The Rangers might get back Brian Boyle for tonight’s Game 2 at Madison Square Garden against the Capitals, but Brandon Dubinsky doesn’t appear close to returning to the lineup.
Boyle, who has not played since he was concussed April 21 by a Chris Neil headshot in the third period of Game 5 of the first-round against the Senators, skated for the third straight day yesterday without ill effect.
Dubinsky, who suffered a left foot/ankle injury during Thursday’s Game 7 victory over Ottawa that sidelined him for Saturday’s 3-1 Game 1 victory against Washington, was on crutches at the club’s practice facility.
“I’m feeling better every day. It’s progressed. I skated hard [Saturday] morning and responded well, so that’s good, but as far as [Game 2], I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Boyle, who scored goals in each of the first three games of the playoffs.
“There have been no setbacks, I wouldn’t have skated if I felt foggy and I’ve felt better and better, but it’s not consistent with each guy,” the center said. “I’m just trying to be honest with myself.”
Dubinsky did not address the media following the optional skate, which 11 players participated in.
Coach John Tortorella issued his customary “No updates,” non-report, report.
➤ The Rangers were 26-24 in the faceoff circle in Game 1, notably 10-5 in the defensive zone even without primary faceoff men Boyle and Dubinsky. Brad Richards, who has emerged as his team’s best forward, was 8-4 in his own end and 12-12 overall. The Blueshirts were 71-72 in the D zone against Ottawa, a number skewed by a 4-13 Game 3 performance.
“Faceoffs have to be an area of concentration, but it’s not [just] the center, it’s the team,” said Tortorella. “It’s a part of the game that doesn’t get enough attention [from the coaches], so the onus is on the players to get better at it on their own.”
➤ Defenseman Steve Eminger, a healthy scratch for all five games of last year’s first round against the Caps who then missed the Ottawa series while recuperating from a March 15 ankle sprain, made his Rangers’ postseason debut Saturday, filling in as the fourth-line right wing, playing up front for the first time in his career.
“Enjoyable is kind of the right word to describe getting in,” said Eminger, who got 4:45 of time on four shifts. “I’d been working for a while to get back, and the playoffs are 10 times harder to watch [than a regular-season game], so I just wanted to be a part of it, even if I didn’t get a shift.”
Eminger, selected 12th overall by Washington and GM George McPhee in the 2002 Entry Draft, said he’d played center a handful of times during one training camp with the Caps, but that had been the sum total of his experience up front.