Breaking: Nothing but good news for Henrik Lundqvist on Friday.

It appears the New York Rangers have avoided disaster.

There was obvious concern about the health of netminder Henrik Lundqvist after he was accidentally poked in the eye by teammate Marc Staal, and knocked out of Game 1 as a result, but it appears that Lundqvist may have avoided the worst of it.

First came a report from Sportsnet's John Shannon, who stated that the poke from Staal had caused “no real damage” to the eye of Lundqvist, but rather the “big issue is still swelling around the eye.” Shannon did not however elaborate on the severity of the swelling, and whether or not it could impact future games.

The Rangers did get one more good bit of news today when Lundqvist was the first man out on the ice for the Rangers practice, and although this is by no means a guarantee that he will play on Saturday, it has to be viewed as a good sign. When questioned by reporters head coach Alain Vigneault would only add that it was going to be a game time decision.

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