Game time decisions on defence
Posted Mar 11, 2011 01:21:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Rangers fans are holding their breath in hopes of good news before tonight’s big game with the Owen Sound Attack.
Two key pieces of the Kitchener Rangers defence are battling injuries and will be game time decisions for what is arguably the biggest test of the regular season.
Julian Melchiori took a big hit in the second period of last Sunday’s game in Ottawa and his nursing a sore back. Ryan Murphy took an apparent high stick behind the play in Kingston last Friday and did not finish the game or the weekend. He’s been suffering from concussion-like symptoms.
The projected Top 10 pick in this summer’s NHL entry draft admits the hit, from Kingston’s Ryan Davidson, “overwhelmed” him.
“It shook me up a little, I was spinning a little, I had a little bit of a headache and I got some stitches in my nose,” says Murphy, who’s pretty sure the hit came from an elbow, not a stick. “I was a little out of it and the more I went, the more light-headed I felt. So I thought it would be a good idea to shut it down seeing as playoffs are just around the corner.”
Head coach Steve Spott also sees the postseason on the horizon.
“Anytime you take a hit like he (Murphy) took, you have to look at the big picture,” Spott says. “And the big picture for me comes probably two Fridays from now. And that’s going to be the opening night of the playoffs.”
So what about tonight, a night on which the Owen Sound Attack and their 87 points come skating into Kitchener? The Attack have a three-point lead on the Rangers for first place in not just the Midwest Division but also the Western Conference.
Spott won’t risk his players’ health for the sake of the first place finish he so covets.
“We want to make sure (Murphy) is completely healthy,” Spott says flatly. “Saying that, if he feels he can go this weekend, we’ll get him back in. But that will be up to Ryan and the medical team.”
While he admits to feeling more like himself by Monday, Murphy also understands the big picture implications of playing before he’s absolutely ready.
“We’re going step by step and making sure this thing is 100% before I get back in the line-up,” Murphy concedes. “So I’m just taking it day by day and how I feel on game day will determine whether I’m going to be in or out of the line-up.”
Both Mechiori and Murphy are pieces of the Rangers top four on defence and Spott admits neither player is 100%. He’ll be meeting with the medical staff and head trainer Dan Lebold before a final verdict is issued.
