The Eastern Conference finals haven’t lacked for drama — or edginess.
Thursday’s return of Brandon Prust likely will only add to that when the Rangers and Canadiens show up at the Garden for Game 6.
Prust missed the previous two games because of a two-game suspension after a late-hit on Derek Stepan in Game 3, a play which wasn’t penalized.
And if anything, the series has gotten even more chippy in his absence — including a hit by John Moore on Montreal’s Dale Weise, which resulted in another two-game ban, then a head butt of Mike Weaver by the Blueshirts’ Derek Dorsett.
No doubt the physicality of the series will make Prust’s presence on the ice even more valuable, but Canadiens coach Michel Therrien made it clear he would want Prust back regardless of the circumstances.
“Dorsett or no Dorsett, Prust is going to play,” Therrien said in French at Canadiens practice in Brossard, Quebec, on Wednesday afternoon as Montreal tries to extend its season and the Rangers attempt to reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 20 years.
Dorsett, like Prust, will play Thursday after the league declined to further penalize the winger for his head butt.
Moore wasn’t as fortunate after his hit on Weise. It was reminiscent of Prust’s shot at Stepan, which resulted in a broken jaw that required surgery.
Stepan has managed to return and play well, but Prust — a former Garden favorite — certainly will hear it from the crowd when he takes the ice. It won’t be the first time, since Prust remained in the game after injuring Stepan.
“He knows New York well,” Montreal center David Desharnais said. “He’s played there, so it’s great to have him back.”
And his teammates know Prust is accustomed to playing in games like the one the teams figure to play on Thursday.
“We have a lot of depth,” Desharnais said. “Everybody has stepped up when somebody was injured or something like that, but Prust gives us a lot of energy and there for the brawl and all that kind of stuff.”
Additional reporting by Brett Cyrgalis