The Rangers are dealing with another hit on the blue line, and this one will keep rookie Alberts Smits out for at least a while.
New York said Monday that Smits is week to week with an upper-body injury, a blow that comes after he was a late scratch for Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. The 18-year-old had played the first 17 games of the season after making the team out of training camp, averaging 14:29 of ice time along the way.
The injury’s timing is still unclear. Smits last suited up Thursday in a 3-2 Rangers win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden, where he logged 13:22.
With Smits unavailable Saturday, Matthew Robertson slid into the lineup for his first appearance of the season. The 25-year-old skated 11:14 on the third pair alongside Scott Morrow, who was in his fourth straight game filling in for the injured Sean Durzi.
That pairing should stick for now. Durzi remains on injured reserve with an unspecified issue, though he is traveling with the club on its current four-game road trip. Coach Mike Sullivan said Durzi won’t play Monday against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Rangers also added another defenseman to the mix Sunday, recalling Marc Del Gaizo from Hartford of the American Hockey League. That move pointed to Smits being out beyond a one-game absence, and it leaves Del Gaizo as the seventh defenseman on the roster.
Smits hasn’t picked up his first NHL point yet, and he has only eight shots on goal, including two against the Flyers. Still, the Rangers have seen enough to know he’s handled the jump reasonably well for a teenager in his first month in the league.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft has been on the ice for eight goals for and nine against at 5v5. His expected goal share sits at 41.83 percent, according to Natural Stat Trick. He’s tied for 10th on the Rangers with 10 blocked shots and has been credited with 17 hits, which works out to one per game and 4.14 per 60 minutes.
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