CALGARY — Neither Matt Rempe nor Vincent Trocheck accompanied the Rangers on this four-game swing out to Western Canada and Seattle.
Rempe, who left Thursday’s game at Madison Square Garden early with an upper-body injury, is still being evaluated in New York, according to Mike Sullivan.
The Rangers head coach did not rule out the possibility of Rempe joining the team at some point on the road trip, but he wasn’t sure when asked.
“It’s a tough loss,” Sullivan said after practice at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday. “Remps is a big part of this group. He just brings so much energy, so much passion to the rink every day. Sticks up for his teammates. He’s an important part of this team, so it’s disappointing to not have him, but it’s going to provide opportunities for others.”
As for Trocheck, who is technically eligible to be activated off long-term injured reserve and play on Nov. 1 in Seattle, Sullivan revealed he still has not resumed skating.
Sullivan noted the Rangers would probably like Trocheck to practice first before playing.
The 32-year-old Trocheck has missed the past seven contests with an upper-body injury.
“He’s making progress,” Sullivan said. “He’s not there yet. His return to play isn’t imminent. If it was, he’d be with us. We’ll let you know when that happens, but he’s making progress.”
Sullivan tweaked the Rangers forward lines again, bumping Taylor Raddysh up to the top line with Artemi Panarin and J.T. Miller after he posted a hat trick in the previous game.
“I think his last couple, he’s played really well,” Sullivan said of Raddysh. “Obviously, the last game he had was a real strong game for him, and I think performance matters. The guys that play well we’re trying to reward with more significant ice time or opportunity or whatever it may be.”
Conor Sheary and Alexis Lafrenière flank Mika Zibanejad, while Will Cuylle, Noah Laba and Brennan Othmann make up the Rangers third unit. The fourth line featured Adam Edstrom, Sam Carrick and Juuso Parssinen.
“Well, there’s more balance,” Sullivan said. “I would acknowledge that. Would you guys agree? So there’s more balance, and, you know, we’ll see where it goes. When we’re on the road, we can’t always control the matchups. When you have a balanced attack, that helps a little bit, on both sides of the puck.
“I feel like with the way we’re constructed right now, there’s definitely, there’s definitely more balance. I think there’s more balance on both sides of the puck.
“There’s threats offensively, but also there’s more conscientious play with how the lineup is constructed.”
When Laba took a puck to the face against Minnesota, the Rangers rookie received five stitches on the outside of his mouth and three more on the inside.
He came back almost immediately after wearing a full face shield, barely missing a single shift before finishing out the game.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
