Rangers forward Sammy Blais out rest of regular season with torn ACL
The New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils in a shootout on Sunday to improve to 9-3-3 on the season but endured a significant loss in the process.
Per the NHL's website, Rangers forward Sammy Blais will miss at least the rest of the regular season with a torn ACL in his right knee. Blais suffered the injury on Sunday following an unfortunate and controversial collision with Devils defenseman P.K. Subban in the third period of that contest.
Blais tallied four assists and no goals across 14 games this fall before the setback. The 25-year-old could potentially return for the playoffs depending on how far the Rangers advance during the spring tournament and how quickly he recovers from surgery on his knee.
"His physicality, his compete level is what we all want to play like, it's what our group has been striving to be," Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow said of his fallen teammate. "He's one of the hardest hitters I've ever seen, to be honest. He's a guy that people don't want to play against and that's infectious throughout the group. It's a big hole to fill, but we'll get it done as a group."
Subban, meanwhile, was fined $15,000 for tripping Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras during a game that occurred in early November, and the defenseman has been accused of tripping opponents on two other occasions since the preseason. He was fined $5,000 for a "dangerous trip" in late October.
As Mollie Walker wrote for the New York Post, Subban hasn't yet heard from the league regarding this latest incident. The Rangers and Devils don't play again until March 4.
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