New York Rangers Practice: Carl Hagelin Moving Up, Tim Erixon Likely To Play Tomorrow

According to the tweets of Andrew Gross, Carl Hagelin remained on a line with Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan today in practice. And while we won't know how serious this pairing is until the New York Rangers' next matchup (against the New York Islanders on Thursday), it's still a significant step for the young forward.

What this means is that Hagelin is starting to make a name for himself on a team in which multiple players are doing the same thing. It's impressive for a rookie who has already amassed four goals (two shorthanded) and three assists in 13 games so far this year.

In the end, he seems like a good fit for the line. His speed makes him an obvious candidate to pair with Ricahrds' vision on the ice, and his willingness to shoot (33 shots in 13 games) will help create rebounds for Callahan who will assuredly be sitting in front of the net.

Join me after the jump for more.

Another little tidbit from Gross was Jeff Woywitka's status. Woywitka is still experiencing some soreness on his left foot and probably won't be in the lineup tomorrow. That would allow the Stu Bickel-Tim Erixon pairing, which got better as the night moved on, another game together in the tranches.

Gross is also reporting that Marc Staal has apparently also seen his doctor and will revisit the specialist after "planned hard skates" on Thursday to see how he is feeling. If all goes well he could be cleared for contact skating after Christmas.

That's the important stuff from practice. Thoughts guys?