There is a fine line between reacting and overreacting. The side on which Rangers coach David Quinn falls, following Thursday’s embarrassment of the 4-0 defeat on opening night against the Icelanders, could reverberate during the season if the coach chooses badly.
“This is a balancing act,” Quinn said after Friday’s practice, in which Tony DeAngelo was sent to skate with the JV squad and essentially juggling all the line and defense combinations. “We are certainly very alarmed by what happened [Thursday] night.
“It simply came to our notice then. As a staff, it was a complete shock. “
Of course, it was just a match. Of course, it was just the first game. Of course, there will be speed bumps on the road to face not only this team, but also any team. It would be crazy to panic and start throwing furniture in the middle of a 60 minute storm in a season of 3,360 minutes more.
But Thursday’s smelly effort can’t be undone either, as it’s just one of those things. The loss was the most wasted of the Blueshirts for 40 years, as the 1980-81 club was hit by the Bruins, 7-2, on the way to a 3-12-3 breakaway. In fact, the Rangers teams have been beaten by four or more goals in a first game just four times in franchise history. So no, that doesn’t happen every day.
But after the performance in which Quinn, immediately after the game and Friday again, said, “Nothing good happened … in any way,” the player combinations were less of a problem than the intent of the game. equipment and preparation. And, of course, the coaching staff shares the responsibility for the team’s total heart eclipse.
DeAngelo was temporarily downgraded – he cannot be officially assigned to the taxi squad without clearing waivers, which could be a 50-50 proposal at this time given the ice-free baggage he is carrying – due to misbehavior , not because it was a cast of thousands to play badly.
There was no excuse for the defender to incur an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by mouth and then nail the door to the box after being called to grab a bear hug for a minute in the third period. In fact, DeAngelo appeared on the bench at several different times in the contest.
The Rangers and Quinn thought they had left behind actions like this two years ago, when DeAngelo was a repeated zero for “maturity issues.” There was none of that last season. But here we are, a party for 2020-21.
“Tony got an undisciplined penalty, he and I had a conversation and we just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Quinn said. “It simply came to our notice then [shorthanded eight times] turned on [Thursday], we received too many sanctions last year, and right now we have to take it. “
Quinn declined to say whether DeAngelo will be scratched by Saturday’s rematch against the Islanders, but the smart money says yes, he will be dressed for the street. All defensive tandems changed in practice, with Ryan Lindgren skating with Jacob Trouba, Jack Johnson on the left of Adam Fox and Brendan Smith on the right with K’Andre Miller.
Two things here: 1) Why break the Lindgren-Fox combination that was the team’s best season; and, 2) If the idea is to reduce the pressure on Miller by removing him from a couple of encounters with Trouba, why not reunite Smith with Trouba to rebuild the pair that was so effective after the trade deadline?
And, I guess, a third and a fourth: why change all the defensive combinations, and what about Johnson elevating him above Smith in order to sting?
Apart from the Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich unit, the remaining three lines were also flexed. Most notably, Quinn moved Alexis Lafreniere to the right wing on line 1A with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome, while Kaapo Kakko moved to the remodeled third unit with Filip Chytil and Phillip Di Giuseppe.
I spent the summer pushing for Lafreniere to get a spot immediately in the top six, and I think he deserves it. But this move will be seen more as a degradation for Kakko than as a promotion for Lafreniere. If this is the internal case, it could be counterproduced. The Rangers just can’t afford to slow down Kakko right now, even before they get a chance to settle down.
“This is his second year. Here everyone thinks he is a very good player. We just need the guys to show up night and night, to compete night and night, and it’s no different, ”the coach said of the 19-year-old.“ He was on a bus full of guys who didn’t they had a good night, so it has to be better, but everyone has to be better. “
That’s all. The Rangers need to be better. Much better. The route to get there will be paved with options. Selecting the wrong ones can have long-term consequences.