SUNRISE, Fla. -- It doesn't seem to matter how many layers of padding the Rangers add to their gloves, for somehow Ruslan Fedotenko became the club's third forward this season and fourth over the last two seasons to suffer a hand injury blocking a shot.
Fedotenko, who sustained the injury blocking a Bryan McCabe power-play drive 12:21 into the first period of yesterday's 3-0 defeat to the Panthers, remained on the ice for another 15 seconds while putting himself in position to try to block another one before heading to the bench and leaving the game for the duration.
goal tender Tomas Vokoun covers up the puck as the Panthers' Dennis Wide man collides with Brandon Dubinsky during the Rangers' 3-0 loss yester day. " title="NOTHING DOING: Florida goal tender Tomas Vokoun covers up the puck as the Panthers' Dennis Wide man collides with Brandon Dubinsky during the Rangers' 3-0 loss yester day. " width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2011/01/03/sports/photos_stories/rangers--300x300.jpg" />
AP
NOTHING DOING: Florida goal tender Tomas Vokoun covers up the puck as the Panthers' Dennis Wide man collides with Brandon Dubinsky during the Rangers' 3-0 loss yester day.
The winger who has become an essential part of the team did not sustain a broken bone the way Ryan Callahan did in Pittsburgh on Dec. 15, or the way Chris Drury did in a training-camp scrimmage, or the way Brandon Dubinsky did in Calgary last season, but Fedotenko's "bad bruise" has him listed as day to day, with the Blueshirts up next on Wednesday at the Garden against Carolina.
After Callahan sustained the broken hand that will keep the alternate captain sidelined for another three-to-five weeks, GM Glen Sather urged his players to have an additional layer of padding sewn into their gloves. It is believed all complied.
Yet Fedotenko still went down. The Rangers are thus either the unluckiest team on the face of the earth or their technique in, as coach John Tortorella calls it, "getting big," to block shots is flawed.
Regardless, with Fedotenko now on the injury list that includes Callahan, Erik Christensen (knee) and Derek Boogaard (concussion), the Rangers' depth is a considerable issue, and even more so because of Tortorella's unwillingness to give meaningful ice time to either Drury or Sean Avery.
Indeed, even after nailing rookie Dale Weise to the bench following a terrible offensive zone roughing penalty at 10:23 of the second that created the Florida power play on which David Booth converted for the only goal Florida netminder Tomas Vokoun needed, Tortorella gave Avery three shifts in the third for 2:41 while giving Drury two even-strength shifts and one penalty-killing turn worth a sum of 1:31.
Drury, who played only 7:50 in Saturday's 2-1 OT defeat at Tampa Bay, got 10:29 yesterday. Avery, who was given a season-low 6:10 against the Lightning, played 9:14 in this one.
So the Rangers aren't operating short only because of the injuries, though they most certainly are taking a toll. The team competes, but it has changed since Callahan went down and Avery lost the coach's confidence. The Blueshirts no longer relentlessly pound on the forecheck and cycle for shifts at a time while crashing the net. Now it comes and goes.
"It's tough because we're losing some players who played with the identity we want to show," said Marty Biron, blameless on the two goals he surrendered and on the bench for the third into an empty net. "I'm talking about grit, physicality, desperation and competitiveness, those things we desire to be as a club.
"Everybody has to show that, because that's how we win games. It's not the best way to go, but good teams find the way to overcome that."
The Rangers did create chances when the game exploded into an exchange of odd-man rushes in the third, but they didn't start well enough. And when former Ranger Chris Higgins buried a two-on-one midway through the third to seal it, insult was added to injury.
larry.brooks@nypost.com
ruslan fedotenko, brandon dubinsky, tomas vokoun, glen sather, chris drury, bryan mccabe, john tortorella, alternate captain, goal tender, blueshirts, sean avery, offensive zone, face of the earth, florida power, coach john, broken bone, callahan, derek boogaard, first period, scrimmage
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