Rangers Announce Zuccarello Is Out Indefinitely With An "Upper-Body Injury"

Well, that’s playoff hockey for you. Never get too high & never get too low. Just when the Blueshirts finished off a quick five game series & were looking forward to getting stud blueliner Kevin Klein back in the lineup for the rest of their Cup run, they lose Mats Zuccarello “indefinitely”. I alluded to this on Twitter this morning because, for some reason, a couple of people decided to message me info on his injury. Clearly they’re right so far – and if they’re as plugged in as they say, there’s a decent chance Zucc is out for most/all of the post-season. This is a devastating blow to this team for more than just talent reasons. The feisty little bastard is a spark plug. The Rangers might be able to shuffle some players around & make up for his statistical contributions, but there’s simply no replacing his tenacity on the ice. An already ailing power play will have an even tougher shot at finding success without his play-making ability. There’s simply no positive spin when your second most-valuable winger goes down.
The playoffs don’t end though. If we’ve learned anything from this Rangers season, it’s that they’ve thrived in next-man-up situations. They finished with the league’s best record despite losing Lundqvist for two months. They closed the season strong and disposed of Crosby & Malkin in 5 games without one of their best defenders. AV’s squad has hardly been 100% all year yet they’re favorites to hoist the best trophy in sports. This isn’t ideal by any stretch, but the Blueshirts have the depth to handle it. My initial guess is that Marty takes Zuccarello’s spot with Nash/Brass, Fast joins Hayes/Hags & Sheppard hops on the 4th line. The pressure will ramp up a bit on Nash to light the lamp more. Stepan will have to keep the All-American line rolling & Kevin Hayes is gonna need to lead the way with depth scoring – but this isn’t asking anything from anyone that hasn’t been done for the majority of 87 games played so far. Hopefully the Hobbit heals up quickly and can make an inspirational return. If not, it’s just another gut-check for the Rangers who’ve done nothing to make me believe they can’t power through. VIVA LA BLUESHIRTS!!