MONTREAL — All signs are pointing toward the Rangers getting first-line center Derek Stepan back for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against the Canadiens on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
Stepan participated in the morning skate with a clear plastic cage around his broken jaw, and he took line rushes in his regular spot between Chris Kreider and Rick Nash. Stepan had his jaw fractured on a late hit from former teammate Brandon Prust early in Game 3 – a hit that was not penalized but earned Prust a two-game suspension.
Though Stepan played the remainder of that game, he required surgery on Friday in which a plate was inserted into his jaw. He was in the hospital recovering until Sunday morning.
Stepan missed Game 4, a 3-2 overtime win for the Blueshirts on Sunday night at the Garden that put them up 3-1 in the series, one win away from the Stanley Cup final.
“There are a lot of things that have to happen for him to play tonight,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “We are going to talk to him this afternoon and see how he reacted to the practice.”
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Stepan’s jaw is not wired shut, but he is on a “soft diet” because chewing is difficult, according to the team. He can speak freely, and that would imply his breathing is not impaired.
“Nutrition, obviously, is an issue at this time,” Vigneault said, “so later on today we’ll talk to our doctors and we’ll talk to him and we’ll see how it works out.”
Stepan, 23, had not missed a game as a Ranger before Game 4, having played all 294 regular-season games and 54 postseason games for the team since joining them in 2010 out of the University of Wisconsin. There is little question of his ability to withstand pain, but the decision on whether he can play is out of his hands.
“The only way he’s going to play tonight is if he gets full medical clearance,” Vigneault said. “That’s not going to be up to him. It’s going to be up to our medical staff to make sure that they feel he can play. Like I said before, there are a lot of things that have to fall into place for him to play tonight.”
If Stepan is able to play, it keeps Vigneault from having to make a difficult lineup decision. Because J.T. Miller is back in New York suffering from what is presumed to be a right shoulder injury — and because Dan Carcillo is set to serve the second game of his 10-game suspension — the options for Vigneault up front would come down to two inexperienced Swedes: Jesper Fast and Oscar Lindberg.
Instead, they both sat by the wayside at the morning skate, watching as the Rangers had their full healthy lineup practicing as if nothing was different except the headgear on Stepan.
“It’s a morning skate,” Vigneault said, trying to temper the enthusiasm. “I mean, we’ve made sure today that we’d put him through in a normal situation, normal lines, normal work. [We will] see how he reacted and we’ll find out here in probably the next five, six hours.”