After playing Friday in Philadelphia, Mats Zuccarello was out of the lineup again Saturday afternoon in the Rangers' 5-3 loss to the Capitals.
Coach David Quinn insisted that Zuccarello is fine. The team just didn’t want him playing on consecutive days as he tries to return from a groin strain.
“Two games, back-to-back, so we’re just being cautious,’’ Quinn said, adding that Zuccarello felt fine after Friday’s game and declared himself available for Saturday. But the plan always had been to not play him in both weekend games. “We kind of chose, get him in, play him [Friday], not go back-to-back.