Blake Wheeler was not letting an injury stop him from celebrating.
The Rangers winger, who suffered a right leg injury in mid-February that is likely to keep him out for the rest of the season, is traveling with the team in the postseason and watched Thursday’s overtime from the tunnel leading to the visitor’s dressing room at PNC Arena.
When Artemi Panarin scored to win the game 3-2, the Rangers just so happened to congregate in that corner to celebrate.
Which meant that Wheeler could participate.
The veteran pounded on one side of the glass as the rest of his teammates mobbed Panarin on the other.
The Rangers took a 3-0 series lead against Carolina, with a chance to clinch a second trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in three years on Saturday in Raleigh.
After Filip Chytil made a shocking return to the lineup on Thursday, playing for the first time since early November, there is liable to be some speculation about Wheeler.
Blake Wheeler, No. 1 Rangers hype man https://t.co/VWuEvOcbrFpic.twitter.com/V34JxX34RA
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) May 10, 2024
Wheeler has been participating in practices with the team, but in a red non-contact jersey.
Chytil had been a full-contact participant for some time before Thursday.