The injuries to key players keep piling up in the Eastern Conference Final between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers. This time it is the Rangers gettting hit with a big blow as Derek Stepan suffered a broken jaw on a hit by Brandon Prust in the first period of last nights game three. Today head coach Alain Vigneault announced that Stepan will require surgery and is out indefinitely. (SIA Profile)
“Step right now, at this time, is probably getting operated on,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said this morning. “He broke his jaw yesterday, so we’ll have an idea of the time frame tomorrow.”
Stepan has been centering the Rangers first line with Rick Nash and Chris Kreider. He has three goals and 11 points, including an assist last night, in 17 playoff games.
The Rangers are already down a centre, with Derek Brassard missing the last two games after an injury suffered early in game one of the series. Brassard is listed as day-to-day. (SIA Profile)
While Prust was not penalized on the play, he will be receiving a phone hearing from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety today. The hit did appear to be late, and a little bit high.
UPDATE: Brandon Prust gets a two game suspension for interference on the hit.
Another player facing a possible suspension is Rangers winger Daniel Carcillo who received a game misconduct after a physical altercation with one of the linesmen later in the first period.
UPDATE: Dan Carcillo recieves a 10-game suspension under rule 40, for abuse of official.
On the other side of things the Canadiens won game three largely on the performance of Dustin Tokarski, who is playing for Carey Price, injured in game one of the series.
For the latest sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @lastwordBkerr. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Hockey writing team. Visit our ”Write for Us“ page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
