In the 56-game NHL season starting Thursday for the Rangers, a quick start will be key.
Pavel Buchnevich, despite having started seasons in the past, plans to play an important role.
“I always have a slow start, a time of ups and downs,” Buchnevich said Sunday night after the team maintained a three-period intrasquad fight. “I just want to get ready right away.”
If the performance of the Rangers winger’s training ground is an indication, he may be ready to pick up where he left off the stretch last season, when he played some of the strongest hockey players of his career.
“The guy who’s jumping all of us is Buchnevich,” coach David Quinn said. “Obviously, last year he had a good second half. This is the best camp I’ve had since I’ve been here. I loved the way he played the fight [Thursday] at night, I just love how things are going for him. He and I have had long conversations about what his skills are and we sure know what he is capable of. I’m excited that he looks like he has a chance to maximize his potential for a full season instead of just half. “
Buchnevich, who had another strong Sunday, finished the regular season last year with 10 goals and 14 assists in his last 28 games after starting the season with six goals and 16 assists in his first 40 games. He thrived on the front line alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider and caught up late when Kreider came down with a broken foot.
This line was first brought together on the training ground on Sunday to skate in the morning before the fight, as Zibanejad works his way back from a delayed start, but this trio is expected to stay together to open this season, which provides additional comfort for Buchnevich.
“I’ve probably played half my career in the NHL with these two guys,” Buchnevich said. “We have fun together. We just have to work hard for each other. [We were] clicking at the end of the regular season before the break. I think we will be fine. Just start right away, don’t wait like 40 games. “
Although Quinn signed Buchnevich as a player who could take his game to the next level this season, the 25-year-old Russian said he is less focused on points and more focused on where the team can get.
“I just want my team to make the playoffs,” Buchnevich said. “I do not do it [care about] points or stuff, lately I just want to help my team win games and make the playoffs. This is.”
Buchnevich, who is entering the final year of his contract, attributed his late-season increase last year to being prepared for each game and better understanding his body. He has shown signs of continuing this strong play on the training ground, even proving his worth of killing during Sunday’s fight and doing “a very good job,” Quinn said.
“It keeps getting better and better,” Quinn said. “It simply came to our notice then. … I really like his attitude and his focus on the training ground. “