The New York Rangers earned a convincing 7-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday night — but it may have come at the cost of Blake Wheeler.

The veteran forward — and first-year Ranger — suffered a serious lower-body injury in the first period of the contest, being helped down the tunnel on a stretcher and not returning. He was hit by Habs defenseman Jayden Struble along the boards about midway through the frame, and his right leg appeared to buckle underneath him after he absorbed the check.

“The puck went to the other end, and play continued as Wheeler managed to get up to one knee in an attempt to get up on his own. But his right leg gave out immediately, and he fell back down flat on his front side,” wrote NHL.com's Dan Rosen late Thursday.

“Play stopped with 9:00 remaining, and Rangers forwards Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider helped Wheeler get to the Zamboni entrance, which was closest to him. He could not put any weight on his right leg.”

Wheeler appeared to be in significant pain, and Rangers coach Peter Laviolette didn't have an update on the 37-year-old after the game.

No update on Blake Wheeler, but Rangers expecting a long-term absence

“That was tough for Blake, lower body right now,” New York's bench boss explained, per NHL.com's Dan Rosen. “We'll evaluate it and address it tomorrow, but that's tough. He's a veteran player that came here for a reason. To see something like that happen, it's tough.”

“You never want to see really anyone, but especially a teammate and a friend, go down like that,” teammate Mika Zibanejad echoed. “We were trying to make the best of the situation with 11 forwards, but it's our teammate that gets hurt and it's not just the impact that he has on the ice, but off the ice as well. You don't want to see that happen.”

Wheeler has scored nine goals and 21 points in the Big Apple in 2023-24 after signing a one-year, $850,000 contract with the team in free agency. He's up to 943 points in 1,172 regular-season NHL contests for the Boston Bruins, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and Rangers.

Although his days of being a point-per-game RW are over, he's provided a low-cost option at the position for New York. It's very clear that right wing will be at the top of the team's trade deadline priority list.

The Rangers are bracing for a significant Blake Wheeler absence, and that should directly correlate to how the front office approaches the Mar. 8 NHL Trade Deadline.