During last night’s game, Ryan McDonaugh took a hard hit from Canucks antagonist Alex Burrows with 47 seconds left. McDonaugh was able to skate off on his own but didn’t seem to be moving his left shoulder. The Rangers can ill afford to lose him.

Regarding Burrows’ hit, it came from the side. Not from behind as MSG’s Sam Rosen and Joe Micheletti contended. As much as I dislike him, Burrows’ hit didn’t warrant a major penalty. He has a reputation as a dirty player. Of course, anytime a borderline guy finishes a check late in a game with his team about to lose they’re going to get criticized. The question is was the hit really as bad as some are making it out to be.

From our vantage point, Burrows comes in from the side. The more pressing issue is that it was high on a defenseless McDonaugh. He was assessed an elbowing major and game misconduct. I’ve watched it several times and fail to see how it’s more than a two minute penalty. At worst, it’s a rough because his hands were high and made contact with McDonaugh’s chin.

What made it worse was that Zach Kassian rode McDonaugh from the other side leaving him no room. He turned right into Burrows, who finished his check. Unfortunately, he got hurt. The good news is there’s no structural damage to his left shoulder. He made the trip to Colorado. Figure John Moore to replace him in the lineup. Hopefully, McDonaugh will be back soon. The Rangers have five games remaining.