The last thing the Rangers need right now is another injury.
But second-year winger Pavel Buchnevich was forced from the team’s 4-0 loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday night at the Garden with what the team was calling an “upper-body injury.” He took an unpenalized elbow to the jaw from Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner with 11:28 remaining in the second period and didn’t return.
Buchnevich was not pulled by the league concussion spotters, but there was no update on the nature of his injury or its severity.
The Rangers are already dealing with the absence of winger Chris Kreider (rib resection) and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (knee surgery), both of whom are going to remain out for at least a few more weeks.