Norris Trophy winner Brian Leetch and two other VIPs, centers Mark Messier and Darren Turcotte, have returned to the Rangers’ lineup after being on the disabled list.
But the Blackhawks will be without center Brent Sutter when the teams meet Thursday night in the Stadium.
Sutter has a fractured lower orbital bone under his left eye. The injury occurred when he was struck by a puck in warmups before Tuesday morning’s practice.
“A puck just jumped off a stick and hit him,” said coach Darryl Sutter, his brother. “It’s a tiny fracture.
“He can’t do anything until the swelling goes down. It’s day-to-day. He’s lucky-he could have been out for six weeks. And we’re lucky-we now have Troy Murray.”
Brent Sutter scored his first goal in 10 games in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over Ottawa. For the season, he has 13 goals and 25 assists and is plus 9 on the plus-minus scale.
Murray, who broke in with the Hawks, has played six games since Winnipeg sent him back home. Since then, coach Sutter frequently has used Murray and Brent on the same line, interchanging them at center and right wing.
In addition to missing Thursday’s game, Brent probably won’t be available Sunday night when the Hawks open a three-game trip in Edmonton.
The price: Sources say Hatford GM Brian Burke is willing to trade offensive-minded defenseman Zarley Zalapski to the Blackhawks, but he wants one of three promising young defensemen in return-Milan Tichy, Ivan Droppa or Adam Bennett.
Demoted: Left wing Rob Brown, who cleared waivers Saturday, was farmed to Indianapolis Wednesday. He had only one goal and six assists in 15 games.
“We have 15 forwards here, and I didn’t perceive him going in the lineup in the near future,” said coach Darryl Sutter. “He makes the same amount of money in Indianapolis.
“It’s hard for a guy to go down. Maybe if Robbie had gone down at the start of his career he’d have been a better player for it.
“There are a lot of NHL teams he could be playing for. No question a team that tries to do a lot of scoring could use him. He’s got to play on an offensive-type line.
“We have more skilled players than him in situations I wanted to use him in. I told him a month ago the only guy he was going to replace was a Michel Goulet or a Steve Larmer.”
