Wolski out as Rangers face Kings
Rangers winger Wojtek Wolski might be asked to report to AHL Whale for conditioning. (Feb. 1, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - With teams behind them closing the playoff gap, the Rangers begin a three-games-in-four-days stretch against the Los Angeles Kings tonight without Wojtek Wolski, one of their more productive players.
Wolski, the left wing acquired from Phoenix for Michal Rozsival, has three goals and seven assists in 15 games but is limited by a pulled rib muscle that is hindering his shooting.
"I don't want to put him in the lineup and have him skate five shifts," coach John Tortorella said.
Kris Newbury, who has played eight games for the Rangers this season with 35 penalty minutes and one assist, was recalled from the AHL Connecticut Whale.
Newbury could be used at center or wing but will not replace Wolski on the power play, where Wolski was manning the point. Mats Zuccarello will be in that spot. Tortorella said that in the last two days of practice, Zuccarello looked more comfortable in that role than before.
On defense, Michael Del Zotto will return to the lineup, replacing Steve Eminger, who played just 4:08 in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Penguins. It will be Eminger's sixth game as a healthy scratch in the past seven.
The lingering question is who will be between the pipes for the Rangers. Martin Biron (8-6, 2.13 GAA) has made nine of his 15 starts on the road and is 3-3 at home. If Biron plays, Henrik Lundqvist presumably would face the Devils in Newark Friday in the second game of the back-to-back and the Eastern Conference-leading Flyers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon. Lundqvist has started all four games against the Devils this season and is 3-1. Tortorella will reveal his choice this morning.
The Rangers (30-24-4 and 13-12-3 at home) are in seventh place in the East; the Kings were 31-22-3 before their game against the Blue Jackets last night.
Boogaard feeling better. Derek Boogaard, out with a concussion since Dec. 9 after a fight with the Penguins' Derek Engelland, told Newsday Wednesday that he "felt better than in a long time" and had begun light workouts. "There's finally light at the end of the tunnel," he said. Boogaard, who has seen several specialists, does not have a timeline to return, however. "It was scary for awhile," he said. "When you have an injury that you can see, you know it's going to be a couple weeks or whatever, but with this you didn't know."
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