nypost
For the New York Rangers, no position is more critical to their lineup than center, and that depth is now under threat. The Blueshirts may have to navigate the coming days without Joe Veleno, who sustained a lower-body injury early in the first period of Sunday night's 4-2 victory over the Mammoth.
Veleno, 26, went down awkwardly along the boards during a tangle with Clayton Keller on just his third shift of the game. He struggled to reach the bench, where a team trainer examined him before he needed assistance to get off the ice and into the dressing room. He did not put any weight on his right leg and did not return to the game.
Head coach Mike Sullivan provided little clarity after the win. "No update," Sullivan said. "He's being evaluated right now for a lower-body injury. I'll probably have more for you, maybe [Monday]."
The Rangers made a concerted effort to strengthen their center pipeline in the offseason, acquiring Cole Beaudoin as a key piece in the Trocheck trade with Utah on July 1. Beaudoin is the most intriguing center prospect in the organization, but Sunday marked only his second professional game with the AHL Wolf Pack. It remains uncertain whether the Rangers would thrust him into NHL action immediately or allow him to develop in the AHL first.
Other center options in Hartford include Justin Dowling, Glenn Gawdin, Juuso Parssinen, and Dylan Roobroeck. Among them, Dowling, Gawdin, and Parssinen have NHL experience, but Parssinen has been playing on the wing through the Wolf Pack's first two games. Dowling, who appeared in one game for the Rangers last season, was a healthy scratch for Hartford on Sunday.
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Sullivan also expressed satisfaction with Tye Kartye's performance on the second line, a move he made during Friday's win over the Red Wings. Kartye remained alongside J.T. Miller and Pavel Dorofeyev in the following game. "I thought that line played well [in Detroit]," Sullivan said after Sunday's morning skate. "Tye's just a little bit of a different type of player. He brings a speed element. He's a dog on a bone on the puck. He's a real good puck pursuit guy. Forces turnovers, hurries plays, plays in the battle areas. You go back to last year when he played with J.T., they had a little bit of familiarity there, knowing each other's tendencies. He's just a little bit of a different type of player than Ollie. We're still trying to explore this group that we have and figure out combinations that we think give us the best chance for success. One of the things we really like about the group, with some of the options that we have, is regardless of who we move around, we've got some balance."
In the win, Eeli Tolvanen scored an empty-net goal to extend his point streak to three games. Additionally, Mika Zibanejad's assist on Gabe Perreault's goal moved him past Mark Messier for the sixth-most assists on go-ahead goals in franchise history (134).
Originally reported by nypost.