The question is not if, but when will the Rangers get captain Ryan McDonagh back for their first-round playoff series against the Penguins. And now that McDonagh’s timeline for return has seemingly advanced, it remains to be seen what kind of shape his Blueshirts will be in when he finally rejoins them.
The series resumes with Game 3 on Tuesday night at the Garden, after the first two games of this best-of-seven were split in Pittsburgh. McDonagh was out for those two games, just as he had been out for the final three of the regular season after suffering a small break in his right hand blocking a Brandon Dubinsky shot in Columbus on April 4.
Yet there was No. 27 on the ice for Monday’s practice in Westchester, surprising everyone, including coach Alain Vigneault, with his full participation.
“I didn’t expect him to skate with the team,” Vigneault said. “He skated on his own [Sunday], and I guess things went well — well to the point that he came in [Monday] morning and said he was feeling better than he was.”
McDonagh had a talk with head trainer Jim Ramsay, and they decided it would be best for him to get a practice in. He skated on the extra defensive pair with recent call-up Raphael Diaz, and he took some wrist shots while handling the puck without obvious incident.
“So far the response that I got was that it went well in practice,” Vigneault said. “So we’ll see how he responds.”
As for playing in Game 3, Vigneault said it was “doubtful.” Yet of course he had to add to the postseason intrigue, leaving all possibilities open.
“Stranger things have happened before,” Vigneault said with a smile.
The odds are that at the earliest, McDonagh is ready for Game 4 on Thursday at the Garden. If not, and barring any setback, Game 5 in Pittsburgh on Saturday looks like a pretty good landing spot.
Yet as the Rangers hold out hope for his return, they are not changing their game plan. They have battled in the first two games with either one or two rookie defensemen in the lineup, as former stalwart Dan Girardi also missed Game 2 with his “whole thing” injury. He still is not practicing and is listed as “day-to-day.”
Against a Penguins team Vigneault just can’t stop calling the best in the league, the Rangers have been without McDonagh, their best player not named Henrik Lundqvist, and have countered with a hard and physical game, mostly keeping up with the high-flying Penguins. With Lundqvist missing the final two periods of the 5-2 Game 1 loss with a freak stick-to-the-face injury that proved to be minor, he returned for the 4-2 win in Game 2 and provided more than just a morale boost, but a physical boost with his superiority in nets.
That is the kind of game-changer than McDonagh can be, as well, helping Vigneault settle his defensive pairs down and give him more of an advantage at home when trying to match against the Penguins high-end skill. The Rangers also know they’re a better team from top to bottom when he’s in the lineup, and that it’s close to happening.
“You always get lifted up when a guy comes back and skates with the team,” said Kevin Klein, who has raised his level along with partner Marc Staal in playing big, important minutes against Sidney Crosby. “You don’t replace Mac, you just do your best to fill in minutes. … Everyone has that little bit of extra pressure on them. It’s good, it’s playoff time.”
Of course, the Rangers are hardly getting ahead of themselves. They know whenever McDonagh does return, there is going to be some assimilation period. It’s not the best idea if they look to him as being the savior who can carry them out of a series deficit.
Yet the captain is closer than most thought he would be at this stage, and that only makes the view of this Rangers ongoing postseason seem brighter.
“For me, it doesn’t get any better than this,” Vigneault said. “Every night, you watch the games, the intensity, the battle level, it’s the best time of the year and we’re part of it. So let’s make the best of it.”
