CHICAGO — Help is on the way for the Rangers . . . though there is no timetable specifying when that help in the person of Brandon Dubinsky will arrive.
The injured 23-year-old center of the Blueshirts, who lost 2-1 to the Blackhawks last night, accompanied his teammates on the road for the first time since sustaining a broken right hand while blocking a shot in Calgary on Nov. 7. He also skated with the club in the pregame prep.
But while that’s a welcome sign of progress for both the pivot and his teammates, Dubinsky’s return to action doesn’t seem as if it’s quite around the corner; maybe a few blocks crosstown.
“It’s been a little longer than I originally had hoped, it healed a little bit slower than I had anticipated, but hopefully we’ve turned the corner,” said Dubinsky, who has missed 12 games, but who was only able to guide the puck toward the net in drills.
“I’m in really good condition; I have to give credit to the coaches and the staff for everything they’ve done to get me to this point and keeping me motivated so that when I am all better I’ll be at the [conditioning] level I want to be at.”
If Dubinsky’s legs and wind aren’t an issue, the hand remains one. The center practiced with his right wrist heavily taped. He is under no illusions about what he can and cannot do.
“I don’t want to play with one hand and try to fake my way through it,” said Dubinsky. “I want to be able to fulfill my role, where I’m not afraid to block shots or get in your face. I have to be able to shoot and pass and do the dirty work in the corners.
“As far as these drills, I was using one finger to get the puck to the net. I might as well have put the puck in the corner.”
John Tortorella said he thought that Dubinsky might be able to return, “In a week or so; in that area,” but the head coach added, “You never know, you want it to be fully healed, but we know it is healing, so we’re going through the process.
“We want him with us; we want to see him skating, have him in the meetings. He’s with us now.”
Tortorella said that while he doesn’t have a “policy” regarding injured players taking road trips with the team, he doesn’t see the advantage if there’s no constructive work that can be done.
“If we can’t do anything with [an injured player] as far as the coaches and trainers go, then I’d just as soon not have him with us,” Tortorella said. “It’s needless.
“In fact we told Brandon to go home over Thanksgiving because we felt he needed a break. I don’t have a policy about that, it’s just what the situation is and what can be gained at a particular time.”
Dubinsky, meanwhile, said getting onto the road with his teammates has energized him.
“It was pretty lonely back in New York,” he said. “Now I’m going to go through another couple of days without putting too much pressure on it and allowing it to continue to heal before I get another set of X-rays to see where I am.
“If all goes well, that’s when I’ll put pressure on it without worrying about re-injuring myself.”