Mats Zuccarello moves back where ‘he belongs’ in return

PHILADELPHIA — Mats Zuccarello, sidelined because of a groin issue for the past three games and six of the previous seven matches, made his return on the Rangers fourth line Friday afternoon.

But by the start of the second period of the Rangers’ 4-0 defeat to the Flyers, Zuccarello had reclaimed his rightful spot on the top six, leaving Lias Andersson and Steven Fogarty behind to skate on the left with Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast.

“That was the plan,” coach David Quinn said. “Zukey was very confident, but I wanted to put him into a situation where I could ease him back into it.
“And then he felt good enough where I could put him where he belongs.”

Zuccarello played 4:08 in the first period, racing back to block an odd-man rush shot from the right side by Shayne Gostisbehere with less than a minute to play. Zuccarello got 4:49 of ice in the second period and 6:32 in the third for a total of 15:29.

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Quinn, who for the most part kept the Chris Kreider-Kevin Hayes-Filip Chytil unit intact, shuffled his other three combinations as the game evolved. When Zuccarello moved up, Vlad Namestnikov slid to the left side with Brett Howden and Ryan Strome when the displaced Jimmy Vesey joined Andersson and Fogarty.

Andersson, who played 7:20 through the first two periods, was awarded 5:10 in the third by Quinn, for a sum of 12:32. The freshman center had a running battle throughout with defenseman Christian Folin, a fellow Swede seven years his senior.

Strome engaged in the fifth fight of his NHL career (per hockeyfights.com), dropping the gloves with Travis Konecny at 9:52 of the second period after he’d been challenged following a big hit on the boards against Sean Couturier.

Chytil, among those who notably attempted risky and counterproductive plays in the offensive zone, had his five-game goal-scoring streak snapped. The Czech, removed from the first power-play unit, had two shots in 15:25.

Quinn moved Hayes from the second man-advantage unit to the first after the Blueshirts’ failed to generate a shot on their initial power play in the opening period. Namestnikov fell out of the mix entirely to accommodate Zuccarello’s return. Brendan Smith was the healthy scratch on defense for the second consecutive match.

Blueshirts, who had the minimum complement of 12 healthy forwards, summoned 20-year-old winger Tim Gettinger from the AHL Wolf Pack following the match.

The 6-foot-6 Cleveland native recorded 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in 20 games for Hartford following a strong training camp.