Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Friday that he needed to speak with Fast (illness) about his availability for the evening's tilt against Toronto, so his status will likely come down to a game-time decision, the New York Daily News reports.

EDGE Analysis

Fast's reportedly lost eight pounds over the last week because the illness has prevented him from getting much food down, so it seems reasonable that -- particularly with the team getting Rick Nash and Pavel Buchnevich back from injury -- he might be held out of the lineup once more. It's more likely that he'll be back in the lineup for Saturday's game against Montreal, but the Swede still hasn't officially been ruled out for Friday.