Derek Stepan, who played only 1:47 of the first 7:28 of the third period in Philadelphia after taking a high hit from Claude Giroux in the opening half-minute, did not participate in yesterday’s practice but said he felt no lasting effects from the blow.
“I was a little confused at first, but it wasn’t anything serious,” said Stepan, who scored at 7:28 of the third to bring the Blueshirts within 3-2 of the Flyers in their eventual 4-2 defeat. “It took me a few seconds to get my bearings.
“It was almost like a ‘ding.’ ”
The “ding” often sets off alarm bells, but Stepan, who finished with a third-period total of 7:01, pronounced himself good to go for tonight’s match at the Garden against the Panthers.
“It was a general maintenance day,” Stepan said, explaining his day off the ice. “I’m banged up a little bit.”
* Marc Staal participated in practice, and though the defenseman was not wearing a non-contact jersey, he joked, “It was non-contact — to my eye. No sticks up.”
Staal, who has missed 21 games with the right eye injury he sustained on March 5, said he is pleased with his progress in conditioning, but reaffirmed that there is no timetable for his return.
“One of the things the guys who have been through this sort of thing warned me about was [not to] set a goal for yourself to be back in case you don’t reach it and you get frustrated or disappointed,” he said. “I’m going to have to be confident enough to [do the things I have to do].
“I don’t know when that’s going to be, but I’m going to keep working and try and get back as soon as I can. I think I need to be in great physical condition first, get my legs underneath me and start feeling fresh and quick on the ice to make any decision.”
* The Rangers, who had been 0-for-9 on the power play in their previous three games, went 0-for-5 in Philadelphia with Rick Nash replaced by Derick Brassard on the first unit with Stepan and Ryan Callahan up front and Mats Zuccarello and Dan Girardi on the points. Nash skated with Ryane Clowe and Brian Boyle (then Carl Hagelin after No. 22 went down with a knee injury) up front and Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto on the points.
Coach John Tortorella, who more than once uttered, “You can write what you want,” said that his aim in making the switch was to create “two units…and try to change things up.”
“It didn’t work,” he said.