Sinus pressure bothering Dubinsky
New Jersey Devils' Ryan Carter, right, fights with Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky. (March 6, 2012) Credit: AP
OTTAWA -- His eyes don't have that raccoon look sometimes associated with a broken nose. Brandon Dubinsky's nose is stitched but not busted, and he sat out Thursday night's game against Ottawa with sinus pressure stemming from a few blows absorbed in a fight with the Devils' Ryan Carter on Tuesday night.
"I'm OK. I took it in the nose pretty good," he said after skipping the morning skate. "The issue is the [sinus] pressure. The flight here was OK. It affects me more when I'm sleeping, lying down. [Skating] could potentially be a wind issue. My hand's banged up a little, too, so we decided to take a couple days."
Dubinsky has some stitches on the lower left of his nose and also injured his hand during the first-period fight. The hand kept him out of the rest of the game; then the nasal problem developed.
Dubinsky was using a sinus spray, "trying to clear it all out," and icing the hand. Asked if he knows how he hurt his hand (both players tossed their helmets off), Dubinsky grinned and said, "I don't know. I didn't throw many [punches], I took a lot."
It is unclear whether he will play Friday night in Chicago.
Henrik rested
Henrik Lundqvist, who served as the backup Thursday night, had started 19 straight games against the Senators and is expected to play Friday night against the Blackhawks.
Lundqvist is 4-0-2 against Chicago with a 1.80 goals-against-average and a .940 save percentage. Martin Biron played in the 4-2 loss to the Blackhawks at the Garden Feb. 16.
Blue notes
Defensemen Jeff Woywitka and Steve Eminger also were scratched . . . The Rangers entered the game with a 5-0-3 mark in the first game of back-to-backs on the road . . . The Rangers outshot the Senators 17-7 through two periods but trailed 2-1. John Scott got only four shifts through two periods.
