When Lias Andersson was recalled from AHL Hartford on Thursday, it was assumed he was adding depth for a potential trade or to allow the Rangers to scratch one of their movable pieces.
By the end of the night, it was just one more head-scratching decision.
Andersson did not end up replacing Kevin Hayes or Mats Zuccarello in the lineup. Instead, he was called up six hours before puck drop just to play 10:41 in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss to the Wild as the fourth-line center and made Boo Nieves a healthy scratch.
“Lias has played well down in Hartford,” coach David Quinn said.