New York Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky will not be returning to the lineup Monday night for the Broadway Blueshirts when they take on the New Jersey Devils in the fourth game of their Eastern Conference final series at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
The 26-year-old Alaskan practiced with the Rangers at their morning skate, but told reporters afterward that he would not be in the lineup for Monday night's game as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury sustained in the seventh game of the team's series with the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Dubinsky had no goals and one assist in that series while posting a plus-2 rating.
Rangers forward Brandon Prust was suspended on Sunday due to his elbow to the head of Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov in Saturday afternoon's Game 3, a 3-0 Rangers victory at the Prudential Center that gave the Blueshirts a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series. With Prust out, there was speculation that the available slot on the Rangers' roster could provide the opening for Dubinsky's return, but that idea has apparently been ruled out.
With Dubinsky out, all indications are that defenseman Stu Bickel will take Prust's spot in the lineup. Bickel, who was a healthy scratch on Saturday for the first time during these Stanley Cup Playoffs, skated wearing a blue forward's jersey during the morning skate, indicating that Bickel will take Prust's place on a forward line. Steve Eminger, who replaced Bickel in the lineup on Saturday, will remain in on defense with Anton Stralman.
The 6-foot-4 Bickel, who made his NHL debut this season, is scoreless with a minus-2 rating and four penalty minutes in 16 playoff games. He was a minus-1 in last Wednesday's game, a 3-2 Rangers loss at Madison Square Garden. He had nine assists in 51 regular season games while playing a handful of games at forward. Prust, meanwhile, has one assist and a plus-1 rating in 17 appearances this postseason.
When the Rangers last found themselves short a forward, in the first game of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Washington Capitals, Eminger skated as a seventh defenseman, and the Rangers showed no reservations about moving him up to take shifts with the team's fourth forward line. It should be a solid fit for Bickel as well. While Bickel probably won't replicate Prust's offensive threat on the penalty kill, he does bring the work ethic and intensity to be a capable checking line forward. In addition, while Rangers head coach John Tortorella expects all his players to be responsible defensively, there is a drop in defensive responsibility moving to forward from the blueline, which should allow Bickel to throw his weight around while decreasing the likelihood of costly turnovers.
