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Updates from Friday, Nov. 7

The Rangers announced Stepan's return date:

Updates from Wednesday, Nov. 5

Derek Stepan appears to be out tonight against the Red Wings according to the Rangers Report:

Updates from Sunday, Nov. 2

Andrew Gross of The Record confirms Derek Stepan is still not ready for contact:

Seth Rothman of InsideHockey.com later reported Stepan's timetable for return:

Updates from Friday, Oct. 31

The Rangers provided an update on Stepan's status:

Rangers Report added more on the center's status:

Steve Zippy of Newsday has more from head coach Alain Vigneault:

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 29

The New York Rangers updated Derek Stepan's status and recovery time:

Blue Shirts United's Jim Cerny provides details from head coach Alain Vigneault:

The 24 year-old Stepan is currently on LTIR because of a fractured fibula he suffered early in training camp. He has finally resumed skating within the past week, and on Wednesday head coach Alain Vigneault stated that Stepan will soon be allowed to participate in practices. "I would say in the next four to seven days he should be back with us," Vigneault said of Stepan, who had never missed a regular season game in his NHL career before this injury. "It will take a couple of practices to see how he feels. I know he's been skating real hard the past three or four days, and he's been working in the gym. We'll see when he gets back.

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 26

Larry Brooks of NYPost.com confirms when Derek Stepan is eligible to return to the ice:

Stepan, whose lower leg gave way a couple of weeks after he was hit in that area by a Dan Girardi shot in a Sept. 9 pre-camp scrimmage, skated once, according to the coach, who provided no further medical update. The club’s presumptive first-line center is eligible to come off Long Term Injury Reserve for the Blueshirts’ Nov. 3 match at the Garden against the Blues. That would represent the club’s 11th game of the season. Stepan originally was expected to miss from four-to-six weeks. The six-week threshold will be reached on Nov. 5, when the Rangers face the Red Wings at the Garden.

Updates from Saturday, Oct. 25

The New York Rangers provide an update on Derek Stepan's recovery:

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 21

Andrew Gross of The Record has an update on Stepan:

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 5

The Rangers announced a decision on Derek Stepan's roster status is expected Monday:

Original Text

The New York Rangers are looking to build off a season that saw them reach the Stanley Cup Final, but the Blueshirts have already been faced with bad news in form of an injury to center Derek Stepan.

With the start of the 2014-15 campaign just a couple weeks away, the team announced that its top pivot has suffered a fractured fibula, according to the team's official Twitter account:

Per Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the injury occurred during a preseason conditioning test on Wednesday:

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault also discussed the injury, via Andrew Gross of The Record and Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News:

The Rangers later announced that Stepan will miss four-to-six weeks:

The 24-year-old Minnesota native was second on the team in scoring last season with 57 points. He was also named to the U.S. Olympic team and was penciled in to be the Rangers' top-line center in 2014-15.

According to Craig Custance of ESPN The Magazine, New York was already lacking depth at center even before Stepan went down:

This injury elevates Derick Brassard to top-line status and may force a player like Matthew Lombardi or Dominic Moore to take on a bigger offensive role on the second line.

Since scoring could very well be an issue for New York early in the season, there is now even more pressure on all-world goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to stand on his head.

The Rangers may be able to persevere provided Stepan isn't lost for the entire season, but it will take a team effort in order to make up for his absence no matter how long it lasts.

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