Sports

Vet Hamrlik provides a lift for Rangers

It was not ideal for the Rangers, replacing top-four defenseman Anton Stralman with 39-year-old Roman Hamrlik.

But because of the injury Stralman sustained in the second period of Game 3, he was replaced by Hamrlik in the Rangers’ 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins Thursday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. The win allowed the Rangers to stave off elimination for at least one more game, cutting the Bruins’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-1.

Facing elimination, the Rangers decided to rely on Hamrlik’s experience, and he didn’t disappoint. The veteran had an assist on Carl Hagelin’s second-period goal, which had cut the Rangers’ deficit to 2-1.

“I haven’t played for a long time, but I’ve been in the league a long time and I know what to do and how to play my best,” Hamrlik said in the morning, having not played since April 1. “You see the guys battle every night and you want to help the team. But we are just focusing on one game, and we have to leave everything on the ice.”

Hamrlik, who played 10:55, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 draft, and has played 112 postseason games for seven different teams. He has made the playoffs in 13 consecutive years (bypassing the 2004-05 lockout), most recently last season when he was a member of the Capitals, who lost to the Rangers in the second round.

“He’s been sitting out for a while but he definitely has the experience that it’s all about,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. “I think he can control his emotions and that will definitely help coming into this.“We’re going to need everybody to play their best to beat this team.”

* Defenseman Marc Staal (right eye) continued skating with the team yesterday morning, and is having some improvement since his one-game cameo in Game 3 of the first round against the Capitals.

“That week after the game I played, I had some ups and downs,” said Staal, who has missed eight straight and played just that one game going back to his injury on March 5. “Then I took a few days, let things settle down. Now I’m trying to get back into it.”

Staal described his state as “status quo.”

“It always takes a few days to get your legs back a little,” he said. “You can’t get it to another level unless you’re playing in a game.”

As for watching his team in the midst of a tenuous playoff run, the alternate captain is not exactly comfortable.

“It’s honestly worse to sit and watch then to deal with the eye,” he said.

* Forward Ryane Clowe skated with the team for the second day in a row, this time a little bit longer than at Wednesday’s practice.

Clowe still was unable to return, as he recovers from what is presumed to be his second concussion of these playoffs, which has kept him out since he took an elbow from the Capitals’ Joel Ward in Game 3 of the first round.