Rangers Defenseman Marc Staal Making Strides in His Long Road to Recovery from Concussion

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The New York Rangers’ All-Star defenseman Marc Staal in making strides in his long road to recovery from the concussion he suffered from the hit by his brother Eric on February 22, 2011. In the game between Eric’s Hurricanes and Marc’s Rangers Marc moved the puck out of the Rangers’ zone along the left wall and Eric took Marc out. Marc’s stick when flying back, he fell to the ice and has been out of the starting lineup ever since. There are four Staal brothers playing professional hockey and every time they play each other they seem to put a little more into the game. They have been playing that way ever since they were kids. I watched that game on February 22nd and felt Eric came in late and didn’t need to hit Marc that hard. The good news is that Marc has been skating on his own and has begun skating with Mike Rupp, another Ranger on the mend from knee surgery. It will be a long time before Marc is in the starting lineup alongside Dan Girardi but he feels hopeful he’ll be back this season. Ryan McDonagh has stepped up and has been terrific in Marc’s absence. I want to be at The Garden for Marc’s return this season.