Last night, MSG announced during the Rangers 7-0 drubbing of the Leafs that Chad Kolarik had been called up to replace the injured Brandon Dubinsky. Kolarik has 13 goals and 23 points in 26 games since being acquired for Dane Byers earlier in the season. Kolarik, 24, was a 7th round pick in 2004, and has played in just two NHL games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season.

During last night’s game, Ruslan Fedotenko took a hit from Mike Komisarek and suffered a sprained shoulder. He will be out 2-4 weeks. The Rangers recalled Brodie Dupont to replace Fedotenko. Dupont, 23, was a 3rd round pick by the Rangers in 2005, and has been in the Rangers system for the past three seasons. This year, DUpont has eight goals, 20 points, and 54 PIMs in 40 games. Dupont generally averages 40 points per season with 100+ PIMs.

Kolarik has an offensive touch to his game, which will be needed with Dubinsky, the Rangers leading scorer, out for a while. Dupont fits more of the bottom-six forward mold, with added toughness. With Dale Weise, Kris Newbury, and Mats Zuccarello-Aasen already on the roster, the Rangers now have five forwards who started the season in Hartford on the roster. All those years of minimal injuries have caught up with the Rangers. Consider this to be regression to the injury mean.

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