Barclay Goodrow missed the final six games of the Rangers’ epic first-round series with Pittsburgh, and will miss the first few games against Carolina at least – but don’t count out a return for one of the defending Stanley Cup champs at some point during the series.
According to head coach Gerard Gallant, there’s “a chance” Goodrow could return at some point in the series, depending on how deep it goes.
Goodrow played the entirety of the Rangers’ triple-OT Game 1 loss, but did not play again in the series, and Vin Mercogliano of Gannett reported that multiple sources believed Goodrow’s injury was a broken left ankle, suffered when he blocked a Mike Matheson shot early in the second period of Game 1.
If so, he played 20 more shifts on the injury before sitting the final six games, but getting back Goodrow, who was a big part of the Lightning’s back-to-back Stanley Cup runs the last two seasons, would be a huge boost to the Rangers’ fourth line, which used six different players in seven games – not including Alexis Lafreniere, who double-shifted to also play alongside Kevin Rooney and Ryan Reaves in Game 5.
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Goodrow had 13 goals and 20 assists for the Rangers in 79 games this season.
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