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The Eastern Conference Semifinals were set on Saturday, May 4, following the Bruins‘ win over the Leafs in Game 7 as Boston joined the Florida Panthers, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the New York Rangers in the second round of the Eastern side of the bracket.
The Rangers, who will kick off the second round on Sunday by hosting the Hurricanes in Madison Square Garden, welcomed a crucial member of their lineup back to practice on Saturday after he missed the last two sessions for “maintenance” reasons.
Multiple Rangers beat reporters, including Vince Mercogliano of USA Today, Mollie Walker of the New York Post, and Peter Baugh of The Athletic, reported Fox’s presence on the ice on Saturday, May 4, a little over 24 hours from puck drop of Game 1 between New York and Carolina.
Adam Fox Could Have Suffered a Knee Injury
After Fox missed the first practice of the week and then the second one a day after that, there was some concern among Rangers fans and reporters about what was going on with New York’s No. 1 defenseman.
There was a reason for concern, mind you, as Fox found himself in a bang-bang play in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Washington Capitals. Fox suffered a knee-on-knee hit by opposing defenseman Nick Jensen.
The Rangers, however, didn’t confirm nor deny there is an injury affecting Fox entering Game 1 nor leaving him out of the prior two practices held by New York before Saturday’s.
“At this time of the year, if you can get some extra rest, it’s important,” Fox told reporters after practice on May 4. “Obviously, it’s nice to get out there and skate before the game.”
Fox already took another hit over six months ago when he collided with upcoming opponent Sebastian Aho in a regular-season game against the Hurricanes on Nov. 2. Following that game, Fox missed 10 games.
Adam Fox in Game 1 Lineup Along With Rookie Matt Rempe
Not only was Fox back training on Saturday, but Marcogliano also listed him in the first defensive pair when reporting the lines deployed in practice by Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette on May 4.
Those lines are the exact same ones as those conforming the lineup used by New York in their series finale against the Capitals. That, by extension, means that Matt Rempe will feature for the Rangers when they make their second-round debut against the Canes on Sunday at MSG.
Rempe was joined by teammates Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow as part of the fourth, “enforcing” line of the Rangers ahead of their matchup against Carolina.
The rookie has yet to play against the Hurricanes since making his debut in the regular season, as he was suspended the last time both teams met back on March 12.
That game, which the Rangers won 1-0 with Fox scoring the only goal then and there, was played in Raleigh and it was Rempe’s first off the ice amid a four-game suspension handed to him by the NHL following his headshot to New Jersey Devils’ Jonas Siegenthaler.
After some doubts entering the playoffs about whether or not he would be a healthy scratch, Rempe never lost coach Laviolette’s confidence and played in all four games of the first-round series against the Capitals.
Rempe only logged 27:02 minutes of playing time against Washington, the fewest by any Ranger, according to Stathead. If Laviolette decides to scratch him at some point, his natural replacements would be Jonny Brodzinski (faster and versatile) or Filip Chytil (coming off a months-long recovery from concussion symptoms).
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