PITTSBURGH _ Rick Nash, will miss at least three games, including Tuesday against the Penguins, because of a groin strain on the opposite side of the one he incurred against the Islanders on Dec. 6, according to Rangers coach Alain Vigneault.
"He won't play these next two games and then we come back from the Christmas break (Dec. 27) and it's just a morning skate, so it's safe to safe at this time that he probably won't play the next three games and after that it's day to day," Vigneault said Tuesday. "We'll see how he reacts to treatment."
The strain, Vigneault said, "is on the other side, so it's probably compensation and the lovely schedule we've had. He just hurt it right at the start of the overtime (Sunday against New Jersey)."
Nash is tied with Michael Grabner with a team-leading 13 goals.
Forward Brandon Pirri (6-6-12) will draw back into the lineup for the Rangers (23-10-1, 47 points) after being a healthy scratch for two games.
"He'll get an opportunity again five-on-five," Vigneault said. "I want to see him play well at both ends of the ice. It looked like he had some real good jump and a good release this morning. I'm hoping that will be there on the power play. He was effective for us in finding the right seams and getting that shot through."
In the morning skate, Pirri was on the right point with Ryan McDonagh, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan on one power play unit.
In goal, Antti Raanta, who played here in a 5-2 win on Nov. 21, gets the nod over Henrik Lundqvist.
Asked if that game was a factor in his decision, Vigneault quipped: "Probably has more to do with Hank giving up two last game... No, we just got back from three (games) in four (nights), a really tough part of the schedule and he played well in this building and he's fresh tonight so we just decided to go in that direction."
The last appearance for Raanta (8-2-0, 1.67 goals-against-average, .941 save percentage) came when he played 5:31 subbing for Lundqvist when he went through concussion protocol after being decked behind the net by the Stars' Cody Eakin five days ago. His last full game was a 2-1 loss against Chicago on Dec. 13.
"Hank played great last week and the team continues to play good, and of course, it's nice to get going again," said Raanta. "It was nice to get a little practice again. When you play four games in six days you get a little bit of bad habits, you start cheating a little bit."
The Penguins (20-7-5, 45 points) will start Matt Murray (12-2-0, 1.84, .938) in goal Tuesday.
