Blues at Rangers

[IE]

Blues ? The Blues have won four straight. Last season, they had two five-game winning streaks and a seven-game streak. ? The Blues have lost just once, in overtime in 2006-07, in their past eight games at Madison Square Garden. They?ve won three straight there. ? In four road games this season, the Blues have scored 10 goals, half of them coming on the power play. ? Alex Pietrangelo is sixth in the NHL in average ice time, playing an average of 26 minutes, 26 seconds. ? Vladimir Tarasenko is plus-8 so far, which ties him for 10th in the league.

Rangers ? New York, which beat the Blues in the season opener at Scottrade Center, has lost two of its past three but has won four of its past six. ... Rick Nash had two goals and an assist in that game and is second in the NHL in goals scored with nine. He?s also seventh in the league in shooting percentage, scoring on 29 percent of his shots. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has two shutouts in nine games this season. ? The Rangers have scored just two power-play goals this season in 28 tries (7.1 percent). Only two teams, Minnesota and Buffalo, are worse. They are 0 for 17 on the power play at home. ? The Rangers are 2-0-1 against the Central Division, with wins over the Blues and Wild and a shootout loss to Winnipeg.

Injuries ? Blues ? C Paul Stastny (shoulder), questionable; RW T.J. Oshie (concussion), out. Rangers ? D Ryan McDonagh (shoulder), D Dan Boyle (hand) and C Derek Stepan (fibula), out.

 

[IE]

The crisis that could have sunk the New York Rangers didn't sink them Saturday night.

But where do they go from here?

The Rangers got through their game against the Winnipeg Jets despite playing most of it with only four healthy defensemen -- and with four of their top defensemen missing. They got through the game, and they even got a point, losing 1-0 to the Jets in a shootout in what Rangers coach Alain Vigneault called one of their best games of the season.

But what now, with a team already thin on defense just beginning a stretch of 15 games in 29 days?

Worse yet, the latest and seemingly most serious Rangers injury is to Ryan McDonagh, the captain and the team's top defenseman. McDonagh suffered a separated left shoulder on a hit from Winnipeg's Evander Kane midway through the first period.

It's not yet clear exactly how much time McDonagh will miss -- he's scheduled for an MRI exam Sunday -- but it is worth noting he missed five games last April when he separated the same shoulder.

It's also not clear how seriously Kevin Klein is hurt. Klein left after just two shifts with what the Rangers termed a foot contusion, and Vigneault said Klein will also have an MRI on Sunday.

The Rangers will no doubt make a roster move or two before Monday night's game against the St. Louis Blues. They'll no doubt continue to explore the trade market, with one report already having them interested in Andrej Sekera of the Carolina Hurricanes.

None of that was going to help Saturday. What the Rangers needed -- and got -- was nearly 35 minutes from Dan Girardi, almost 30 minutes from Marc Staal, and more minutes than they ever expected to give Matt Hunwick (27:58) and Michael Kostka (21:56).

With only four defensemen available for the final 48 minutes of regulation, plus five minutes of overtime, they really had no choice.

"I've never been part of something like that," Girardi said, referring to losing two defensemen so early in a game. "All four of us had hard minutes out there, and I thought we had a pretty solid game."

They did, although Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice noted his team was playing for the fifth time in nine days while the Rangers had five days between games.

Still, the Rangers played well, outshooting the Jets 38-25 and deserving more than the one point they got. As tough as it was to lose two defensemen early, the Rangers basically got away with it.

The much bigger question is, where do they go from here -- something that's hard to answer until they know a little more about how long McDonagh and Klein will be out. Dan Boyle is not yet ready to return from a hand injury suffered in the season opener, and John Moore still has four more games to serve on his five-game suspension.

"I think every time you have injuries -- and they will come, it's a physical game -- it's an opportunity for other guys to step up," said goalie Henrik Lundqvist. "We have a lot of good players here. They're ready to take on that challenge. I think all of us have to help out. All of us have to step up."

Lundqvist was one of those who stepped up Saturday, and he got credit for his second shutout of the season and the 52nd of his NHL career. The four remaining defensemen all stepped up, from Girardi playing all those minutes to Kostka contributing after sitting out five consecutive games as a healthy scratch.

"Our guys buckled down," Vigneault said. "We played one of our best games of the year."

What they didn't do was score a goal -- although, as Vigneault noted, it wasn't for a lack of good scoring chances. But the Rangers were shut out for the first time this season, and they were again shut out on the power play, this time going 0-for-5.

The power play is a continuing and serious issue for this team. The Rangers have just two power play goals all season in 28 opportunities, making them statistically one of the worst power play teams in the league (only the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild went into Saturday with fewer power play goals).

"It needs to produce," Vigneault admitted.

The Rangers need to figure that out, but first they need to figure out their ailing defense. They made it through Saturday with only four healthy defensemen, and it's to their credit that they never gave up a goal and fully earned a point.

But where do they go from here?

 

[Snafu]

starting goalies:

NYR - Cameron Talbot
StL - Brian Elliott


:0corn