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In the 56-game NHL season that begins Thursday for the Rangers, quick starts will be essential.
Pavel Buchnevich, despite how he started the seasons in the past, plans to play a big role in this area.
“I always have a slow start, a rise and fall time,” Buchnevich said on Sunday night after the team staged a three period intrasquad scrum. “I just want to get ready right away.”
If the Rangers winger’s performance at training camp is any indication, he may be ready to pick up where he left off last season, when he played the strongest hockey of his career. .
“The guy who is jumping all over us is Buchnevich,” coach David Quinn said. “Obviously he had a really good second half last year. It’s the best camp he’s had since I’ve been here. I loved the way he played in the scrum [Thursday] night, I just like the way things are going for him. He and I have had long conversations about his abilities and we certainly know what he is capable of. I’m excited that it looks like he has a chance to maximize his potential for a full season instead of just half.
Buchnevich, who enjoyed another close game on 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 matches. He thrived on the front row alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider and took over late when Kreider fell with a broken foot.
This line was first reunited at training camp on Sunday for a morning skate before the scrum, as Zibanejad returned from a delayed start, but this trio are expected to stay together to open this season, which provides additional comfort. for Buchnevich.
“I’ve played probably half of my NHL career 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 stopping. I think everything will be fine. You just have to start right away, not wait 40 games. “
While Quinn has singled out Buchnevich as a player who can 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 go.
“I just want my team to qualify for the playoffs,” Buchnevich said. “I do not [care about] points or that sort of thing, lately I just want to help my team win games and make the playoffs. That’s it.”
Buchnevich, entering the final year of his contract, credited his late season push last year to being prepared for every game and understanding his body better. He showed signs of continuing this good game in training camp, even trying his hand on the penalty spot in Sunday’s scrum and doing “a really good job,” Quinn said.
“He keeps getting better and better,” Quinn said. “He continues to grow. … I really like his attitude and his approach to training camp.
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