“Footprints,” Chris Kreider said, emphasizing the plural. “Bloody footprints, everywhere.”
What Kreider was talking about was the scene in the Rangers locker room after the first period of Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Ducks. More specifically, he was talking about the stall where Dan Girardi sat, as the defenseman had no idea his ankle was cut and bleeding after blocking a shot, just standard operating procedure in the career of the weathered veteran.
“Right before [coach Alain Vigneault] came into the meeting for the second period, I just started walking to get a drink and there was a bloody footprint, and I was like, ‘What’s that?’ ” Girardi told The Post after Sunday’s practice, as his team was off to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Monday night. “I looked back and at my stall there was a pile of blood, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s from me.’ ”
Girardi was able to fully practice with the team Sunday, as he missed the previous two games after he had the laceration stitched up and tried to get the swelling down. He should be ready for Monday’s game, practicing Sunday alongside captain Ryan McDonagh.
“Obviously I hope it feels good and I’ll be able to play, but you don’t want to jump to conclusions,” Girardi said.
Now 32 years old and in his 11th season in the NHL — all as a Ranger after going undrafted — Girardi has played through more than his fair share of injuries. He spent much of the 2014-15 season with an ankle the size of a grapefruit, needing surgery after the team lost to the Lightning in the conference final.
So he was aware of what he could deal with and what he couldn’t, and apparently this injury was too much.
“It was a cut, so the next day it was like club foot,” Girardi said. “Then I tried to put my skate on for the morning skate on Thursday and I couldn’t even tie it. So maybe that was a sign to say, ‘Oh, you can’t go out there. Maybe take a day or two.’
“I think eventually it would’ve settled down, but there’s no use in making it worse. And now I feel better.”
At the start of the year, the plan from Vigneault was to sit Girardi occasionally as a preventive measure against injury. That hasn’t exactly panned out, even though Adam Clendening has stepped in and played well in his 20 games, including the previous two.
But Girardi looks like he’s ready to return, and he’s hoping the injury won’t be too much of an impediment.
“It’s one of those things where your feet are a pretty important part of your game,” he said.
It looks as if forwards Brandon Pirri and Matt Puempel will remain healthy scratches for the fourth straight game, as they practiced as extras Sunday.
Vigneault did change the lines at practice, moving Pavel Buchnevich back up into the top six, alongside Mika Zibanejad and Rick Nash. He reunited the Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello line, and put rookie Jimmy Vesey down on the fourth line with Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast.
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