Roughly 14 hours after putting the finishing touches on their 3-0 win over the Predators Tuesday night at The Garden, the Rangers were suited up and on the ice for practice at the MSG Training Center Wednesday afternoon.
While practice was fairly routine---though it did end with head coach John Tortorella huddled with his players in a far corner of the ice, something he does from time to time---the highlight probably occurred right after the workout ended. That is when Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist came off the ice to visit with Miranda, a 16 year old who is part of the Garden of Dreams Foundation charity with which Lundqvist works so closely.
It was Miranda's wish to be able to meet her favorite Blueshirt, and Lundqvist readily obliged, making the youngster's day to say the least!
Other notable notes from Wednesday's practice:
- One day after making their dual return to the ice, injured defensemen Michael Sauer and Steve Eminger were able to once again take part in practice, with both donning the orange non-contact jerseys.
- Eminger reported feeling "much better than I thought I would"...he also said he does not anticipate that his injured shoulder will allow him to take part in any contact drills until the All Star break.
- Sauer also was very upbeat about his second straight day back on the ice with his teammates, and said he did not have any concussion-related symptoms after skating with the team on Tuesday.
- Head coach John Tortorella said that he would guess all nine defensemen on the roster could be healthy after the All Star break which would force him to make some difficult decisions regarding playing time...he also said that the Connecticut Whale could be an option regarding playing time for some of his defensemen
- Torts said Wojtek Wolski "needs to stay here" and not even consider a conditioning stint with the Whale due to continued health-related concerns about Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko, both of whom returned from injury Tuesday night.
- Torts sais that he thought the pairing of Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan on the same line "had grown stale" so, for now, he likes Brandon Prust skating on a line centered by Richards, and moving Callahan to a line centered by Brian Boyle.
Share your thoughts below on what took place at Rangers practice Wednesday.
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