Marc Staal has begun skating on his own this week, thus taking another stride on his road to recovery from the post-concussion headaches that have sidelined the Rangers’ alternate captain all season.
The news, reported independently both on NYPost.com and ESPNNY.com Tuesday morning, was confirmed by John Tortorella before the Rangers faced the Penguins at the Garden, though the coach would not elaborate beyond acknowledging that Staal had skated at the club’s practice facility Monday and Tuesday.
“No report,” said Tortorella. “No report.”
This marks a milepost for Staal, who had not been on the ice since Oct. 1, when he skated with the AHL Whale while the Rangers were in Europe during their preseason tour.
Staal had skated a handful of times with the Rangers during the early portion of camp, but never engaged in contact. There is, however, no timetable regarding a potential Staal return to the lineup.
Sidney Crosby had been skating with the Penguins since training camp but did not return to their lineup until Nov. 21, more than 10 months after being knocked out with a concussion he sustained the first week of January. Crosby actually first skated with his team last April during the Penguins’ first-round series against Tampa Bay the Lightning took in seven games.
Staal, the Rangers’ 24-year-old defenseman who initially sustained the concussion last Feb. 22 in Carolina on a hit from his older brother, Eric, was cleared to begin light physical activity on Nov. 15 by Boston-based Dr. Robert Cantu after having been shut down completely for a month by the concussion specialist.
The authorization by Cantu and the Rangers’ medical staff for Staal to begin light skating implies that he has been symptom-free for the past five or six weeks. The defenseman had been experiencing intermittent headaches prior being examined in Boston during the middle of October.
Staal, who was sidelined twice last year for a total of five games for then undisclosed reasons before returning for the final 10 games of the regular season and the five-game first-round playoff series against the Capitals, had undergone a regimen of repeated acupuncture treatments and received a cortisone injection in his neck from physicians at the University of Buffalo before his first visit to Cantu.
The defenseman joined the Rangers for their road trip last week to Florida and Washington, ostensibly to continue treatment with the training staff. It is unknown whether Staal will accompany the club on the upcoming trip to Carolina and Tampa Bay for matches Thursday night against the Hurricanes and Saturday night against the Lightning or whether he will remain behind to continue his skating at the practice rink.
The organization has kept Staal off-limits to the press since he skated with the Whale.
Jordan Staal, a year younger than Marc, addressed his brother’s condition following the Penguins’ morning skate at the Garden.
“I think over the summer he was becoming a little bit frustrated, things were bothering him,” the center said. “You could tell that he wasn’t feeling well.
“But I think he knows where he’s at and where he’s headed and he’s definitely on the mend. To me, he definitely looks like he’s starting to feel better.”