PHILADELPHIA – Until last night, the adversity facing the Rangers this season had mostly been of their own making.
Now, however, it appears as though the Blueshirts might have to play the final two weeks of the season without Scott Gomez, who went down in the first period of last night’s 4-3 shootout defeat here to the Flyers with what is believed to be significant damage to his ribs.
The Rangers and Gomez were saying, “upper body injury,” following the play at 9:48 of the first on which No. 19 went crashing into the rear-boards after losing his edge in becoming entangled with Lasse Kukkonen on a left-wing rush.
Gomez, who was kicking his skates in pain as he lay on the ice, skated to the bench. He remained there briefly. Though he had X-rays taken, he will be re-examined and re-evaluated today at the club’s practice rink.
If Gomez, who leads the sixth-place Rangers in points (67) and assists (51), suffered broken ribs, he’ll probably be sidelined for the final seven games. If the injury is more complex than that, the playmaking pivot may be out an even more extended time, into the playoffs.
Having also lost pivot Blair Betts for approximately two weeks to foot surgery earlier in the day, the Rangers will probably recall a center from the AHL Wolf Pack – Lauri Korpikoski, perhaps – before Tuesday’s Garden visit by the Flyers, although they could insert winger Petr Prucha into the lineup and move either Sean Avery or Martin Straka into the middle on a short-term basis.
The Penguins have thrived with Sidney Crosby out of the lineup with an ankle injury. The Hurricanes have prospered since captain Rod Brind’Amour sustained a season-ending injury. The Senators were forced to play a significant portion of the season without Dany Heatley. The Flyers have been decimated by injuries, as have the Islanders.
The fact is, the Rangers have been relatively fortunate and healthy throughout the year, though Avery and Straka each have missed blocks of games. The fact is, excuses are for losers.
“This is not the time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Brendan Shanahan said after the Rangers rallied from first a 2-0 hole and then a 3-2 deficit by scoring three times within 6:08 late in the third, with Jaromir Jagr getting the tying score on a blind backhand from the right porch with 1:51 to go in regulation. “This is part of hockey. It’s an opportunity for other people to step up. We have examples right in our conference – Pittsburgh and Carolina – of teams that didn’t cave in.”
When Gomez went down last night, Renney juggled all three of his top lines, moving Straka to the left with Jagr and Brandon Dubinsky, shifting Avery to center between Shanahan and Nigel Dawes, elevating Fredrik Sjostrom to left wing with Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan.
Playing in front of Steve Valiquette, the Rangers appeared disjointed. Still, they rallied on goals by Marek Malik, Dawes and Jagr, with Christian Backman getting assists on all three scores. They got a point.
Still, considering Gomez’ injury and its potential ramifications, you’d have to be a fool to consider this a good Friday.