The New York Rangers will enter the second round without one of their top forwards.
Mats Zuccarello is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, the Rangers announced Monday after Zuccarello missed an optional team practice.
The 27-year-old left Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday after taking a puck to the head. The loss, if lengthy, will be a significant one for the Blueshirts. The 27-year-old averaged a career-high 17:15 TOI this season and finished third on the team in assists, with 34. The Norwegian winger also inked a four-year, $18 million extension with New York in early March and, last year, was given the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for being the player who, as chosen by the fans, “goes above and beyond the call of duty.”
Zuccarello had two assists in five games in the first round.