Rangers coach Gerard Gallant not concerned about Patrick Kane sitting out
Patrick Kane #88 of the Rangers skates during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Patrick Kane sat out the Rangers’ game against the Lightning on Wednesday night, but coach Gerard Gallant sought to downplay any long-term concerns about the star wing.
“Maintenance, lower body, day-to-day,” Gallant said before the game at Madison Square Garden.
Kane did not practice on Tuesday after being given what the coach described at the time as a “maintenance day.”
Asked if this was something that had crept up on Kane, Gallant said, “No.”
Gallant said if this were next week, presumably meaning the start of the playoffs, Kane likely would be dressing.
“We’re being smart with him,” the coach said. The Rangers are all but locked into third place in the Metropolitan Division, with a probable first-round series against the Devils.
Kane did participate in an optional skate on Wednesday morning, after which the decision was made to scratch him.
He joined the Rangers via a trade with Chicago on Feb. 28 and has five goals and five assists in 10 games since then.
Asked whether he is concerned about missing a chance to continue integrating Kane into his new team, Gallant said, “Not worried about it one bit. A lot of teams are [resting players]. Everybody does that this that this time of year. It’s not a big issue.”
With Kane out, the Rangers went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. The latter included Ryan Lindgren, who had missed 17 of the previous 18 games with a shoulder injury. He rejoined Adam Fox on the team’s top defensive pair.
“We took a long time with him, and we wanted to make sure he’s ready to go,” Gallant said.
“Last time, he came back for one game [on March 21] and he wasn’t quite ready, but we feel he’s 100%.”
The Rangers have four regular-season games remaining, starting Thursday night in St. Louis.
Notes & Quotes: Before the game Rod Gilbert’s widow, Judy, presented the second annual Rod Gilbert “Mr. Ranger” Award to captain Jacob Trouba.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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