DETROIT — And so it ended, Derek Stepan’s long nightmare through which the alternate captain went 23 games and 53 days without scoring a goal.
And when it did at 16:01 of the third period on a power play for the final goal of the Rangers’ 4-1 victory on Sunday over the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, of course it was one on which he all but missed his left circle shot off a Chris Kreider feed at the tail end of a decidedly average night.
“That’s the way it goes, though,” said Stepan, who had a monster game in Carolina on Thursday in which he recorded 10 shots and hit the post and got nothing for it but more heartache. “Tonight, I didn’t think it was that good. I kind of toed the shot and it floated in.
“But I’ll take it. It’s been a rough stretch.”
The Rangers expect Dan Girardi will soon be back on the ice following an examination Monday.
He has been out of the lineup for six games beginning Feb. 28 while receiving therapy for the right ankle wound he initially sustained blocking a shot Feb. 7.
“Dan will see a specialist. That will dictate when he starts skating,” coach Alain Vigneault said before Sunday’s match. “The wound is progressing real well. We expect that he’ll be on his skates in the next few days.”
Kevin Klein, meanwhile, is continuing off-ice rehab in dealing with the back issue that has sidelined the defenseman for 10 matches. The injury was original described as “spasms,” when No. 8 came out of the lineup Feb. 23.
“That’s a hell of a back spasm,” Vigneault said on Sunday while failing to stifle a laugh. “It has to be more than spasms. Geez.”
Henrik Lundqvist, who is expected to be sidelined for two-to-three weeks in the aftermath of the hip strain he sustained during the first period in Florida on Tuesday but played through to complete the 43-save, 5-2 victory, is in the midst of a 72-hour period in which he is being “shut down.” The goaltender has been receiving treatment since Wednesday.
“It’s 72 hours to let the hip calm down,” Vigneault said. “After that, Hank will start rehabbing.”
This marks only the fifth time in Lundqvist’s 12-year career that he has been sidelined by injury, though he has also missed a handful of games due to illness.
The King missed two games in early November of 2010 with a groin issue through which Steve Valiquette went 1-1; two games with an unidentified upper body matter in late October 2013 in which Cam Talbot went 1-1 in his NHL debut; 25 games from early February through late March 2015 with the vascular injury he sustained when struck in the throat by a shot, a stretch through which Talbot went 16-4-3 and Mackenzie Skapski went 2-0; and, three games early last March with a neck issue during which time Antti Raanta went 2-1.
Brandon Pirri and Matt Puempel were the healthy scratches up front upon Michael Grabner’s and Rick Nash’s returns to the lineup. Adam Clendening sat on defense.
The Rangers went 1-for-2 with the man advantage and are thus 4-for-8 the last two games after 0-for-26, 1-for-40 and 3-for-59 stretches. … Kevin Hayes’ shorthanded goal was Blueshirts’ ninth, second to Nashville’s 10. … The Blueshirts are 25-9 on the road and 19-14-2 at the Garden, where they will face the Lightning on Monday.