After an extended leave of absence, the Rangers are expected to get their top forward back on Saturday afternoon. Panarin, who had five goals and 13 assists (18 points) before leaving the team, will be reunited on a line with Ryan Strome.
It's unclear when Trocheck got hurt but he was not on the ice for Thursday's morning skate and will not play vs. the Predators. Trocheck, who leads the Hurricanes in goals, will obviously be a huge loss and will likely lead to more playing time for Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal. Look for Morgan Geekie to replace him in the lineup.
Quick was banged up on Saturday night and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. With Quick out, Cal Petersen will start Monday with Troy Grosnick serving as the backup.
Shesterkin had to be helped off of the ice in the third period of the Rangers' win on Thursday but is not expected to miss a lengthy period of time. A mild groin strain was likely the best-case scenario for the young netminder, who will hand the keys to Alexandar Georgiev for at least a couple of days.
Kakko will play for the first time since February 18th and is expected to skate on the second line with Ryan Strome and Chris Kreider. Kakko has scored two goals with one assist in 14 games this season.
Kakko was recently activated off of the COVID-19 reserve list but will not return to the lineup Thursday in New Jersey. Head coach David Quinn said he's "certainly close" so look for him to play Saturday.
Chytil will play for the first time since January 24th and will skate on the third line with Kevin Rooney and Julien Gauthier. Chill scored two goals with one assist while playing 12:56 ATOI in five games this season.
Chytil has been out since January 24th but skated on the third line in Monday's practice, suggesting that he'll be back Tuesday vs. Sabres. Chytil had a nice start to the season, scoring two goals with one assist in five games, so his return is crucial for the Rangers' bottom-6 to have success.
This isn’t overly surprising, since Chytil just returned to practice on Thursday. Monitor his status heading into Sunday’s game vs. the Bruins.
Chytil has been out since January 24th due to an upper-body injury, but was back on the ice for Thursday’s practice, suggesting that he could be back soon. Don’t expect to see him Friday vs. the Bruins but maybe Sunday.
