Martin St. Louis went from playing 11 minutes with the flu on Monday to playing on the Rangers’ top line Tuesday in a 3-1 win against the Flyers at Madison Square Garden.
Playing with Derek Stepan — also recovering from the flu — and Rick Nash, St. Louis had two takeaways and one shot on goal in 18:03 of ice time.
Early in the first period, St. Louis had a good scoring chance, but ripped a shot over the net into the glass, keeping him without a goal in his 12 games as a Ranger.
“I feel better. I don’t feel sick anymore,” St. Louis said before the game. “It’s nice to eat, drink and sweat. I knew I was in trouble because I wasn’t sweating. You should be sweating.”
Stepan had two shots, three blocks and was 8-of-19 from the faceoff circle, logging 16:33 of ice time Wednesday.
“I feel a lot better. It was probably the worst I’ve ever felt in a game, ever,” Stepan said after Wednesday’s morning skate. “I kept trying to turn the page, and just couldn’t. It was just too big of a bug.”
Stepan had 7:04 minutes of ice time in Monday’s victory against the Coyotes, while St. Louis logged 11:04 minutes, including just 2:03 in the third period — he averages more than 21 per game. Neither was at his best, as the pair combined for three giveaways.
“The night before, I didn’t get much sleep,” he said. “Then I tried to get as much sleep as I could during the day, and I couldn’t catch up.”
In his 12 games with the Blueshirts, St. Louis has three assists and still is in search of his first goal.
“You try to do everything you can to help the team,” he said before the game. “Obviously [it’s] a crucial time of the year. It’s tough to sit home and not try and help as much as you can.”
After the game, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault admitted he shouldn’t have used either player. Wednesday, both players were almost back to full-strength.
It’s a good thing St. Louis and Stepan are feeling healthy because the Rangers are missing one of their top offense threats in Chris Kreider, who is out with a hand injury and will miss at least the team’s next four games. The three played well Wednesday and could continue to play together while Kreider is out.
“There’s quality players in this room. You come in to a line like that [with Stepan and Nash], some of these guys have chemistry and you just try to add something,” St. Louis said. “Obviously I’m trying to get going myself. The team is playing well and winning games.”