Wheeler last played on February 15th, when he suffered a serious leg injury. At the time, many around the team believed it was a career-ending injury for the veteran. After all, Wheeler is 37, and this very well could be his last season in the league. However, he was determined to return, as he has still never won a Stanley Cup. Ahead of tonight's game, he revealed that he is prepared to sell out for the team.
During game four tonight, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette was interviewed by ESPN in-game reporter Emily Kaplan. She asked him about Wheeler and his response was quite revealing. He talked about how hard the veteran worked to get back just in case the team needed him to be available at some point during the playoffs. He was highly complimentary of the 1100 game veteran.
The Rangers lead the Eastern Conference finals 2-1. The Panthers lead game four 2-1 a little more than half way through the game thanks to a powerplay goal from Carter Verhaeghe. Be sure to stay tuned to see how the rest of the series plays out.
Source: HockeyFeedCoach Laviolette explains what it means to have Blake Wheeler back in their lineup
POLL | ||
28 MAI | 219 ANSWERS Peter Laviolette discusses what Blake Wheeler means to the Rangers Who do you think will win the Eastern Conference finals between the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers? | ||
Rangers | 64 | 29.2 % |
Panthers | 155 | 70.8 % |
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