac [Ryan McDonagh] has come over a few times, he kind of growls low, but he wouldn't bite anyone."

Teammate Chris Kreider, who learned Russian at Boston College, tried to speak a couple of words in Russian to Jake, Stepan recalled, but the dog didn't respond. Said Kreider, "Guess I'm not a dog whisperer."

Glass heater for Winnipeg

If Winnipeg, often cited as one of the coldest cities in North America, wants a climate change, maybe it should re-acquire Tanner Glass. When Glass was a Jet in 2010-11, the native of Regina, Saskatchewan, played 78 games and had five goals and 16 points. "It was a lot of fun for me, the first year for the Jets. Had a lot of family at the games," he said. "It was a year in my career where I really felt like I had a lot of responsibility with the team."

It also was, Glass recalled, "one of the warmest years" in the city, which has an average temperature of 10 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter months. Since he's left, the winters have been brutal.

Zuccarello makes it light

No player has more fun at practice than Mats Zuccarello. On Friday, Derek Stepan was at center ice doing stickhandling drills using an orange cone that Zuccarello shot pucks at until he knocked it away. Then he slid pucks 180 feet through traffic toward the goal that Cam Talbot was guarding. Finally, when he scored one-on-one against Henrik Lundqvist, he skated away and joyously jammed his stick like a sword into an imaginary sheath at his hip.