There is some new information on two veteran Rangers who have missed virtually the entire season so far, Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal. Drury has been out since October 15th with the saga of his broken finger, but not for the first time he is skating with a stick again. As was mentioned during last night’s telecast against the Islanders the Captain is able to pass, but not shoot right now.
The quote from coach Tortorella can be found in Larry Brooks column this morning, where the following was said:
"Chris can pass but he can't shoot," John Tortorella said Friday of the captain, who has been skating for a few weeks but only recently received permission to grip a stick. "He's getting better ... if he doesn't shoot himself [out of frustration].
This is certainly a step forward for Drury who I have been critical of recently for the amount of time this recovery has taken since yesterday was 7 week since the injury. The timetable was said to be as little as a week to maybe 10 days before he could be back in the lineup which would coincide nicely with the tough stretch of games the Rangers will have against very good teams.
If that was not enough good news on the Drury front the word out of practice this morning was that for the first time he was out there with the team, though not in line drills. During the course of practice however Drury did take some shots while the team was doing odd man rushes. The fact that he is testing the shot should bode well for Drury and his return as long as he is not doing it because he is tired of sitting and thus risking re-re-injury.
As far as Prospal goes this was the first report that I had come across that had him on skates. The quote from Brooks same article:
"Vinny, he's been skating a bit, no equipment, just sweats, but the process is moving forward. I spoke to [trainer Jim Ramsay] after practice a couple of days ago and Rammer is really encouraged.
It is great news to hear that Vinny is back on skates even if it is with no equipment because it is a huge step towards his return. There was no timetable on a Prospal return and given that he still has no equipment let alone no practice you have to figure seeing Vinny before the end of the calendar year is probably a long shot, but this is another step in the right direction.
Quick Update on Drury: Chris did not speak to the media after practice but Tortorella said he thinks it will still be "weeks" as in plural before he is back which certainly sounds longer than what Brooks suggested. We shall see as the finger saga continues.
Quick Update on Drury: Chris did not speak to the media after practice but Tortorella said he thinks it will still be "weeks" as in plural before he is back which certainly sounds longer than what Brooks suggested. We shall see as the finger saga continues.
