Demure right winger Mats Zuccarello hes departed Sochi and is returning to New York with his hand splinted and wrapped, an MRI revealing a non-displaced fracture to his right hand.
Though the team has not confirmed that diagnosis - nor should they at this juncture - they have confirmed that Zuccarello is on his way back to New York and is scheduled to meet with team physicians on Thursday:
A further update on @zuccarello36: he will arrive in New York tomorrow and meet with #NYR doctor Thursday afternoon
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 19, 2014
As reported here on Tuesday, Zuccarello injured the hand in Group B play against Austria and was forced to watch his Norwegian teammates get pounded by the powerful Russian team in the qualifying round - and while there are conflicting reports among various news agencies of exact day that "The Hobbit" will return to the United States, what is not in conflict is that this injury is a serious blow to a Rangers' team that was white-hot entering the break.
Winners of five of their last six games and with a less-than-imposing schedule down the stretch, the Rangers seemed primed to secure a playoff berth - and they still may, but the loss of their leading scorer for what is rumored to be four-to-six weeks dampens that enthusiasm.
With 67 points and 23 games left on the Rangers' schedule, the Blue Shirts currently sit on the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, but with six teams within five points of the Rangers, that status is tenuous to say the least.
Zuccarello's is just the latest injury to a star NHL player in the Sochi Games, a point of contention for commissioner Gary Bettman to consider when making a decision as to whether the NHL will continue to allow it's players to compete in the Olympics going forward.
http://www.sportsinjuryalert.com/2014/02/mri-reveals-broken-hand-for-rangers.html#.UwTq04Ucq58
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