Rangers get early start to Christmas break after postponements
Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko of the Rangers try to keep the puck frpm William Karlsson of the Golden Knights during the second period at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The decision by the NHL to halt games between Canadian and U.S.-based teams for the moment means the Rangers will start their Christmas break early. After practices Monday and Tuesday, they will report to their practice facility next Monday for their morning skate in preparation for their home game that night against the Detroit Red Wings.
A decision was made later on Monday to pause all NHL activities starting Wednesday through Sunday afternoon.
"It turned out we kind of get a longer break,’’ defenseman Jacob Trouba said after Monday’s practice. "You don’t really have all the answers. It’s pretty rapidly, rapidly changing. So just kind of be ready, be prepared for whatever they throw at us.’’
The Rangers’ game Wednesday against Montreal at Madison Square Garden will be made up at a later date. The Blueshirts already had two games postponed — a Nov. 20 visit to Ottawa and a Nov. 28 home game against the Islanders, which has been rescheduled for March 17.
"It’s part of the business right now until COVID’s out of our lives,’’ coach Gerard Gallant said. "You’ve got to adjust and do the things you can do. So take it one day at a time, and if the game’s canceled, well, the game’s canceled. That’s fine. We’ll play it at another time, hopefully.’’
With the recent rise in positive tests around the league and the number of postponed games, the players’ participation in the Olympics has been a topic of much discussion. Several players around the league have expressed concern about the risks of going to the Olympics, where a positive test could mean being forced to quarantine in China.
Neither Trouba, a candidate to make the U.S. Olympic team, nor Mika Zibanejad, who has been named to the Swedish team, seemed to want to say too much about their potential participation in the Olympic tournament.
"I feel like there’s been a lot of uncertainties, a lot of unknowns,’’ Zibanejad said. "Obviously, the Olympics is a big thing for any type of athlete to go to. And for me, it would have been my first, and something I’ve been looking forward to for some time now. And it’s hard to kind of express it in the right way when we really don’t have all the facts.’’
Said Trouba, "I think we’ll make a decision on it here in the next couple of days, but it’s definitely a hard call. What happens if you were to test positive [while in China]? What kind of protocols will be in that situation?
"So that’s definitely a risk. And then there’s also the other side of, players dream of playing in the Olympics their whole life, and it’s a decision guys are going to have to make if it comes to that. And if it doesn’t, then somebody will make the decision for us, I guess.’’
Panarin practices. Artemi Panarin, who missed Friday’s game against Vegas with a lower-body injury, participated fully in practice but linemate Ryan Strome did not. The Rangers said Strome missed practice because of "maintenance.’’
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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