Bobby Bevilacqua

Jesper Fast is one of the Rangers’ young players that have stepped up in the playoffs in an attempt to fill the void left by injured winger Mats Zuccarello. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

Since Game 5 of the opening round against the Penguins, the Rangers have been without their top line winger Mats Zuccarello, out with a concussion after taking an errant puck to the side of the head. He was initially out “indefinitely,” but after skating with the team a few times, he was upgraded to “day-to-day” status.

Zuccarello’s absence immediately left a void in the Rangers lineup. He’s been one of the best possession players on the team throughout the season, and can always find the open man due to his vision on the ice and his fantastic passing skills. Zuccarello is a sparkplug, playing physical and aggressively despite his small stature.

When the Rangers found out that he would miss a significant amount of time, Vigneault worked on finding a player to replace Zuccarello on the top line. He initially turned to the veteran Martin St. Louis, but soon decided that it would be up to his young players to step up and start producing in a top-six forward role. Read the rest of this entry →