Drury, recovering from concussion, set to return
Photo credit: AP | Florida Panthers goaltender Craig Anderson (31) makes a save as New York Rangers' Chris Drury (23) looks for a rebound.
Chris Drury
Photos: Rangers 7, Blue Jackets 4
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Chris Drury sounded pretty certain he wasn't just tagging along on the Rangers' three-game road trip through Florida and Pittsburgh to just catch some rays. John Tortorella, desperate for some semblance of normalcy for his top nine forwards, just said it plain.
"He's going to play," Tortorella said of Drury, the Rangers captain who has missed the last five-plus games with a concussion. The Rangers were 2-4 in those games, including the loss in Calgary when Drury was knocked out by a blind-side hit from the Flames' Curtis Glencross, who received a three-game suspension.
"If I don't think he's able to play at a certain point in the game, I'll rest him, but he's going full-bore against Florida," Tortorella said. The Rangers start the trip facing the Panthers Wednesday night.. "Having him solidifies some things."
Such as in the faceoff circle, where Drury is a 50-percent winner on the season and the Rangers won more than 50 percent of their draws only once in his six-game absence. And in a simpler vein, just having a third center to go with Vinny Prospal and Artem Anisimov among the top three lines puts everyone in their proper place.
Drury skated between Enver Lisin and Ryan Callahan during yesterday's brisk, 45-minute workout at the MSG Training Center. Ales Kotalik, hit hard behind the Blue Jackets' net by Rostislav Klesla in the second period of Monday's 7-4 win, did not skate and will be a game-time decision with an unspecified injury.
But that leaves the Chris Higgins-Prospal-Marian Gaborik and Sean Avery-Anisimov-P.A. Parenteau lines intact, and those six forwards totaled five goals and nine assists in Monday's outburst of offense.
Drury may not have his legs under him from the start. "Obviously, two weeks off isn't good for anybody," he said after staying on the ice for a bit longer than many of his teammates to engage in some contact-drill work with rugged fourth-liners Donald Brashear and Aaron Voros. "It's coming around."
Tortorella can hope that Drury's offense will follow suit. He had only one assist in the eight games before Glencross' hit and was a minus-4 in that stretch.
"Maybe [the concussion] jogged something loose," Drury joked. "I'd like to get back and get things going."
Notes & quotes: D Marc Staal practiced fully but admitted to being sore after taking two high hits in Monday's game, one from Blue Jackets star Rick Nash. Staal will play Wednesday night.
