The Staal brothers have been playing hockey for a long time and somehow, Monday was the first time Marc Staal was on the same team as his older brother Eric.
That goes from their days growing up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to their NHL careers.
“Three years is a long time in the hockey world,” Marc Staal said after the duo skated together in a 2-1 win over Columbus at the Garden thanks to a shorthanded goal by Derek Stepan late in the third period. “We never had a chance to suit up.”
Marc figured once he signed a six-year extension a year ago, there was no chance of them sharing a locker room. But that finally changed Monday after Eric Staal’s trade from Carolina on Sunday — one day before the trade deadline.
“It’s pretty awesome to have him come here,” the younger Staal said. “It’s a lot nicer than playing against him. I was nervous [Monday] for some reason. Ever since we got him, my stomach starts churning and I can’t turn my brain off.”
Despite their lack of playing time together, Marc Staal said he knows what Eric will bring to the Rangers.
“He enjoys big moments and big-time hockey,” Marc said of Eric, who won a Stanley Cup with Carolina. “The reason he came here is to play playoff hockey, get back in the tournament and make a difference.’’
Marc Staal hasn’t had his best season, but has seen an uptick in his play of late. His questionable tripping penalty at 15:19 in the third, though, left the Rangers shorthanded at a precarious time.
“I don’t necessarily agree with the call,” Staal said. “But we had a great penalty kill and then you saw what happened.”
Stepan scored the game-winner with Staal in the penalty box, to help make the night a success for the brothers.
Eric left the youngest Staal brother, Jordan, with a struggling Carolina team. Some of the Hurricanes’ problems can be traced to Eric’s lack of productivity this year.
Talk of whether Eric had anything left in the tank was shot down by Marc.
“He’s [31] years old and has got 10 years left, probably,” Marc, 29, said of Eric, who had just 10 goals and 23 assists in 63 games with Carolina this season. “Everywhere he’s gone, he’s won.”
The Staals — and the Rangers — hope that continues in his new home after 12 seasons with the Hurricanes.
“He wasn’t going to come here if he didn’t think we had a team to make a deep run,’’ Marc said of the Rangers’ attempt to return to the Stanley Cup finals. “He missed the playoffs the last six years and he’s hungry to get back in.”