Sammy Blais exited the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout win over the Devils relatively early in the third period after Devils defenseman PK Subban made awkward contact with the Rangers winger in the corner of New Jersey’s zone.
Without putting weight on his right leg and in obvious pain, Blais was assisted to the locker room as Rangers fans, already booing Subban throughout the night, started a “Subban sucks” chant. Subban has already been fined twice this season for tripping.
Blais finished the game with four hits in 11:05.
Gerard Gallant didn’t have an immediate update on Blais, but the Rangers head coach wasn’t thrilled with the play from Subban.
“A lot like the [Ryan] Reaves one that I saw,” he said, referring to the preseason game against New Jersey in which Subban swept Reaves’ right skate out from under him and caused his left knee to buckle awkwardly.
Blais, who has been dubbed “The Bull” by his teammates, has been skating on the right wing of the Rangers’ top line next to Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider the past few games. Since coming to New York in the Rangers’ trade with the Blues that sent Pavel Buchnevich to St. Louis, Blais has brought a bit of a spark to the lineup with his grinding style of play.
Though Igor Shesterkin was available to play after a scary exit in the third period of the Rangers’ win in Columbus on Saturday, Gallant went with Alexandar Georgiev in net Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
“He’s not playing, but he’s great,” the coach said of Shesterkin, who was taken off the ice and put into concussion protocol after he was run over by Blue Jackets fourth-liner Alexandre Texier.
Georgiev turned aside 24 of the 27 shots he faced in his fourth start of the season and first since Nov. 5 in Edmonton. The Bulgarian-born netminder, who said he found out Saturday night that he was starting against the Devils, also stymied the likes of Dawson Mercer, Tomas Tatar and Pavel Zacha in the shootout.
“[It helped] a little bit,” Georgiev said when asked if the win improved his confidence. “That’s huge to get a win in a big way, too. Guys were so clutch in the shootout and the game, too. They played so [well]. It’s nice to get rewarded.”
After facing the Devils, the Rangers have Monday off before welcoming the Canadiens to the Garden on Tuesday. Including Saturday’s matchup in Columbus, the Rangers are scheduled to play six games in the next nine days — including another trip to Canada to face the Maple Leafs and Senators before playing the Sabres at home on Nov. 21.
Filip Chytil is able to come off injured reserve whenever he’s ready, since it’s retroactive to when he sustained the upper-body injury against the Flames on Nov. 6.
“Fil’s doing real good,” Gallant said before the game. “He skated again [Sunday]. He’s not playing [Sunday], but he skated for 45 minutes to an hour.”