Of all the positions in a lineup, a loss at middle could arguably be the most troublesome for the Rangers.
The Blueshirts might have to confront that risk after Joe Veleno suffered a lower-body damage early in the first interval of their 4-2 win over the Mammoth on Sunday night time.
On just his third shift, Veleno went down awkwardly alongside the boards in a tangle with Clayton Keller. After struggling to get to the bench, the 26-year-old middle consulted a team coach before requiring help off the ice and to the dressing room.
Veleno didn’t put any weight on his proper leg as he made his method. He didn’t return for the relaxation of the recreation.
“No [update],” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “He’s being evaluated right now for a lower-body injury. I’ll probably have more for you, maybe [Monday].”
The Rangers made an effort to bolster their middle pipeline this offseason, focusing on Cole Beaudoin as one of the key return items in the Trocheck commerce with Utah on July 1.
Rangers defenseman Scott Morrow, left, and ahead Joe Veleno are seen on the ice during a recreation against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden in New York, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR NEW YORK POST
Beaudoin is the most intriguing middle prospect the Rangers could flip to, but Sunday night time was just his second recreation of skilled hockey with the AHL Wolf Pack. It’s unclear if the Rangers would need to instantly look at one of their new prime prospects or let him acclimate in the AHL first.
Otherwise, the Rangers have Justin Dowling, Glenn Gawdin, Juuso Parssinen and Dylan Roobroeck as other middle choices in Hartford. Dowling, Gawdin and Parssinen are the only ones among them with NHL expertise, but Parssinen has skated on the wing through the Wolf Pack’s first two video games of the season.
Dowling, who performed one recreation for the Rangers last season, was a wholesome scratch for Hartford on Sunday night time.
Sullivan appreciated what he saw from Tye Kartye skating on the second line, a change the Rangers head coach made during the win over the Red Wings on Friday.
So Kartye remained in that spot next to J.T. Miller and Pavel Dorofeyev the following recreation.
“I thought that line played well [in Detroit],” Sullivan said after morning skate Sunday. “Tye’s just a little bit of a completely different sort of player. He brings a pace factor. He’s a canine on a bone on the puck. He’s a actual good puck pursuit man. Forces turnovers, hurries performs, performs in the battle areas. You go back to last 12 months when he performed with J.T. They had a little bit of familiarity there, understanding each other’s tendencies. He’s just a little bit of a completely different sort of player than Ollie.
“We’re still trying to explore this group that we have and figure out combinations that we think give us the best chance for success. One of the things we really like about the group, with some of the options that we have, is regardless of who we move around, we’ve got some balance.”
Eeli Tolvanen scored an empty-net aim in the win and prolonged his level streak to three straight video games.
With his help on Gabe Perreault’s aim, Mika Zibanejad surpassed Mark Messier for the sixth-most assists on go-ahead targets in franchise historical past (134).
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