A hit. Then silence.
Adam Sykora did not get back up right away. First period. A collision in the corner. Devils defenseman Mikael Diotte runs through him. Sykora loses his balance. He slams into the boards. Team-mates and a trainer have to help him off the ice.
The diagnosis comes a few hours later. Lower-body injury. Four to five months out. A season that is almost over before it has even begun for the Rangers winger, 22.
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A prospect New York had been counting on this season
New York was banking on him. Sykora was coming off an 11-game NHL season last year. Three goals, one assist, a minus-1 rating, five penalty minutes, 10 blocked shots, 20 hits. An average of 11:10 on the ice. Not much, but enough to hint at more.
In the AHL with Hartford, the numbers paint a better picture. Twenty-nine points in 62 games. 12 goals, 17 assists. Picked in the second round of the 2022 draft, the Slovakia native was one of the attacking prospects in New York’s pipeline for this campaign.
New York already has to adjust
The 3-2 pre-season loss to the Devils is now a footnote. The Rangers open their regular season on Tuesday. Boston are waiting at home. Without Sykora. The club will have to deal with that absence from night one, and for a long time after.
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