The Rangers went to Philadelphia on Saturday and came away with a huge victory, finally passing the Flyers in the standings to take over first place in the Atlantic Division. Unfortunately, a huge price was paid during that big win, as rookie winger Petr Prucha went down with a strained MCL following a knee-on-knee collision with Flyers forward Turner Stevenson.

Prucha’s importance to the Rangers this season cannot be overstated. Prucha, who will miss 3-4 weeks, is the only Ranger who combines a right-handed shot with consistent finishing ability, and his absence will be a most pressing problem when the Rangers have the man advantage.

Jaromir Jagr, a right wing with a lefthanded shot, quarterbacks the Blueshirts’ power play from the right side along the boards, which enables him to simultaneously carry the puck and face his teammates. The counter to this, of course, is that a right-handed shooter should be on the opposite side of the ice facing Jagr and ready to convert his deft passes into quick-strike goals. The chief shortcoming of the Rangers’ power play this season has been a dearth of players in proper shooting position, which is why the opportunistic Prucha has become such a crucial component of the lineup.

Listed at just 5-foot-10 and 161 pounds, Prucha has demonstrated the toughness and tenacity needed to survive and thrive in the most highly trafficked areas of the offensive zone. In fact, he’s scored many of his 25 goals on rebounds despite competing for space against some of the Eastern Conference’s biggest defensemen.

Prucha, who had been selected to represent the Czech Republic in the upcoming Olympics, left the Wachovia Center on crutches and in tears after the Stevenson hit. But his disappointment will be muted somewhat by the Rangers’ relief.

Put bluntly, the timing of Prucha’s injury couldn’t be better for the Rangers, who play only three more games before the Olympic break, then take nearly three weeks off. When they return to action on March 2 – against the Flyers – it’s quite possible Prucha will be ready to return.

Still, his injury underscores the Rangers’ need for another right-handed shooting sniper. Currently, the only right-handed shots in the lineup belong to forwards Jason Ward and Jed Ortmeyer and defenseman Michal Rozsival, none of whom are appropriate options for the Rangers’ power play. So it’s clear GM Glen Sather should be looking to make a move.

He shouldn’t have to look any further than Hartford, where right-shooting forward Jarkko Immonen (like Prucha, a natural center) is leading the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in scoring with 23 goals and 45 points in his first 49 games, making him one of the Rangers’ best prospects.

That said, Sather should still pull off a trade to acquire a second defenseman who can shoot from the right side. Just as Jagr needs a ready target for his crossice passes near the goal, so too should there be a target on the left point of the power play to fire one-timers into traffic. Fedor Tyutin has emerged as an excellent option on the right side; his booming left-handed shot is the Rangers’ most impressive. But on the left side, Rozsival is really the only option. His +27 rating is impressive, but he really shouldn’t be counted upon for offensive production if the Rangers want to go deep into the playoffs.

Looking at the Stanley Cup winners dating back to 1991, all but one (see chart) had at least one talented rightshooting defenseman available to run the point on the power play. Yet it seems they are something of an endangered species. The Rangers’ best defense prospects – Thomas Pock, Ivan Baranka, and Marc Staal – all shoot from the left side, meaning Sather will need to look outside the organization to fill this pressing need.

Of the NHL’s top 30 scoring defensemen, only eight shoot from the right side, and it’s unlikely that any of them will be available for a trade since they all play for playoff contenders. Still, there is a handful of players out there who might not be too pricey and could yield huge dividends down the road.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are out of the running for the playoffs, so they might be willing to part with 27-year-old defenseman Ric Jackman. In the second season of a two-year, $1.9 million deal, Jackman has tallied 26 points in 41 games, and the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent could be had at a reasonable price.

Other options worth considering are Montreal’s Craig Rivet and Florida’s Sean Hill, both of whom are capable of playing the point on the power play but are also competent defensively, a crucial quality as the playoffs approach.

That Immonen is a readily available option to replace Prucha and that their only pressing need is a right-shooting blueliner underscores just how successful the Rangers’ rebuilding program has been thus far. The question for now is whether the Rangers intend to make the short-term moves needed to go deep into the playoffs in what is expected to be their first appearance since 1997.

As last week’s deal that sent Doug Weight to Carolina indicated, cash strapped non-playoff teams like the Blues are looking to shed contracts this week so their trading partners will be on the hook for the players’ salaries during the Olympic break. The price for a player like Jackman or Hill – in terms of prospects and draft picks – will never be lower than it is right now.

Given the uncertainty of success in the NHL, Sather would be wise to strike while the iron is hot. And given the Rangers’ vast economic resources, it’s time to make a deal.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.