The NY Rangers have been playing without Henrik Lundqvist for over a month due to an injury, but the team has rocketed to the top of the NHL standings due to the stellar play of Cam Talbot and now that Lundqvist is cleared for practice, the goalie says that he will not rush back into action.
According to ESPN New York, Lundqvist has been cleared by the medical staff to return to practice with the team and this comes after he went down with a neck injury in February. The injury was a fluke play, as Lundqvist had his goalie protector raised by an errant stick just as a shot was coming at him and it struck him in the neck. Lundqvist suffered a damaged blood vessel and doctors held him out until it was fully healed. Lundqvist reportedly has made strong progress since the injury and that his rehab has gone according to plan.
The Rangers made a decision not to go after a goalie at the trade deadline despite their uncertainty about Lundqvist, as they had confidence in Talbot as the backup. Talbot has shown some strong play in flashes leading up to the injury and since Lundqvist has been out, Talbot has been stellar. Many thought the run to the finals last year for the Rangers was a fluke, but they have showed that they are a strong team and could be one of the favorites for the Cup.
The injury to Lundqvist looked like it would derail all that, but instead the team has rallied with Talbot, going 15-3-3 in 21 games with Henrik out. Talbot could be trade bait in the offseason, but the team likes having him behind Lundqvist, as they do not want to run him into the ground by starting too many games in a row.
The Rangers lost against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night, but they still remain in first place in their division and now they could get Lundqvist back soon.
"I want to take the first week and skate with the guys and get more speed, and then we'll take it from there," said Lundqvist, according to ESPN. "I don't want to rush back."
