Marc Staal Quickly Returning to Form

Defenseman Marc Staal knew he was up for a challenge when returning to the Rangers lineup for the first time since last April on Monday during the 2012 NHL Winter  Classic in Philadelphia. As a professional hockey player, you can do everything in the world to get yourself mentally and physically prepared in practice and in the weight room, but nothing compares to the feel of a game or the stress it will put your body through. Staal understood and while there is still much work to be done, he's made exceptional progress in his first three games of the season.  It was obvious that in the game against Philadelphia, Staal clearly was not the same shutdown defenseman the team relied so heavily on all throughout last season - which is why he played through a concussion for most of 2011 in the first place. Marc's timing on many plays was off, he wasn't keeping up with the opposition's top forwards and he definitely was slightly hesitant to get involved physically. That, t...