Rangers mulling call up, points to likely absence from McDonagh.

The latest news out of New York today left little doubt as to the status of Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh, for the playoff opener on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.

The most damning evidence came from Andrew Gross of The Record who reported that the Rangers were mulling the possibility of calling up journeyman defenseman Raphael Diaz, obviously as a replacement should McDonagh not suit up for New York.

Vigneault seemingly confirmed as much when speaking to the press, although according to him Diaz is also dealing with injuries so there's no guarantee he will be called up.

We’ve got seven healthy defensemen here at this time,” Vigneault said as per northjersey.com. “We are still inquiring on Diaz. I think that, my understanding is, he might play tomorrow, that’s not 100 percent, he’s been battling injuries for a good part of this season.

When asked point blank if McDonagh would be available Vigneault gave an incredibly vague answer.

“I would say at this point, there’s a chance he might be able to play at some point,” Vigneault said, leaving that up to interpretation.

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