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After colliding with teammate Jesper Fast, Staal headed to the locker room in the second period of Saturday's game against the Red Wings, but Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said the decision to take him out of the game was precautionary.

After colliding with teammate Jesper Fast, Staal headed to the locker room in the second period of Saturday's game against the Red Wings, but Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said the decision to take him out of the game was precautionary.

Analysis:

Rangers fans can relax knowing that there's no lasting injury here. Staal took a faceoff that Fast tried to control, but Fast accidentally ran into the star veteran and caused him to leave after 10:36 of ice time. Since the Blueshirts already had a ticket punched for the playoffs, there would've been no reason to send him back out on the ice, especially after scaring the home crowd with his early departure. Staal produced 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) in 83 games split between the Hurricanes and Rangers this season.

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