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Rangers get healthy, roster shakeup looms

Toronto Maple Leafs v New York Rangers

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 19: Wojtek Wolski #86 of the New York Rangers skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on January 19, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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These are good times for the New York Rangers.

Prior to the Christmas break, the Rangers moved into top spot in the Atlantic Division, a position that’s been monopolized by the Flyers and Penguins this season.

Now, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Blueshirts are about to get healthier.

Wojtek Wolski, out since Oct. 27 with a sports hernia, is expected to be ready by the end of this week. Marc Staal, who hasn’t played since Feb. 22 after suffering a concussion, could be cleared for contact this week and could make his season debut within the next two weeks (PHT notes: Yes, that’s a lot of “coulds”.)

Brooks also notes that Michael Sauer, sidelined since Dec. 5 with post-concussion syndrome, “seems to be improving” -- though the organization hasn’t offered anything official regarding his health.

These are big developments on two fronts. One, New York is getting bodies back as the Winter Classic draws closer -- which is in direct contrast to the Flyers, who have been ravaged by injury (though they did just get Claude Giroux back in the lineup).

Two, it presents some questions for head coach John Tortorella. Getting Wolski back will likely push New York’s extra forwards -- Sean Avery and Erik Christensen, neither of whom play much -- deeper into oblivion. Avery’s already expressed frustration over sitting out and Christensen can’t be happy with his role, having only dressed in four of New York’s 12 games this month.

There’s also the question of when to get Staal back into the lineup. He’s said he’d like to return in time for the Winter Classic, but neither he nor the team wants to risk a potential recovery setback. That said, the Rangers blueline is rather thin with Steve Eminger out (separated shoulder) and Jeff Woywitka on the limp. In their last game before the Christmas break, Torts went almost exclusively with four D as Michael Del Zotto, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh and Anton Stralman all played over 24 minutes in a 4-2 win over Philly.