Worrisome nagging injury for McDonagh?

The New York Rangers will face the Carolina Hurricanes tonight without the services of their captain and star defenseman Ryan McDonagh. 

Though it has been confirmed that the defender is staying in New York to be checked out for an abdominal strain, head coach Alain Vigneault revealed more worrisome details about the captain's injury. 

According to Vigneault, McDonagh has taken several maintenance days since the start of the season, including Oct. 18, Oct. 24 and Nov. 1., and they were all related to the same ailment. 

McDonagh has appeared in all 21 games, averaging more than 23 minutes a night, including more than five minutes per game on special teams. He has played through the “lingering” issue.

Asked if McDonagh could play Friday against the Detroit Red Wings, Vigneault said: “No idea. I just know it’s been bothering him . . . our docs have been on top of it. We just want to double-check things. We’ll know more (Wednesday).”