Nash to return to Rangers' lineup

NEW YORK -- All-Star forward Rick Nash confirmed after the morning skate that he will be in the lineup for the New York Rangers on Tuesday night as they take on the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN).

It will mark Nash's first game since sustaining a concussion on Oct. 8 against the San Jose Sharks.

Nash missed 17 games with the injury and admitted he was curious to see how he would respond to his first game action in over a month.

"I'm excited. Kind of a controlled emotion. It's been a long six weeks, so I'm excited to get in there," Nash said after the morning skate. "I think the first everything is going to take a while, whether it's a hit, a shot, a pass, making different plays. It was a long time off, so it's going to take some time."

After being symptom-free for some time, Nash was medically cleared to play Sunday and has spent much of the past week or two just working on his conditioning.

"He has been working extremely hard for the last 10 days to two weeks. He got physically tested on the ice last Thursday and his test scores came back better than he was at training camp," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We talked briefly over the phone yesterday and left the decision up to him. Today, he came in and said he wanted to play."

Coming off a 1-0 loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night, the Rangers have gone 9-8-0 in Nash's absence and have scored three goals in their past three games. Fully healthy, Nash is looking to help any way he can.

"It seems like it's been a while. It will be fun, it will be exciting," Nash said. "It's tough watching when your team is playing well and the fans are excited and there's a buzz in the town. It will be nice to be back there tonight."