Rick Nash, tied for second on the Rangers with 11 goals this season, will return to the lineup tonight when the Blueshirts take on the Stars in Dallas.
Nash has been out of the lineup with a groin injury since Dec. 6, a 4-2 loss to the Isles.
“I was turning on the backcheck, took one bad stride and heard it pop,” he explained, per the New York Post. “After I went through the testing, the doctor called me and said, ‘If you’re going to have this, it’s the best place it could be.’ ”
Nash has been an important trigger man for one of the NHL’s best offenses, so his return is a welcome one. The Rangers fared well in his absence, going 3-1, but outside of a 5-0 drubbing of New Jersey, they had issues scoring goals. New York found the back of the net just twice in a win over the Jets, and just once in a shutout victory over the ‘Hawks.
On Tuesday, Chicago got its revenge by limiting the Rangers to just one goal in a 2-1 win at MSG.
New York didn’t have a full skate this morning, so it remains unclear where Nash will slot into the lineup. There’s a possibility he’ll play wing on a line with Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller, or he could drop down and skate with Brandon Pirri and Jimmy Vesey.