Losing Big Time

New York, NY. Newly aquired star defenseman Jacob Trouba’s healing effect on the New York Rangers’ defense lasted exactly 14 minutes and 17 seconds. Just traded to the Blueshirts in a deal for defenseman Jake McCabe and a second-round draft pick in 2024, Trouba is expected to be out for about 70 days due to a severed tendon in his right wrist.

While the Rangers were at least equipped with six NHL-experienced defensemen until the trade that was supposed to push them into the playoffs after all, head coach Jon Cooper will now have to improvise down the stretch. Farm team defenseman Kevin Bahl will presumably be added to the roster as the sixth D-man.

After the bad new broke, the Rangers didn’t seem to be devastated in their rematch against the New Jersey Devils on home ice in a nearly sold-out Madison Square Garden. They achieved a 7-6 overtime victory that keeps the Blueshirts in the second wild-card spot, although the Devils’ loser’s point hurts the Rangers in their effort to gain ground on their rivals in the race for the first wild-card berth. The Rangers are currently separated from the Devils by eight points, with New York having a game in hand. Tomorrow, the Rangers will face the St. Louis Blues in “Game 1 without Trouba.”