Rangers lineup: Barclay Goodrow's toughness on display in return from 'scary' injury

NEW YORK - Contrary to what many observers thought they saw, it wasn't teeth that came flying out of Barclay Goodrow's mouth and onto the ice in Ottawa last week.

Exactly what it was remains somewhat of a mystery.

"I don’t know," Goodrow said with a still-swollen upper lip following the Rangers' morning skate Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. "That was part of my mouth that should have been inside my mouth."

Postgame takeaways: Jonathan Quick earns win over former team

The puck that did the damage came screaming off teammate K'Andre Miller's stick and smashed the 30-year-old forward in the face. The jarring injury that Goodrow described as "fluky" resulted in a variety of medical issues and caused him to miss the following game Saturday in Washington.

"It was scary," he said. "I was so close to (Miller); I didn’t have any time to react to it. Next thing I know, it felt like my mouth was in a million pieces."

The pain was excruciating and the wound required more stitches than Goodrow could count, but the worst part may be the lingering effects.

Doctors told him he'll be restricted to liquid food for a month.

"I’m just trying to figure out how to get protein and everything I need in a different form other than solids," he said.

Despite the limited diet, Goodrow, who will be sporting a full face shield for the foreseeable future, mustered the energy to return and play a pivotal role in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Head coach Peter Laviolette tasked him, Tyler Pitlick and Jimmy Vesey with matching up against L.A.'s top line of Quinton Byfield, Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.

"He was off for a couple of days and it was not an easy assignment," Laviolette said. "It was a tougher role against some pretty good players on that L.A. team, especially that top line with Anze. It’s a really good job by them and I’m going to count on them the same way (Tuesday)."

In their 8:43 time on ice together, New York's fourth line allowed only one scoring chance, according to Natural Stat Trick, sparking a bounce-back defensive effort. The Rangers had surrendered four goals or more in five of their previous seven games, but stopped the bleeding in an emphatic way against one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

The message was sent when Laviolette put Goodrow's line on the ice for Sunday's opening faceoff.

"We love having those matchups," Goodrow said. "When you're playing against a top line, obviously they're expected to score. We take a lot of pride in that responsibility and in shutting them down. I think the two games where we've done that for most of our shifts, as a line, we've played really well."

They're expecting a similar assignment in Tuesday's 7 p.m. game against the visiting Maple Leafs.

Adding to the difficulty of slowing down one of the NHL's most star-studded attacks will be the absence of Miller, who Laviolette said has been excused for personal reasons.

"They’re one of the most skilled teams in the league," Goodrow said. "They have been for the last few years. You see (William) Nylander, (Auston) Matthews, (Mitch) Marner, (John) Tavares and the numbers they put up – the offense they can create – so it's going to be a good test for us defensively. If we can bring the same effort we did last game in terms of the attention to detail and just the overall defensive game, we should put ourselves in a good spot."

Laviolette will count on Goodrow, Pitlick and Vesey to lead that effort, which they've quietly excelled at since joining forces last month. In 96:13 total TOI together, that trio has only allowed three goals while posting a 55.68% xGF.

There have been recent games when that structured approach has gotten away from the Rangers, but putting their most defensive conscious forwards on the ice against opposing team's top producers is a strategy that seems to get them back to those disciplined principles.

"The bottom line is that they've proven that they can be a really effective line for us," Laviolette said. "Not every game is the same. Sometimes you're on the road. Sometimes you're at home. Sometimes it's the score. There are different things that factor into it, but when you can slot a role or an assignment for a person or for a line, I think it always helps keep their focus."

NY Rangers (19-6-1) projected lineup: Game 27 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (14-6-5)

When: Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.

Where: Madison Square Garden

TV/Radio: MSG Network/98.7 FM

Forwards

Top line ⊳ Chris Kreider (LW) ⋄ Mika Zibanejad (C) ⋄ Blake Wheeler (RW)

Second line ⊳ Artemi Panarin (LW) ⋄ Vincent Trocheck (C) ⋄ Alexis Lafrenière (RW)

Third line ⊳ Will Cuylle (LW) ⋄ Nick Bonino (C) ⋄ Jonny Brodzinski (RW)

Fourth line ⊳ Jimmy Vesey (LW) ⋄ Barclay Goodrow (C) ⋄ Tyler Pitlick (RW)

Defensemen

Top pair ⊳ Ryan Lindgren (L) ⋄ Adam Fox (R)

Second pair ⊳ Erik Gustafsson (L) ⋄ Jacob Trouba (R)

Third pair ⊳ Zac Jones (L) ⋄ Braden Schneider (R)

Goalies

Starter ⊳ Igor Shesterkin

Backup ⊳ Jonathan Quick

Long-term injured reserve: F Filip Chytil (upper body) and F Kaapo Kakko (lower body)

Healthy scratch: D K'Andre Miller

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Projected lineup: Rangers' Barclay Goodrow's toughness on display