Veteran Blake Wheeler returns to lineup for New York Rangers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Blake Wheeler is back for the New York Rangers, returning in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.

The veteran forward hasn't played since suffering a gruesome leg injury Feb. 15 against Montreal. But Wheeler was slotted onto the Rangers' fourth line with Barclay Goodrow and Matt Rempe during warmups ahead of Game 4 to indicate he'd be in the lineup, and the team subsequently confirmed on social media Wheeler would be making his return.

Wheeler had previously taken warmups throughout the postseason before being scratched. Coach Peter Laviolette said that while Wheeler had been medically cleared to play, there were other factors to consider in picking the right time to re-insert him.

"Everybody when they come back from a substantial injury, at some point they're cleared, but there's parts where they have to make sure that their game is there as well based on whatever they're dealing with," Laviolette said this week. "It could be conditioning, it could be game play, it could be your hands. It could be anything just to try to get up to speed and get into the playoffs."

Wheeler signed a one-year contract with the Rangers as a free agent in July after spending the previous 12 seasons in Winnipeg. He collected nine goals and 21 points in 54 games for New York while averaging nearly 13 minutes a night before getting hurt in the Rangers' tilt against Montreal. Wheeler's leg was bent at an unnatural angle, and he had to be helped off the ice by team trainers. There was a long rehab process ahead, but Wheeler was confident he could be in the mix for New York's series against Florida.

"I think that's been my goal the whole time since I got hurt: to be an option and be available again," said Wheeler prior to the conference finals. "And that's where we're at. It's going to be in the coach's hands from there, but I'm ready in any capacity I can to help out."

New York's depth already took a hit in the series when Jimmy Vesey suffered an upper-body injury in Game 2. Laviolette said Vesey is "week-to-week."

The Rangers lead Florida 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Friday in New York.