SEATTLE — It has been both a mental and a physical battle for the Rangers’ Sammy Blais to get back to the kind of game he was playing before he tore his ACL just over a year ago.
Coming into this season, Blais said he knew it was going to be difficult to get back to that point, but he has tried not to put too much pressure on himself. The goal is still to get back to where he was, he said, which indicates Blais still feels there’s improvement to be made in his game.
“It’s been hard to get back into it a little bit, but I think the past couple of games I’ve found my legs more,” Blais said after practice Wednesday at Climate Pledge Arena. “Just tried to get better every day. It was not easy to be out for a long time like that, but it’s in the past now, so I’m just trying to get better every day and help this team win.”
After missing the first three games of the season due to an upper-body injury he suffered in an exhibition game against the Islanders, Blais has three assists in 14 games. He started on the third line before finding a more permanent role on the left wing of the fourth unit alongside a revolving door of players amid injuries and other personnel decisions.
Blais admitted it has been hard for the fourth line to coin an identity due to the constant changes. Despite having no control over that, the 26-year-old wing said he’s comfortable in his role and who he has been playing next to — Ryan Carpenter, Ryan Reaves, Julien Gauthier and sometimes Barclay Goodrow.
“He’s coming back,” coach Gerard Gallant said of Blais, who he’s hoping will gain more confidence as time passes. “It’s been a long time. What are we 17 games in now? So I see some bright spots. He’s playing well, he’s working hard. But he’s just getting confident in himself and it was a major injury, but I feel his game is coming.”
Blais has gotten a bit of a look on the second power-play unit, which isn’t something he has done much of in his NHL career. Maybe logging some minutes with the man-advantage will not only help Blais gain confidence, but also get back into an offensive rhythm that will benefit the bottom six.
Gallant said he thinks Vitali Kravtsov, who underwent some serious dental work in recent days, has been cleared to play. The coach, however, was noncommittal regarding whether he would reinsert Kravtsov into the lineup.
Judging by the way the Rangers’ power-play work was divided up in practice, it looks as if Kravtsov and Zac Jones will be scratched against the Kraken on Thursday. The second power-play unit featured Jacob Trouba, Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Blais.