There was no specific timetable given by Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, but it was clear his ailing team just got even more shorthanded.
The Blueshirts lost forwards Rick Nash and Matt Puempel to injuries during their 4-2 defeat to the Islanders on Tuesday night at Barclays Center, and Vigneault had little idea about what his team might look like when they take the ice for their next game, Thursday at Winnipeg.
The coach said Nash “tweaked his groin” early in the second period, finishing a nine-second shift 6:38 into the period before going off and not returning.
“I’ll know more [Wednesday],” Vigneault said.
Puempel took a reckless stick to the face from Isles forward Brock Nelson at 13:17 of the first period, and after being down on the ice for a long time, he left the game and did not return.
“He’s a concussion, so he has to go through the standard protocol,” Vigneault said.
As for the slim chance Nelson’s shot might get him a look from the NHL’s department of player safety, Vigneault didn’t want to make any declaration — but it was clear where he stood.
“I’ll let the league do what they have to do on those things,” Vigneault said.
Speedy winger Michael Grabner, the Rangers’ leading scorer, missed the game to head to his native Austria after the death of his grandmother. He is expected to meet the team in Winnipeg.
“That’s part of the game. You don’t have all your players every game,” Vigneault said. “We’re missing a couple of our key elements, that’s part of the NHL. We have to find a way tonight to get a good game on the ice.”
Taking Granber’s spot in the lineup was recent call-up Marek Hrivik, who started as the center of a “fourth line” with Brandon Pirri and Puempel.
Hrivik, 25, made his NHL debut last season playing five games for the Rangers. The Slovakian had been leading AHL Hartford through 20 games with eight goals and 17 points. He finished Tuesday’s game a minus-1 over 10:07 of ice time, with two shots on net.
“Our scouts are telling us that [Hrivik] has been playing real well at Hartford,” Vigneault had said, “and we feel that it’s time to give him a look and see what he can do at this level.”
The Rangers also were without two top-six forwards, Mika Zibanejad (broken fibula) and Pavel Buchnevich (back).
Zibanejad will be out about another month, while Buchnevich continued the rehab program that is supposed to strengthen his core and help reduce the possibility of back spasms, which has kept him out since the Nov. 12 game in Calgary. The 21-year-old Russian winger finally got back on the ice by himself after Monday’s practice, and Vigneault had not heard anything different as of Tuesday afternoon, so assumed all was going according to plan.
“We’re probably in that 2-3 week range right now,” Vigneault said as far as his return.
The Islanders played without top-four defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who was feeling under the weather with flu-like symptoms. Scott Mayfield, an emergency call-up earlier in the day, came in a scored the game’s first goal.