GREENBURGH, N.Y. – For the majority of the season, Neal Pionk was the Rangers’ No. 1 defenseman. He was the point man on the No. 1 power-play unit, and was the righthanded half of the top defensive pair, both at even strength and on the penalty kill. And he led the team in ice time, every night.
But lately, things haven’t been going well for Pionk, the 23-year-old, second-year pro out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. A lower-body injury – sustained blocking a shot in a game in late December – caused him to miss three of four games in mid-January and appears to have factored in his slippage in play.