There was another good sign on Marc Staal’s road to recovery today as the Rangers defenseman skated with his teammates and participated in drills.
“I decided to jump on the ice for the morning skate for a little bit,” Staal told NHL.com. “I wanted to get involved a little bit. The workouts have gone well. I’m progressing pretty well. The next step was to jump on the ice with the guys. I skated just as hard on my own, but today I did some drills. It was nice.”
Staal was wearing an orange non-contact jersey and still has no timetable for his return, but this development is another in a recent string of positives. In addition to resuming off-ice workouts and traveling with the team, Staal has remained optimistic he’ll return to the Rangers lineup this season.
“I think [given] the rate of improvement the last month or so, I feel that I’ll be back,” Staal told the New York Daily News back on Dec. 1. “That’s the plan. It’s just [to] make sure I’m healthy, get back and start playing.”