The New York Rangers are going to need all the help they can get if they're going to keep the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins from steamrolling them in the first-round of the NHL playoffs. Yes, it's only been one game, but the Rangers, already missing captain Ryan McDonagh, lost goaltender Henrik Lundqvist late in the first period and struggled to keep backup Antti Raanta from being bowled over by the Pittsburgh attack.
The good news for the Rangers is that reinforcements - Lundqvist, more specifically - will be riding back into the picture ahead of game two.
Lundqvist took the ice for practice on Friday, one of the prerequisites Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said he needed to see in order for King Henrik to suit up on Saturday. Lundqvist, of course, was struck in the eye, through his mask, by New York defenseman Marc Staal late in the first period of game one.
Lundqvist met with the media following Friday's practice session and told the assemblage that he saw a specialist who told him there was no damage to his eye, though he added that the swelling has made it very "uncomfortable."
He also admitted to being scared when the injury first occurred.
"For 20 or 30 seconds, I had some really bad thoughts going through my head," Lundqvist said. "I'm just happy there's no damage."
He also said that though his vision was blurry following the incident, but that it got better as the night progressed.
Lundqvist's replacement in game one, Raanta, allowed three goals on just 19 shots. He said afterward that he knew he didn't play his best, but that it felt good to get that first taste of playoff hockey under his belt.
"It was nice to get that first [action] in playoff hockey for me in the NHL, to see that it's not that different to play playoffs than to play these guys in the regular season," Raanta said. "So of course three goals is a little bit too much in two periods, but I have a good feeling in my game."
Fortunately for Rangers fans worried about going down 0-2, it sounds like Lundqvist will take back control of the New York pipes.
Also fortunate for Rangers fans, it sounds like veteran defenseman Dan Girardi is unlikely to play Saturday. Girardi, who missed the final two games of the regular season with an upper-body injury, played in game one, but didn't practice on Friday for what is believed to be an injury issue.
Assuming Vigneault's policy extends to every player, it's likely Girardi will be replaced for game two.
