The Rangers’ fourth-line depth took a big hit — both in physical size and in impact.
Adam Edstrom is out for six to 10 weeks with a lower-body injury.
He exited the Rangers’ loss to the Bruins on Saturday with the injury and subsequently missed the team’s win over the Golden Knights on Sunday.
Edstrom, a towering 6-foot-7 and 234 pounds, has five goals and four assists this year, his second in the NHL after the Rangers drafted him in the sixth round in 2019, though this season has been his first as a regular in the rotation.
Adam Edstrom will be out for the Rangers with a lower-body injury.
And he had been playing particularly well recently, with four of his nine points on the season coming in the past 10 games he’s played.
Beyond his output, Edstrom’s physicality, coupled with his size, have been pivotal for the Rangers — he has 94 hits this year, third most on the team despite having played just the 17th-most minutes.
The injury opens the door for Jimmy Vesey to return to the lineup for the foreseeable future.
Vesey replaced Edstrom at left wing, skating with Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe on the fourth line during Sunday’s win.
Rangers center Adam Edstrom (84) plays the puck agianst Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.
“He’s had a really good year for us, for his first year being a regular here and being consistently in games,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of Edstrom after practice on Tuesday. “It’s his size, it’s his physicality, it’s his speed. You take that out, you’re gonna miss it, but it’s a great opportunity for anybody else who steps into the lineup. Last game it was Jimmy, that’s a good opportunity for him to jump back in.”
Vesey — in his sixth season with the Rangers across two different stints — skated on the fourth line with Carrick and Rempe again during Tuesday’s practice, meaning it’s likely he’ll remain in that spot.
Before Sunday’s game, Vesey had not been included in the lineup since Jan. 11 — a span of nine games. And his frustration had clearly grown by being left out, as he notably told The Post’s Larry Brooks last week that “it seems that I have fallen out of favor and have just been cast aside” and that “I’m kind of dying by being here.”
Just a few days later, he’s gone from “cast aside” to being counted on to fill an important role.
Jimmy Vesey #26 of the New York Rangers skates against the Winnipeg Jets.
“Just play well and help the team win,” Vesey said on Tuesday about his current mindset. “We’re fighting for the playoffs here, got J.T. [Miller] as a new piece that’s a top player in the league. We wanna get in the playoffs, within the cutoff line. I’m part of the team, just gonna do whatever I can to help us win games.
“It’s just reality, you have to stay ready. You don’t wanna get back in the game and have taken five steps backwards. I thought it was a good start the other night, obviously we got a win and as the game went on, physically I felt better. Hoping to just keep building on that.”
Still, Laviolette had some criticism for the fourth line’s performance on Sunday in Vesey’s return.
“[Laviolette] just grabbed our line here after practice and said he thought we were good, not great,” Vesey said. “I would probably agree with the assessment. The biggest thing is, we gotta spend more time in the offensive zone. We started a lot of times in our [defensive] zone, but it’s our job to kind of take the play into the offensive zone and, maybe not score, but set it up for the lines coming on after us.”
Though he was benched for a while, Vesey, who is much smaller than Edstrom at 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, does have familiarity with his linemates.
That should only help mitigate what is lost without Edstrom.
“He’s been here a long time,” Carrick said on Tuesday. “He’s a guy I’m super comfortable playing with. We get along great. We’re looking forward to playing together again, building some more chemistry, and, yeah, he’s been out a little bit but he’s had a really good attitude, really positive, and he’s been working really hard. And we know he’ll be ready to go when he’s called upon.”
