Brennan Othmann played his first game of the season with the Rangers on Long Island on Tuesday as the Blueshirts remained without Chris Kreider for a second straight match.
Kreider was a late scratch on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh with an upper-body injury, the latest in an injury-plagued season.
After the 5-1 thrashing of the Islanders, though, the concern had shifted from Kreider to Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller, both of whom exited the game with upper and lower-body injuries, respectively, and did not return.
“They’re being evaluated right now,” coach Peter Laviolette said following a game the Rangers finished with just four defensemen — Braden Schneider also having suffered a scare after a blocked shot in the third period, but returning.
Othmann, the Rangers’ 2021 first-round pick from Scarborough, Ontario missed a chunk of time this season with an upper-body injury, but has played at a solid pace when healthy in the AHL, notching 20 points in 27 games with the Wolf Pack.
He did not record a point in three games with the Rangers at the end of last season, and his first was not forthcoming Tuesday, but the fourth line on which he played with Jonny Brodzinski and Matt Rempe did account for three goals.
He did not record a point in three games with the Rangers at the end of last season.
The Islanders defense carousel continues to spin.
This time, it was Scott Mayfield who drew the short straw and ended up as a healthy scratch against the Rangers, just one game after returning from injury, as Adam Boqvist came back into the lineup.
“It was a tough one,” coach Patrick Roy said. “Sometimes you have to make a decision. I had a good conversation with Scotty, we talked about the way we’d like to see him play. He hasn’t played a lot, so I think it’ll be good for him to go on the ice, practice. When the time comes, we’ll put him back in the lineup.”
It does, however, appear that the blue line could get more crowded sooner rather than later.
Though Noah Dobson wasn’t ready to come off LTIR on Tuesday, the Islanders moved Matt Martin onto injured reserve late Monday night to open up a roster spot, indicating that could come soon.
Mike Reilly was also a full-contact participant in morning skate Tuesday for the first time since undergoing heart surgery following a concussion on Nov. 1 — a big step in his eventual return, though Roy did not have a timeline.
“I think everyone wants to play every night, right?” Boqvist said. “You gotta bring your A game every shift, every play you make and I think it’s healthy for the team, too. You know the D-men’s gonna play their asses off, hopefully that will lean into the rest of the team. Obviously you don’t want to lose your job or anything like that.”
Adam Fox didn’t skate Tuesday morning, with the Rangers citing personal reasons, but played against the Islanders.
