Drury OK to hit road with Rangers
Photo credit: Getty Images | From left, Marc Staal, Nigel Dawes and Chris Drury celebrate Drury's goal against Kevin Weekes of the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. (November 12, 2008)
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Photos: Rangers 7, Blue Jackets 4
Chris Drury skated with the team yesterday morning and will join the Rangers on their upcoming three-game road trip.
Drury, who resumed skating Saturday after sitting out two weeks with a concussion, stayed on the MSG Training Center ice with assistant coaches Jim Schoenfeld and Mike Sullivan and did some contact drills, the first time he'd done that since returning to the ice.
His post-workout neurological exam went well, so Drury has been cleared to join the team tomorrow on the flight to Fort Lauderdale.
His conditioning may be an issue, but not for John Tortorella, who needs one of his top three centers back in the Rangers' disjointed lineup. "This could be the last step of it," Tortorella said. "And when he's ready to play, he's going to play. It'll be a boost for our team just to have him there."
Drury attended last night's game, the first he's been to since the concussion. Tortorella said he hadn't heard any news on Drury after the game. "I imagine if there were a setback, I would have been told," he said.
Staal shuts down Nash
Blue Jackets captain and star Rick Nash came in with 14 goals in 21 games, but he was rendered almost invisible by the Rangers and their version of a shutdown cornerback in defenseman Marc Staal.
Nash was a minus-4 and took a pair of dumb penalties. The first was a roughing penalty when he slugged Michal Rozsival after a tie-up in the second that led to Sean Avery's first goal. The second was a goaltender interference call late in the third, when Nash barreled in and leveled Henrik Lundqvist after losing the puck.
Lundqvist, who's been run over a half-dozen times this season, was upset afterward, but no Ranger retaliated. "I got a little angry there, but the ref calmed me down," he said. "I'm kind of getting used to [being run over] this year."
