It hasn't been a good year for Cody Eakin.
The 25-year-old center hurt his knee on the first day of training camp and missed the first 17 games of the season. He followed that up with a healthy scratch 10 games into his return. And then he missed four games as a result of a suspension for charging Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
But as Eakin was getting ready to return from the suspension to play Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche, he said he was ready to start thinking positive thoughts.
"It's not the way I anticipated starting, but it's almost a fresh slate here in the second half," Eakin said.