Everything is coming up for Mike Sullivan after winning a gold medal behind Team USA's bench earlier this week and now returning to a relatively healthy New York Rangers lineup after the break. New York has been struggling through injuries over the past month, which hasn't helped their quest to stay relevant in the Eastern Conference. However, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference is getting all the stars back for their game against the Philadelphia Flyers, according to a release from NHL.com.
“Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin will return for the Rangers when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday,” the release read. “Forward Conor Sheary will [also] return from a lower-body injury after missing 15 games, so the Rangers will have to make three corresponding roster moves.”
While it's nice to see the familiar faces back in the lineup, it's a little too late for Sullivan. The Rangers sit eight points back of the New Jersey Devils, who are the next closest team in the Metropolitan Division, so no amount of injury returns is going to solve what ails them.
The better question now is how many more roster moves the Rangers are going to make before the NHL's trade deadline. Two of the most prominent names making the rounds are Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider, but it feels like nothing is off the table after they traded Artemi Panarin before the break.
After a 2-8-0 stretch heading into the Olympics, New York will need a miracle to get back to relevance by the end of the season.
