After being off the ice both Sunday and Monday, it’s unlikely center Kevin Hayes will be ready to play when the Rangers resume the schedule with Tuesday night’s Garden match against the Flyers.
Hayes suffered a contusion to his leg during the team’s 2-1 loss to the Golden Knights on Jan. 7, the final game before the five-day bye week. He canceled his plan for a short vacation and returned home for treatment during the break, and it seemed to work well enough for him to return to action for Saturday’s woeful 7-2 loss to the Islanders.
According to coach Alain Vigneault, it was during that game Hayes started to feel the pain again. After the game, Vigneault said Hayes “just wasn’t feeling well,” so they left him in New York as they traveled to Pittsburgh for a 5-2 loss Sunday night, the team’s third straight defeat.
There was no update on captain Ryan McDonagh, but it’s unlikely he will be able to go Tuesday, either, as he started suffering from back spasms during the Islanders game. The injury kept him from playing in Pittsburgh, where Brendan Smith drew back in after two games as a healthy scratch.
Without their top checking center, the Rangers recalled journeyman veteran Peter Holland from AHL Hartford on Monday afternoon, when the team had off. They also sent center Boo Nieves back to Hartford after he played 28 games with the Rangers this season, registering one goal and eight assists.
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Holland, 27, was obtained in a trade with the Canadiens for Adam Cracknell on Nov. 30. He has played 243 career NHL games over parts of six seasons with Anaheim, Toronto and Arizona.
With Holland coming in, it’s unclear how Vigneault will set up his lines.
Without Hayes on Sunday, Paul Carey drew back in after one game as a healthy scratch. Carey had rejoined a fourth line with Nieves and Vinni Lettieri.
Vigneault was forced to put J.T. Miller back at center, between Michael Grabner and Mats Zuccarello. That put Rick Nash on the left with Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast, while Jimmy Vesey went with David Desharnais and Pavel Buchnevich. Buchnevich had been a scratch for the first time this season Jan. 7.