Well, here’s one way the Rangers are filling the void left by concussed captain Ryan McDonagh — with anger.
The organization is furious at the NHL for not leveling some form of supplemental discipline at Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds in response to his sucker punch that concussed McDonagh during the Blueshirts’ 3-2 shootout win in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.
Simmonds was hit with a game misconduct for his punch — precipitated by a cross-check to the head from McDonagh — and on his way off the ice, he broke his stick and tossed it in the direction of the referees. Yet Simmonds skated with his team Sunday in a 3-2 loss to the Capitals, and no form of further discipline is coming.
That infuriated the Rangers, and head coach Alain Vigneault voiced that opinion Monday morning before a Garden match against the Devils.
“We had a feeling that [McDonagh] had a concussion, we weren’t 100 percent sure, he had some symptoms,” Vigneault said. “What I didn’t expect was the reaction from the league. All-Star player gets sucker-punched, goes down — I wonder if that’s [Sidney] Crosby, what happens? What are the consequences?
“You know, on top of that, their player breaks his stick, throws it at the referee. In the rulebook, that’s automatic, it’s three games. And nothing happens,” Vigneault added, referring to Rule 40.4, which necessitates at least a three-game suspension for throwing equipment in the direction of the officials with the intent to injure. Rule 39.5, Section 6, stipulates if the equipment doesn’t come close to hitting an official, a game misconduct is the ruling — but that’s semantics.
“It’s not even on the [score] sheet after the game,” Vigneault said. “And the referee came to me, because I said, ‘Am I getting a power play here?’ And he said, ‘No, no, he’s getting a game misconduct for throwing his stick at us.’ And it’s not on the sheet. So, I think maybe you guys [the media] should call the league and find out what happened, because obviously we’re getting different answers.”
The league does not and cannot defend all non-decisions regarding supplementary discipline, and the Flyers surely don’t think any of this is warranted. In fact, they initially argued McDonagh might have been embellishing the hit when it happened, to which Vigneault had another curt reply.
“Yeah, well, tell them to go see him at his house today,” Vigneault said.
Without McDonagh, Vigneault will be forced to play four right-handed defensemen on Monday, with the plan being that they would rotate playing the left side depending on the game situation. A left-handed call-up from AHL Hartford — either Brady Skjei or Chris Summers — is likely to happen later in the week.
But there is no filling the hole left by McDonagh, who had begun to see his game round into form in the past month after a slow start to the season.
“It’s one of those things when you’re missing a guy like Mac, what he brings to the team in every aspect of the game, and off the ice, it’s big shoes to fill,” said defenseman Keith Yandle, who played a season-high 27:33 against the Flyers after McDonagh went down. “But it can’t just be one or two guys, it has to be the whole group. Not even just the ‘D.’ It has to be forwards helping us and try to fill that void a little bit.”
Vigneault hadn’t spoken to McDonagh on Monday, only texted with him, so there is no prognosis on how long he’s going to be out. But with the standings in the Eastern Conference incredibly tight, any prolonged downturn from the team could be very costly.
“We’re going to have to take this day-by-day,” Vigneault said. “It’s an opportunity for some guys right now to get a little bit more ice time, step up and play well for us — and we’re going to need that. You don’t just replace one of your top players. You need a group of guys to come in and give you a little bit more, and that’s what we’re going to get.”
Forward Rick Nash missed his sixth straight game with a bone bruise in his left leg, and is unlikely to play Wednesday night against the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
The good news is that after three days off the ice, Nash came to the rink on Monday and said he was “feeling a lot better,” according to Vigneault. Yet the coach said they “might give him another day or two more” of rest and healing, as the injury hasn’t progressed as fast as they thought it would.
Backup goalie Antti Raanta has played in one game since Dec. 30, as No. 1 netminder Henrik Lundqvist started his 22nd game of the previous 23 on Monday night.
Yet Vigneault said that trend might change, as the club still has six back-to-back games remaining on the schedule. Vigneault said Raanta “will play about a game a week” from here on out.