TAMPA, Fla. — Michal Rozsival missed his eighth straight game with a right shoulder strain, but it might be his last.
Rangers coach John Tortorella said Rozsival, who skated without contact yesterday, would practice fully today, and the defenseman could be back in the lineup as soon for tomorrow night’s game against Florida or Saturday in Nashville.
“I don’t want to make any predictions right now,” Rozsival said before the Rangers’ 5-3 loss to the Lightning last night. “Right now I’m just excited to be back on the ice and getting back to game shape. At the same time, I have to treat it slowly and everything else, but it feels good right now so we’ll see how it goes.”
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Chris Drury, who is recovering from fracturing his left index finger in two places — including the same place he previously injured it — in the Rangers’ home opener against Toronto Oct. 15, also made the trip and skated on his own after the morning skate.
It will be six weeks since the Blueshirts’ captain suffered the injury Friday — the initial diagnosis was 6-to-8 weeks — but with the finger still in a hard cast, there hasn’t been a date set for his return.
“I’m feeling good,” Drury said. “It’s nice to be back with the guys and traveling. I’ve been skating on my own back home for 10, 12 days in a row, so to be doing it with coaches and players is good.
“Hopefully I’m a lot closer to coming back than further away, so I think it’s important to be around as much as you can.”
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The Rangers had killed 30 out of 31 penalties in their previous 10 games entering last night, but the Lightning dominated with the man advantage, scoring on three of their six power plays last night.
“They moved the puck really well,” Henrik Lundqvist said when asked about Tampa Bay’s success on the power play. “They went across on us a couple times, and that hurt us, and they’re skilled.
“They’re top five in scoring in the league, and they have good players. The first two goals were exactly the same. . . . It went across, and the rebound was right there. That was the difference.”
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Derek Stepan, who played the point on the power play at Wisconsin and practiced at the position recently, scored a goal playing from there with the two-man advantage with just over a minute remaining.
The rookie, who also had an assist, has registered a point in five straight games, and eight points in his last seven.
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Brian Boyle‘s shorthanded goal at the 12:51 mark of the third period was his 10th of the year, marking the first time he’s reached double-digits. The fourth-year center had scored four goals in each of his first three years in the league.