Western Canada trip rough for New York

November 10, 8:40 AMNew York Rangers ExaminerRob Cristino

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The Rangers will be back in action on Thursday night (AP Photo).

After a tough three-game road trip across Western Canada, the New York Rangers couldn’t be happier to be back at home.

The Rangers went 1-2 in that span, but the real issues weren’t the two losses. Instead it was the injuries that Captain Chris Drury, Brandon Dubinsky, and Henrik Lundqvist sustained while on the road.

Lundqvist was in net for the first game against the Vancouver Canucks, but sat out consecutive games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Backup goaltender Steve Valiquette finished the road trip in net, going 1-1.

Hank suffered an undisclosed injury (it’s believed to be either a groin or muscle strain), but could be back in net by Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers. If he can’t go, expect Valliquette to start his third-straight game.

“It’s not perfect,” Lundqvist said to Andrew Gross of Ranger Rants. “I’m still trying to get to 100 percent.”

As for Drury and Dubinsky, the injuries are a bit more concerning.

Drury suffered a concussion after Flames’ Curtis Glencross gave him a blind-side hit that took an unsuspecting Drury out of the game. Somehow the hit went un-penalized by all four of the officials on the ice. 

Glencross was issued a three-game suspension, without pay, by the NHL for delivering the high hit on Drury.

Maybe even more upsetting was the lack of retaliation from the Rangers team. This happened just 48 seconds into the game, why did the Rangers not defend their downed captain? The Rangers continue to play as soft as Carvel, but that’s a story for another day.

It has also been reported that Dubinsky has a broken right hand from blocking a shot against the Flames on Saturday night. Dubinsky will be out for an extended period of time.

So what now for John Tortorella and the Rangers?

Don’t expect any call-ups, as Tortorella feels comfortable with the players he has: Dane Byers, Aaron Voros, and Donald Brashear.

With two key players sidelined with injuries and a possible third in Lundqvist, the Rangers are turning down what appears to be a slippery path.

New York will next host the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night at 7:00 PM.