St. Louis to play for Rangers after mother's death

Friday, 05.09.2014 / 6:49 PM

By Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor / Penguins-Rangers series blog

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PITTSBURGH -- New York Rangers forward Martin St. Louis will be in the lineup for Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS), one day after the death of his mother.

The Penguins lead the best-of-7 series 3-1.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said St. Louis learned of the death of his mother France, 63, on Thursday, not long after the Rangers landed here. Vigneault said St. Louis immediately left the team to return to his family's home in Montreal.

Speaking with St. Louis on Thursday and Friday, Vigneault said St. Louis expressed a desire to play in Game 5.

"This morning he said that he talked to his dad," Vigneault said Friday. "And him and his dad both agreed that his mom would want him to be here, and that's what he did."

Vigneault said the decision was St. Louis' alone.

"We had a good talk [Thursday] night, and at the end of the day my message to him was there's more important things than hockey," Vigneault said. "You have to do what's right. You have to take care of your dad. But they got up this morning and they talked and they sorted it out. And he's here."

Vigneault said St. Louis' decision to play reveals a lot about the veteran's character.

"I think that says a lot about him, but it also says a lot about his teammates that he'd want to be here and play [Friday]," Vigneault said. "He's here and we're going to play."

The Rangers will have forward Derek Dorsett and defenseman John Moore back in the lineup after they each were a healthy scratch the past two games. Forward Daniel Carcillo and defenseman Raphael Diaz, who each played Game 4, will be scratched.

The only change for the Penguins is defenseman Robert Bortuzzo replacing injured Brooks Orpik in the lineup. Orpik is out with an undisclosed injury sustained in the first period of Game 4.

Coach Dan Bylsma did not have an update on Orpik, other than to say Orpik's injury is different from the one that kept him out the final two games of the Penguins' first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the first three games of this series.

RANGERS

Benoit Pouliot - Derick Brassard - Mats Zuccarello

Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Rick Nash

Carl Hagelin - Brad Richards - Martin St. Louis

Brian Boyle - Dominic Moore - Derek Dorsett

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi

Marc Staal - Anton Stralman

John Moore - Kevin Klein

Henrik Lundqvist

Cam Talbot

Scratched: Daniel Carcillo, Ryan Haggerty, Raphael Diaz, Justin Falk, J.T. Miller, Jesper Fast

PENGUINS