Cause-and-effect is a debatable proposition as it applies to the Rangers’ 3-5-3 record in the 11 games since Cody McLeod went down with a broken hand he sustained in a Thanksgiving Eve fight with the Islanders’ Ross Johnston.
But there is no doubt that the fourth-line enforcer will rejoin the lineup the moment he is cleared to do so, perhaps by New Year’s. That was perfectly clear in the wake of David Quinn’s praise of the winger on Thursday after No. 8 joined his teammates for practice for the first time since the injury, even as he donned a non-contact jersey.