Before Wednesday night, the Rangers had lost only one player on the COVID-protocol list, when Capo Kako converted the February 1 match against the Penguins in a miss-positive test.
Kakoko went back on the list on Saturday, when he was sidelined for the Blueshirts competition in Washington and remained on it for the game in Philadelphia on Wednesday. However, that was not all, but the Blueshirts kept K’Andre Miller on the list as well as the Flyers in the leading hour for a 4-3 loss.
It is unclear whether Miller, who was replaced in the lineup by Jack Johnson, tested positive. It is also unknown whether the Rangers may be vulnerable to the outbreak in the wake of these conditions, which occurred five days apart.
Johnson, a scratch for Saturday’s win over the Capitals, played with the Rangers’ 3-2 shootout win in Philadelphia last Thursday, missing the last eight games with an injury. He participated in just one practice before joining the lineup.
Micah Zibnazad played perhaps his most dynamic game of the year, amassing a pair of assists in 20:20 on ice time, but he was twice denied on shorthand breakaways, the other with 3:40 remaining and the Blueshirts 4-3 Stayed down Zibanejad was also denied earlier, with 5:45 remaining in the first period, when the puck rolled over him.
Both times, he went backhand. Both times, Brian Elliott was up for the task. He was asked if he felt that if he were in a normal season, it could be a score, not one in which he had two goals, with one stored in an empty net.
“I don’t know. The action I took was usually the one he did, he read, it didn’t go in.” So I don’t know. It’s a hard question to answer. It just leads to more speculation. I just call it Trying to be as simple as possible and not ending those opportunities. ”
The pair of assassins extended the center’s season to four.
The Blueshirts surrendered 39 shots on goal, the most they allowed this season.
The 2-for-5 Rangers on power play have now scored in three straight with Man (4-for-15) after going 0-for-14 in the preceding five games.
In Miller’s absence, Kakoko, Jacob Trouba (thumb) and Artemi Panarin (excluding absence), Brendan Smith and Anthony Bitetto were on points on the power play of the second unit. The Blueshirts have scored 10 power play goals, with the first unit on nine of them.
The Rangers won only 20 of the 55 faceoffs (36 percent), with Jibanejad winning just two of his 14 draws.
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