Rangers' Mika Zibanejad scratched from Thursday night's game will illness
Rangers center Mika Zibanejad and left wing Chris Kreider look on in the third period of an NHL game against the Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 2. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
ST. LOUIS – Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba, who had missed practice on Tuesday and Wednesday for personal reasons, made the trip to St. Louis and played in Thursday night's game against the Blues.
However, first-line center Mika Zibanejad, who missed Wednesday’s practice due to illness, was a last-minute scratch.
Zibanejad took part in the optional morning skate and was supposed to play, according to coach Peter Laviolette. He went on the ice for pre-game warmups, but did not take rushes with his linemates and left the ice.
Defenseman Zac Jones, the only healthy extra player on the roster, was inserted into the lineup in place of Zibanejad, meaning the Rangers had to go with an 11-forward, seven-defenseman alignment.
Right wing Kaapo Kakko, who had practiced fully on Wednesday after shedding his no-contact jersey, remained out with the lower-body injury that has kept him out since Nov. 27.
“We’ll just go slow with him,’’ Laviolette said of Kakko. The coach refused to answer whether Kakko might be activated for the second game of the trip, Saturday in Washington against the Capitals.
Trouba’s status for the game had been in question before the Rangers left for the trip. His wife is pregnant and the team recalled defenseman Matthew Robertson from AHL Hartford Wednesday. When Trouba made the trip, Robertson was returned to Hartford after the morning skate.
Pitlick skates with team
Forward Tyler Pitlick, who has been out a week with a lower-body injury, traveled with the team and took part in the optional morning skate, wearing a red, no-contact jersey. It was the first time he has skated with the team since he was injured.
“Great to have him on the trip, and back on the ice,’’ Laviolette said.
Leschyshyn in lineup
Center Jake Leschyshyn, who was called up from Hartford Wednesday to replace Brennan Othmann, who’d been returned to Hartford after a three-game stint with the parent club, was slated to play Thursday, centering a line between Nick Bonino on the left and Jonny Brodzinski on the right.
Leschyshyn, who missed nearly two months with an injury and had just returned to the Hartford lineup after Christmas, scored two goals last Saturday in Hartford’s win over Hershey, and said his call-up came at a time when he had been playing well.
“Every game since I've been back I felt like I've played better,’’ he said. “And so I feel like I'm trending in the right direction in that sense, and I'm happy with where my game’s at.’’
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.
