Rangers' Jacob Trouba returns to lineup in St. Louis
Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba sets before a face off against the Washington Capitals in the first period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
ST. LOUIS – Jacob Trouba was back in the lineup Thursday when the Rangers visited the Blues at Enterprise Center despite having left Wednesday’s 6-3 victory over the Lightning at the Garden late in the first period after he was tripped and fell face-first onto the ice.
“Yeah, he's playing,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of Trouba before the game, making no big deal of the situation.
However, Patrick Kane, who sat out Wednesday’s game with a lower-body injury, missed his second straight game, forcing the Rangers to once again dress a lineup that featured 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Gallant said Kane sitting out both ends of the back-to-back was “precautionary, more than anything.’’
The Rangers do not enough salary cap room to call up a replacement player for Kane if he is unable to play for an extended period.
Tarasenko, Mikkola return to St. Louis
Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola made their return to St. Louis for the first time since the Feb. 9 trade that sent them to the Rangers in exchange for forward Sammy Blais, a conditional first-round draft pick, a third-rounder and minor-league defenseman Hunter Skinner.
Tarasenko, who played 10-and-a-half seasons with the Blues, won a Stanley Cup with St. Louis in 2019, and remains a beloved figure in the city, reportedly made a large donation to the Children’s Hospital at Washington University in St. Louis.
“He came in here as a young guy and was a great scorer for a long time,’’ Blues coach Craig Berube said of Tarasenko. “He won a Stanley Cup here -- helped us win a Cup, was a big part of it. He was just a very good player for a long time here.’’
Blue notes
Jaroslav Halak got the start in goal for the Rangers, his 23rd of the season and first since March 31 at Buffalo. He is 9-2-3 in last 14 starts . . . Mika Zibanejad entered Thursday needing one goal to become only the fourth Ranger to have multiple 40-goal seasons with the club . . . Adam Fox joined Brian Leetch as the only Rangers defensemen in club history with consecutive seasons with 70 points. Leetch did it twice.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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