It seems that at this point, it’s going to be very difficult to keep Henrik Lundqvist out of the Rangers’ nets for Saturday 1 p.m. start against the Bruins in Boston.
The franchise netminder backed up Cam Talbot on Thursday night in Ottawa, the next step on his road to recovery from a sprained blood vessel in the back of his neck, which kept him out the past seven weeks. After another workout on Thursday morning at the Canadian Tire Center, the eagerness in Lundqvist’s statements was unavoidable.
“It’s hard to say ‘no’ to a game right now when you’ve been away that long,” Lundqvist told reporters. “At the same time, you have to be smart about it. But I’ve felt pretty close to ready, so we’ll have that discussion [Friday] and decide which game I should play.”
Lundqvist has been out since the severity of his injury was discovered after a 6-3 win over the Panthers on Feb. 2. He finally participated in a full-team practice on Wednesday at the team’s facility in Westchester, and was targeting his return for this weekend’s back-to-back, finishing with a Sunday matinee at the Garden against the Capitals.
“I’m getting really excited to play,” Lundqvist said. “It’s the longest break I’ve ever had in my career. To be away from it all really makes a difference, in your every day life, just in how you feel. It’s that important to you.”
Dan Girardi left the game late in the third period after blocking a Cody Ceci shot with his right arm, but there was little concern for the availability of the indispensable defenseman going forward.
“It was just a gash, the puck cut him and he was just getting stitched up,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “So I don’t think it’s anything more than that.”
Martin St. Louis skated on Thursday morning for the first time since he sprained the MCL in his right knee on March 15.
The original timetable of 10-14 days since the injury seems to have been somewhat optimistic.
“I’ve never had a knee injury, so it’s tough for me to gauge or compare it to anything,” St. Louis told reporters after an hour-long workout. “It’s new to me.”
Because he is so new to such an injury, St. Louis, 38, didn’t really have an idea of when he would be able to return. With nine games remaining after Thursday night, St. Louis will have limited time to find his game before the playoffs start.
“I’m going to see how I feel and take it a day at a time right now,” St. Louis said.
“I’ve been on the ice probably an hour, not pushing it extra hard but just being in gear again for that hour. We’ll see how I respond. I’m encouraged how I felt out there.”
Cam Talbot won his 20th game of the season, meaning the Rangers have two 20-win goalies for the fifth time in franchise history. The most recent duo to accomplish the feat was Mike Richter and John Vanbiesbrouck in 1991-92.
Chris Kreider had two goals and assist in the first period, the first Ranger to record three points in a period since Marian Gaborik on Jan. 19, 2011 against the Maple Leafs. The second goal got Kreider to the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his career.
The lineup stayed the same for the fifth straight game, with Matt Hunwick replacing Klein on the backend.
Jesper Fast began the game on the third line with Carl Hagelin and Kevin Hayes, while the fourth line consisted of Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-James Sheppard.