Rangers won't say if Ruslan Fedotenko has concussion
A Rangers' trainer checks on left winger Ruslan Fedotenko who was injured against the Lightning. (Feb. 9, 2012) Credit: AP
PITTSBURGH -- Ruslan Fedotenko, who missed his sixth consecutive game last night, is getting frustrated.
Fedotenko, who was woozy after a blindside hit to the jaw from Tampa's Dominic Moore on Feb. 9, practiced in New York on Monday and skated in the morning optional here at CONSOL Energy Center, but did not dress.
The Rangers have never said Fedotenko sustained a concussion, and the veteran forward specifically avoids using the word. But he has admitted having headaches and being annoyed about sitting around and doing nothing.
"Every day it's getting better but I'm taking it a day at a time and make sure the symptoms are gone," he said Tuesday. "The one thing that's frustrating for me is, to have a broken bone, it's two weeks and that's it, or four weeks. It's something you know how long it will take. [Now] one day is good and one day you don't feel good and it's a setback. You have to make sure it's the right decision. You feel like you can rush back, but if you get hit and you're out for the playoffs, you don't want to do that. It's not my decision. It's talking to the trainers."
So rookie defenseman Stu Bickel was moved up to the fourth line, and spare winger Wojtek Wolski was a healthy scratch again.
"If Feds is healthy, then I'm not sure what happens, but I want [Bickel] with us," coach John Tortorella said, "because I want him to continue working with us."
No retaliation
Pens center Jordan Staal, who missed 15 games with a knee injury because of a check by former Penguin Mike Rupp in a 3-1 loss on Jan. 6, said there would be no recriminations last night: "I know Rupper plays hard. It's just two guys colliding."
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