This is not the same for the Rangers and Kevin Shattenkirk as it was at the beginning of the season. The expectations for an eighth straight playoff berth have now all but vanished, and Shattenkirk’s first year on Broadway already has been defined by injury and disappointment.
So the talented righty defenseman is not rushing back from the left-knee surgery that has sidelined him since Jan. 18, not like he fought through the torn meniscus he suffered in training camp and played through during the first three-plus months of the season. But he is still very much focused on returning before the regular season ends on April 7, though he suffered a setback in his rehab that kept him off the ice for a week.