Rangers’ forward Barclay Goodrow leaves game against Senators after puck to the face

New York Rangers’ forward Barclay Goodrow will not return to the Blueshirts’ contest against the Ottawa Senators after sustaining an upper-body injury late in the first period on Tuesday.

The friendly fire occurred when New York d-man K’Andre Miller attempted to shovel an Ottawa clearance into the corner, only for the puck to strike Goodrow squarely in the face. The veteran center left the ice in obvious discomfort before the team announced he was out for at least the remainder of the game.

Things have only gotten worse for the Rangers, down 1-0 at the time of the injury, without Goodrow. After Miller’s wrister cut the Sens’ lead to 3-2, net-front tallies from Drake Batherson and Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk widened the margin to 5-2 before the second intermission.

Goodrow has been a significant part of New York’s veteran leadership group and penalty kill since arriving on Broadway from Tampa in the summer of 2021, and, though his scoring is down (3P in 23GP), his absence will not make a comeback any easier.

The Rangers are winners in six of their last seven contests and have an iron grip on the ‘Metro,’ where they lead second-place Carolina by 8 points. Their hiccup in Ottawa aside, the team is playing well under new coach Peter Laviolette, who replaced Gerard Gallant in the offseason.

In the coming days, it will become clear whether Goodrow will return to the lineup in time for his team’s visit to the rival Washington Capitals this Saturday. In the meantime, they will work on erasing a three-goal at the Canadian Tire Centre.