The New York Rangers have announced that defenseman Jeff Woywitka and forward Wojtek Wolski have been assigned to the Connecticut Whale of the AHL on two-week conditioning stints. This is similar to what the Blueshirts had previously done with Erik Christensen last month, who just returned to the NHL squad this past Tuesday. This process if most often done to keep players just coming off of injury active while there are no available spots in the lineup with the big club. That's the case here.
Woywitka played 26 games with the Rangers this season before injuring his foot in late December, and has not played a single game since. In that span, Woywitka recorded a total of 6 points and was a plus-2 overall rating on the year. Right now there is no room for him in the defensive lineup with how well everyone has played there, including call-up Stu Bickel. It's good that Woywitka will get some work in down in Connecticut because he won't be back in the Rangers lineup for a while.
Similar story with Wojtek Wolski, who is just finishing his recovery from sports hernia surgery earlier in the season. Wolski has only played in 9 games with New York this year, registering three total points (all assists). Carl Hagelin has stepped in with Wolski out and has obviously played some excellent hockey. John Mitchell, too, has performed a key role for the Rangers, so again, there's simply no space for Wolski to fit in.
The Rangers were off today as they traveled home from Buffalo following last night's win, but will be holding practice tomorrow.
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