The banged up Rangers got some good news yesterday, despite the loss to the Bruins. Chris Drury, who has been out for pretty much the entire season with a broken finger, began skating again, and his timetable for a return is 2-3 weeks. The inevitable return of Drury poses an interesting question for the Rangers: Who gets scratched? The rotation of Todd White/Derek Boogaard on the fourth line is actually working out, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see White stay. To be perfectly honest, I believe that once Drury returns, Derek Stepan will be sent to Hartford. It is no slight against the kid, but there is no point keeping him with the Rangers if he is going to be playing fourth line minutes. I believe he is still with the club only because the Rangers are so decimated by injuries.

As for Michal Rozsival, who has been out for the past week with a knee injury, his return is slated for next week. Steve Eminger has played very, very well in Rozsival’s absence, bringing a physical game to those playing 20 minutes each contest. If he continues this when Rozsival returns, while presumably being paired with Michael Sauer, then the Rangers defense will be much improved. Unfortunately it looks like Matt Gilroy, who seems to have lost his way in NY (and might benefit from a trade), will be the odd man out when Rozsival returns.

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