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There is a thin line between overreaction and overreaction. The side that Rangers coach David Quinn falls on, following Thursday’s embarrassment of a 4-0 loss to the Islanders on opening night, could reverberate throughout the season if l coach chooses badly.
“It’s a balancing act,” Quinn said after Friday practice, in which Tony DeAngelo was sent off to skate with Team JV and, essentially, every line suit and pair of defense have been juggled. “We are certainly very alarmed by what happened [Thursday] night.
“Definitely, really disappointed. It was a complete shock to us as staff.
Of course, it was just a game. Of course, that was just the first game. Of course there will be speed bumps on the road not only for this team, but any team as well. It would be foolish to panic and start throwing furniture in the middle of a temper tantrum 60 minutes into a season of over 3,360 minutes.
But Thursday’s smelly effort can’t just be considered one of those things, either. The loss was the Blueshirts’ most uneven in a first game in 40 years, as the 1980-81 club were beaten by the Bruins, 7-2, en route to a 3-12-3 getaway. Indeed, the Rangers teams have been beaten by four or more goals in a first game just four times in franchise history. So no, it’s not something that happens every day.
But in the wake of a performance in which Quinn, both immediately after the game and again on Friday, said: “Nothing good has happened … in any capacity”, player combinations were less the problem than the team’s intention. and preparation. And of course the coaches share the responsibility for the total eclipse of the team’s heart.
DeAngelo has been temporarily demoted – he cannot be officially assigned to the taxi team without the waivers clearance, which could be a 50-50 proposal at this point given the off-ice baggage he is taking – because of bad behavior, not because he was part of a throw of thousands of badly playing.
There was no excuse for the defenseman to incur an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by biting and then slamming the door from the box after being called for a restraint on a bear hug one minute after the third period. Indeed, DeAngelo appeared huffy on the bench at several different points in the contest.
Rangers and Quinn believed they put actions like this behind them two years ago, when DeAngelo was repeatedly scratched for “maturity issues.” There was none of that last season. But here we are, a game in 2020-2021.
“Tony took an unruly penalty, he and I had a conversation, and we just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Quinn said. “We took too many penalties [shorthanded eight times] sure [Thursday], we took too many penalties last year, and we need to nip it in the bud right away.
Quinn declined to say if DeAngelo will be ruled out for Saturday’s rematch against the Islanders, but smart money says yes, he will be in formal attire. Each defensive tandem has changed in training, with Ryan Lindgren skating with Jacob Trouba, Jack Johnson to the left of Adam Fox and Brendan Smith to the right with K’Andre Miller.
Two things here: 1) Why break the Lindgren-Fox combination which was the team’s best last season; and, 2) If the idea is to reduce the pressure on Miller by moving him one pair of matches with Trouba, why not reunite Smith with Trouba to rebuild the pair that was so effective after the trade deadline?
And, I’m guessing a third and a fourth: why change every combination of defense, and what makes Johnson elevate him above Smith in the pecking order?
In addition to the Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich unit, the remaining three lines were also flexed. More notable, Quinn moved Alexis Lafreniere up and down to the right wing on Line 1A with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome, while Kaapo Kakko was dropped in a remodeled third unit with Filip Chytil and Phillip Di Giuseppe.
I spent the summer lobbying for Lafrenière to be immediately placed in the top six, and I think he deserves it. But this decision will be seen more as a demotion for Kakko than a promotion for Lafrenière. If this is the case internally, it could backfire. The Rangers just can’t afford to take Kakko down at this point before he even has a chance to gain a foothold.
“This is his second year. Everyone here thinks he’s a very good player. We just need guys to show up night after night, compete night and night, and he’s no different, ”the coach said of the 19-year-old winger. “He was on a bus full of guys who didn’t have a good night’s sleep, so he has to be better, but everyone has to be better.
That’s it. The Rangers must be better. Much better. The route to get there will be paved with choices. Choosing the wrong ones could have long term consequences.
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