Callahan makes all the difference for Rangers

Callahan makes all the difference for Rangers

Chris Szagola/Landov

The Rangers need Ryan Callahan at his best when they take on the Senators in the Stanley Cup playoffs Thursday.

At 11:33 Tuesday morning, all the bad memories of the Rangers 2011 playoff ouster came rushing back.

The captain, Ryan Callahan, had just taken a Brad Richards slap shot off his helmet during a power-play drill. As play stoppe d, the 27-year-old right wing stumbled, regained his balance, adjusted his helmet, and to the relief of his teammates shook it off.

The Rangers remember April 5, 2011, when Callahan broke his right ankle blocking a shot by the Bruins Zdeno Chara at the Garden in the 80th game of the regular season and had to watch the top-seeded Capitals eliminate his Rangers in the subsequent five-game, first-round series.

But Callahan who missed Mondays practice due to personal reasons appears ready to go for this years playoffs, which begin Thursday night at the Garden against Ottawa. The No. 1 seed and home-ice advantage through the playoffs are great, but having Callahan on the ice has the Blueshirts liking their chances.

Youre always going to miss Ryan Callahan, no question, Henrik Lundqvist said Tuesday, when asked about the effect of the captains absence from last years postseason. He plays hard. And he even improved this year, I think. He pushe d himself, he worked hard, scored some big goals for us. . . . Im not really thinking about last year now.

Strangely, Callahan did not do interviews after practice, but again, the silver lining came from the team: his absence from the locker room had nothing to do with the puck to the head. He would talk Wednesday.

Hes a huge part of our team, and it hurt us last year having him out, defenseman Marc Staal said. Its nice to see him on top of his game and ready for the playoffs.

In fact, the entire roster is healthier Staal included. While last years All-Star on the blue line played in the playoffs against Washington, it was later revealed that he took the ice while experiencing symptoms from a concussion sustained on Feb. 22.
I am a lot more excited this year than I was last year, not being all there, Staal said in a revealing description of his physical state at the time. So itll be good to get the run going, healthy and feeling g ood.

Every hockey player is at risk of injury, but that especially applies to Callahan, a physical 5-11, 190-pounder.

He missed six games in early March with a bruised right foot from blocking a Ilya Kovalchuk slap shot on Feb. 27. He also tied for fifth in the NHL this season with 271 hits, all while setting career highs in goals (29) and points (54) and matching his best in assists (25).

Going into the playoffs, I think his game fits really well, Lundqvist said. Its more physical, and (there are) more battles all over the ice, and thats his style of play. And hes one of our leaders.