Adam Edstrom was gearing up for his game with the Wolf Pack on Friday morning when he got the call that he could be making his NHL debut with the New York Rangers that night instead.
Hopping in a car service, Edstrom made his way from Hartford to Manhattan.
He then took the Garden ice for warmups, but he notably didn’t skate his rookie lap or take line rushes.
It wasn’t until Nick Bonino came up to him in the locker room and said he wasn’t feeling well enough to play that Edstrom realized the moment he had been waiting for his entire life was about to happen.
The towering 6-foot-7 forward went on to score his first NHL goal with three seconds left in regulation to further secure the Blueshirts’ 5-1 win over the Ducks.
“I feel like I don’t need that rookie lap,” he said with a smile.
Directly replacing Bonino on the third line with Jonny Brodzinski and Will Cuylle, two players he called teammates down in Hartford, certainly helped Edstrom.
The 161st overall pick in 2019 more than held his own in 9:39 of ice time, over which he posted three shots on goal, two hits, one takeaway and one giveaway in addition to the goal.
“That’s tough sometimes, but maybe it’s good too,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of the last-minute switch of Edstrom and Bonino, who took warm-ups but was ultimately scratched. “Sometimes you think about it all day. You think about it too much. It was a game-time decision and he came in. I thought he played a real strong game.”
Laviolette wouldn’t confirm whether or not Edstrom would be making the trip to Boston.
K’Andre Miller did not compete in a second straight game Friday night when the Rangers took on the Ducks at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers cited personal reasons for Miller’s absence once again.
Miller returned to practice on Thursday after missing the game against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday and practice on Wednesday.
It’s unclear if he will be available on Saturday in Boston against the Bruins.
As a result, Zac Jones remained in the lineup for a second consecutive game on the third pair alongside Braden Schneider.
Jonathan Quick earned the starting nod against the Ducks on Friday, marking his 10th start of the season.
As a result, it’s likely that Igor Shesterkin will face the Bruins in Boston on the second night of the Rangers’ back-to-back schedule on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of games coming up, there’s back-to-backs,” Laviolette said. “I think [Quick getting more playing time is] naturally going to happen. About both goaltenders, there’s a tremendous amount of confidence in both goalies. And so that’s a really good situation for our organization.
“I think just based on the schedule I think you’ll see the goaltenders both get time here.”
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