Derek Stepan injury not serious; Lundqvist improves

Derek Stepan was given the day off from practice today and was getting treatment on his right leg/knee, which was sore, but the center apparently dodged a major injury on the third period knee-on-knee hit from Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik last night.

Stepan was here in Greenburgh at the training center for the team picture before practice. He rode up from Manhattan with Ryan McDonagh, who reported that his former Wisconsin teammate was sore, but didn’t think the injury was serious. “Those knee-on-knees are dangerous. Especially at the speed he was going, it could have been bad.”

No disciplinary hearing has been scheduled for Orpik and it appears there won’t be, therefore, no suspension. I’m told that video of precisely this type of hit (defenseman stands up, forward moves around him, D instantly reacts with knee move) to general managers at their March meeting. The GMs agreed, with no dissent, that this was a major and game misconduct but not worthy of supplementary discipline. The Rangers said they hadn’t been contacted by the league, and Stepan was not available for interviews.

John Scott skated for part of the practice in Stepan’s place on a line with Artem Anisimov and Ryan Callahan, an unlikely trio, which adds to the reasoning that Stepan may play Saturday.

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Henrik Lundqvist (right forearm) practiced and said afterward that he could grip the stick with “3 ½ fingers….five tomorrow”, which is an improvement from the “two” digits after he was struck by Claude Giroux’ blast in Philadelphia on Tuesday. “It would be good for me,” to play against the Capitals, he said. “It’s almost a week until the next game.”  All Tortorella would say is: “He’s fine.”

And the President’s Trophy (for most points) is there for the taking with a win. “It’s a great challenge. I would be really proud to accomplish that. It’s an opportunity to do something special.”  Both the Rangers and Canucks have 109 points, and St. Louis has 107 with two games remaining, but the Rangers, with a win to reach 111, have the tiebreaker (regulation and overtime wins) in hand over both clubs.  

“Why wouldn’t you want to win (the President’s Trophy) and finish first in the league?” said McDonagh. The Rangers have won the trophy twice, in the 1991-92 and 1993-94 seasons.

“I’m with the team,” said Tortorella. “We want to win that hockey game. It’s our last game before we really get going…I think there is a little bit of incentive there.”

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Mats Zuccarello, wearing an Orioles baseball cap, was working out off-ice and said he had no timetable for a return from his fractured left wrist, sustained March 23 against Buffalo while blocking Jordan Leopold’s shot, but hoped to be able to play “if we good deep.” He is still wearing a sling to except for workouts, and said he had difficulty turning the surgically-repaired wrist. "I think I'm going to play, I think this team is going to go far."

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Besides D Tim Erixon, who likely will be summoned from the AHL at some point in the playoffs, more callups from the Whale could happen. “There’s some people down there, as we go through hopefully, we’ll see some of those guys, because the longer you go, that’s where guys get opportunities.”