MONTREAL — A lot of things had to fall into place for Derek Stepan to return to the Rangers lineup, and when he did for Tuesday night’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against the Canadiens, the Blueshirts lineup was whole again.
Stepan had missed Game 4 with a broken jaw, suffered in Game 3 on a late hit from former teammates Brandon Prust. In Games 2 and 3 of the series, center Derick Brassard was absent with a presumed left-shoulder injury.
Yet with both Stepan and Brassard now back, the Rangers had their full complement of forwards and their preferred line combinations for the first time this series since the first 35 seconds of Game 1, right before Brassard was injured on an open-ice hit from Mike Weaver.
“It’s always great to see guys come back,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, his team up in the best-of-seven, 3-1, with a chance to win and advance to the Stanley Cup final. “[Stepan] looks a little different [with a plastic jaw-guard], but injuries will happen. But it’s always good to see guys come back that fast and be ready to play.”
The game Stepan missed on Sunday night at the Garden was the first he has missed as a Ranger, playing in 294 straight regular-season games and 54 straight postseason games.
“It’s pretty incredible run that he had there,” said defenseman Ryan McDonagh, Stepan’s college teammate at Wisconsin. “For him, he’s such a smart player. He might not be known as a physical player, but he can throw some big hits and take some big hits, too. He takes a lot of hits to make plays, the way he holds on to the puck and is patient. So he’s as tough as any player out there that I’ve seen.”