Derek Boogaard is the forgotten man. Out of sight and out of mind. Beyond that, the concussed Rangers’ winger is out of New York as well. For the time being, that is.
The Post has learned that Boogaard, who has been sidelined since taking a Matt Carkner punch to the face during a fight in Ottawa on Dec. 9, is in Minneapolis, working with a doctor of osteopathic medicine with whom he has a previous relationship from his tenure with the Wild.
There is no timetable for Boogaard’s return, but sources have said the 28-year-old winger is making progress toward a recovery from the symptoms that had plagued him following the fight and leading up to the All-Star break.
The 6-foot-7 Boogaard, who reported to camp 25-30 pounds over the 265-pound playing weight the Rangers believe is optimal, played in 22 games for the Blueshirts before going down, recording two points (1-1) and 45 penalty minutes while getting 4:32 of ice per game.
The enforcer, on the first year of the four-year, $6.5 million deal he signed last summer as a free agent out of Minnesota, has engaged in seven fights this season, but was nowhere near the feared puncher he was with the Wild, and, indeed, fought more often than not to draws as a Blueshirt.
It is difficult to envision Boogaard cracking the lineup the rest of the way given the combination of his skating limitations, his absence of nearly two months and the depth up front within the organization. It does however appear that No. 94 — who for the two-to-three weeks leading up to the break referred all questions about his health to management, which provided little information — will be making his way back to New York.
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The Rangers yesterday assigned Kris Newbury to the AHL Whale following the 28-year-old journeyman center’s impressive eight-game stint in which he recorded two points (1-1) and 35 PIM while playing with an edge in a fourth-line role.
The move thus leaves the Rangers with the minimum complement of 12 healthy forwards, and thus for the time being eliminates a guessing game regarding the club’s healthy scratch up front.
Erik Christensen, down since Dec. 29 with a knee injury, is expected to come off injured reserve perhaps in time for Monday’s game in Detroit. The Rangers are in Montreal tomorrow afternoon.
“I like what Newbury brought,” coach John Tortorella said before the Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the Devils last night at the Garden. “He will fight, he’s abrasive. “He’s a guy we could call up [again]. The staff loves him because of his jam.”