Busy little Monday for the Rangers.
First, the club announced forward Marek Hrivik cleared waivers and was sent to AHL Hartford -- paving the way for Mika Zibanejad to return from his broken leg -- then announced goalie Antti Raanta would miss the next 7-10 days with the lower-body injury suffered against Montreal over the weekend.
Plenty to unpack here.
Let’s begin with Zibanejad, acquired this offseason in the Derick Brassard trade. The 23-year-old suffered his broken leg back on Nov. 20 and has missed the last 26 games as a result -- so, needless to say, New York is glad to have him back. He’d been producing very well at the time of his injury, with five goals and 15 points in his first 19 games as a Blueshirt.
But for all the excitement about his return, enthusiasm has to be dampened a bit by the Raanta injury.
Arguably the best backup in the NHL this season, Raanta’s gone 10-4-0 with a 2.23 GAA and .923 save percentage. He’s done a terrific job of spelling Henrik Lundqvist when called upon, and even had a brief stint of starts in late December before King Henrik resumed No. 1 duties.
With Raanta sidelined until the All-Star break, the Rangers have recalled Magnus Hellberg from the AHL.