"Felt better now than it did last time. It was nice to get out there," Zuccarello said. "Hopefully I can be able to play, but it's not up to me." He added with a grin, "You've got to crack the lineup - this is a hot team to go into. So we'll see."
After missing three games after the injury occurred, Zuccarello practiced last Wednesday and rejoined the lineup the following day against the Islanders in Brooklyn. On Friday, though, he said he may have pushed himself too hard, too soon.
"They're tricky," he said. "You think you're good and then you push it too hard, and obviously when it's going good and the team's playing well, you want to be a part of it, so you kind of push yourself a little bit. It's one of those things that's tricky - I've never had it before, so it took some time for me to get used to the feeling, and how it should feel."
The Rangers know they will be without Cody McLeod, and expect it to be a while before he can return. After scoring his first goal of the season in the first period Wednesday, McLeod did what he could to avoid fighting Ross Johnston of the Islanders, but when Johnston forced the issue, McLeod would up fracturing his hand in the fight.
David Quinn said the team would know more after the weekend, but that he expects McLeod's timeline to be similar to that of Pavel Buchnevich, who suffered a broken thumb on Nov. 10 in Columbus and was expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Quinn was frustrated during the game that Johnston did not receive an additional minor for instigation - "or what about a crosscheck? Or roughing?" The frustration only mounted when McLeod wound up injured in the fight.
