While 24 teams returned from the NHL’s All-Star break with Tuesday games and four more were back in action Wednesday night, the Rangers enjoyed two extra days of valuable practice time.
It was a welcome gift after a stretch of eight games in 13 days before the break — with coach Alain Vigneault giving his team three days off in that span, meaning just two practices — but now the club is ready to go.
“I think our guys are anxious,” Vigneault said. “They know what’s at stake. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m expecting quite a few of our players here to elevate their game.”
The first opportunity to do that comes Thursday at the Garden when the Rangers play host to the Maple Leafs, who have won the first two games of the season series. The Maple Leafs beat the Islanders 5-0 Wednesday night before flying to New York for the back-to-back, something the Rangers hope to take advantage of.
“If the schedule is working in your favor, you got to use it,” captain Ryan McDonagh said. “You got to make sure you go out there and do a job with it.”
Chris Kreider and Kevin Shattenkirk were at the Rangers’ practice facility Wednesday as each took steps in their long recoveries from injuries.
After undergoing a rib resection Jan. 7 to deal with a blood clot in his right arm, Kreider skated lightly Wednesday morning before the team’s practice. The club originally said he would be re-evaluated in six weeks.
Shattenkirk, who had surgery Jan. 22 to repair a torn meniscus, is still on crutches but has started upper-body conditioning.
“They’re just day-by-day, following the process they’ve been told by the medical staff,” Vigneault said.
Newcomer Cody McLeod practiced at right wing on the fourth line alongside David Desharnais and Jimmy Vesey on Wednesday. Forward Paul Carey skated as an extra defenseman, putting him as the likely odd man out for Thursday’s game.
In addition to McLeod’s physical style, Vigneault said he was hoping the veteran could bring another valuable asset to the team.
“He went to the Stanely Cup finals last year with a team [the Predators] that finished 16th,” Vigneault said. “They were the last team to get in, and I’m hoping that experience that he got there, he’ll be able to bring that and help us out.”
Vesey’s dad, Jim, is an amateur scout for the Maple Leafs, but the Rangers winger knows where his father’s rooting interests will lie Thursday night.
“I think family definitely takes precedence,” Vesey said.