Martin St. Louis appears to injure knee
New York Rangers right wing Martin St. Louis skates ahead of Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Cody Goloubef in the first period at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Martin St. Louis could be the latest Ranger on the shelf.
St. Louis left Sunday night's 2-1 win over the Panthers with what appeared to be a knee injury after he fell awkwardly in a collision with Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and left the game with just over three minutes to play.
The 39-year-old winger, who has 20 goals and 27 assists and has played in every game this season, limped to the bench. During a stoppage, he skated slowly to the trainer's room.
Alain Vigneault said the initial review was that the injury "doesn't seem to be serious, but we'll know more [Monday].''
Close call
The Rangers were fortunate to remain ahead 1-0 during the Panthers' second-period onslaught. At the six-minute mark, Cam Talbot pushed the puck in front, and in a scramble, he had to press his pad against the post to prevent the tying goal. A video review supported the no-goal call. Aaron Ekblad then hit the crossbar with 1:52 left.
PK solid; PP? Not so much
Special teams keep going in opposite directions. The power play was 0-for-2 and is 1-for-21. The penalty-kill was 3-for-3 and is 16-for-17 in the last five games . . . It is the first time since 1971-72 that the Rangers have 95 points in the first 68 games of the season. They lead the NHL in wins with 44 and are 8-0-2 in the last 10 games at the Garden . . . Matt Hunwick's goal was his first game-winner since Nov. 10, 2009, when he played for the Bruins . . . James Sheppard had three hits, two shots and two blocks. He said his goal, which he redirected in from the right post, "was just out of the blue. It was great to hear the fans erupt.'' . . . In a pregame ceremony, Dan Boyle received a bound book chronicling his career, a gold-plated stick and a future vacation to Mexico to commemorate his 1,000th NHL game.
