Brandon Prust Returns to New York

But for this generation of Rangers and their fans, Brandon Prust was a special heart-and-soul player during his 2 1/2 seasons with the Blueshirts, an undersized fighter who also proved to be a tenacious third-line forechecker and penalty killer.

He makes his first trip back to the Garden tonight as a Canadien.

The Rangers definitely missed his presence earlier this season, even if the decision to let him leave once the Canadiens offered a bloated four-year, $10 million deal was the correct one.