The New York Rangers head into the third week in January with two very winnable contests against the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They’ll need to win without two key players though.
Head coach Gerard Gallant announced that forwards, Julien Gauthier and Chris Kreider will be out for Sunday’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens. Early Sunday morning the Rangers announced that Gauthier will be placed on IR with an upper-body injury. Kreider on the other hand exited Tuesday’s 4-3 win over Minnesota with an upper-body injury of his own and has not played since.
Gauthier sustained his injury in New York’s 2-1 comeback win over Dallas when teammate Sammy Blais collided with the 25-year-old. Blais later returned to the ice but Gauthier did not return and now will be out for the foreseeable future.
While freshly called-up Ryan Carpenter is not expected to see ice time on Sunday, he provides an extra forward for the Rangers as they unveil a newly acquired offensive target.
Former Vegas forward Jake Leschyshyn was claimed by the team back on Wednesday and is expected to make his Rangers debut against the Canadiens. Leschyshyn has not recorded a point this season but recorded six points for the Golden Knights last season.
A stomach bug has been going through the team as well, but Gallant later announced that there will be no roster changes for those that are currently battling it. Carpenter seemingly was called up as insurance in case one of the sick players was unable to go Sunday as well.
New York will look to record their third straight win, or extend their point streak to eight games against the Canadiens.
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