HANK OK FOR ROYAL RETURN
A RANGERS trainer wore a green Henrik Lundqvist T-shirt for Tuesday’s St. Patrick’s Day practice in Greenburgh. He might have to wear it for the rest of the season.
Lundqvist was cleared about an hour later, well after the end of practice, to return to practice with his teammates, concluding a six-week absence due to a rare, partially torn blood-vessel injury sustained from a puck to the throat.
“(One) step closer,” Lundqvist tweeted, with a thumbs-up emoji. “It’s been (six) long weeks, look forward to start practicing with the boys.”
The Rangers (44-17-7, 95 points), who stand atop the NHL standings, will start Cam Talbot in net against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at the Garden, and they have a scheduled offday on Thursday.
So Lundqvist’s first team practice will be Friday at 11 a.m. in Greenburgh, before a weekend backto-back at Carolina on Saturday night and at home on Sunday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
One of those two games could mark his first start since his 6-3 win over Florida on Feb. 2. Head coach Alain Vigneault indicated recently that Lundqvist’s individual workouts have been “very intense” and that it shouldn’t be long once he’s cleared medically before he’s ready to start.
Lundqvist has missed the past 20 games. He was hit in the throat by a puck on Jan. 31 and allowed to play two days later, but one doctor then noticed that his neck’s whiplash had caused an injury that could have led to a stroke if Lundqvist had not been shut down immediately.
The rest of the Rangers practiced on Tuesday. Lundqvist walked by the ice at the training facility, but his “exam and consultation with specialists,” per the team release, did not occur until after Vigneault’s press conference and the media’s departure.
Vigneault actually was unaware of Lundqvist’s condition when he stepped to the podium. He noticed the unusually large media contingent there in anticipation of potential news on the King — and laughed: “You guys were expecting Hank today, eh? Not a chance.”
The Rangers have a 15-2-3 record in the 20 games since Lundqvist last played, with Talbot posting a 13-2-3 mark in 18 starts and rookie third-stringer Mackenzie Skapski providing “the Buffalo killing,” as Vigneault called it, with two wins over the Sabres. The Blueshirts have allowed one or fewer goals in regulation in seven straight games, and they absurdly have one regulation loss in their last 18 outings (14-1-3).
The team practiced in one-color green, white and orange jerseys on St. Paddy’s Day, But their festive attire belied their focus on recovering from a ghastly effort in Sunday night’s 2-1 win over Florida.
“It doesn’t feel like we’re sitting on top of anything,” center Derek Stepan said of the league standings.
With forward Martin St. Louis (lower body, out until at least March 26) joining defenseman Kevin Klein (left arm, out until at least April 1) on the shelf, Vigneault was forced to make adjustments up front. He has decided to reunite last season’s consistent line of Chris Kreider, Stepan and Rick Nash. They will also join center Derick Brassard and defenseman Keith Yandle on the first powerplay unit.