David Quinn met with the media this evening to discuss the game against Arizona and said (NYR):

• Lias Andersson is out with the return of Pavel Buchnevich and Mats Zuccarello
• On Andersson sitting, “I think Lias needs to take a step back and we need to help him become a better player.”
• On Andersson this season, “inconsistent, which is not abnormal for a 20-year old. He’s done some good things, he has done things he needs to be better at. Normal challenges for a 20-year old. We think it’s best for him to be here whether he is playing every game or in and out and doing extra stuff after practice. We just feel that this is a big piece of his development. I feel bad for him because I know the expectations are so high for a guy that was drafted two-years ago but we all have to realize that people progress quicker than others and he’s gonna be a great player for us. No one has ever been more excited about him than we are today but we feel…he’s not the first 20-year old to sit out a hockey game. He’s been here for 16 and he’s played 16 and he’s sitting out 17, that has happened a lot in this league.”
• On Buchnevich before he got hurt, “there was much more simplicity to his game. I think that sometimes when you have that amount of skill you are looking to make highlight reel plays and making a difference very time you have the puck and one of the things I think he did before he got hurt was being patient and playing the situation and playing fast and beating people off of walls and there was a pace and an honesty to his game and when he does that he is a dynamic player.”
• Adam McQuaid will be back very soon and could have played tonight but is still day today.

The lines used during warmups tonight were (Stephenson):

• Filip Chytil, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello
• Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, Pavel Buchnevich
• Vlad Namestnikov, Brett Howden, Jesper Fast
• Jimmy Vesey, Ryan Strome, Matt Beleskey

Brendan Smith returns on defense in place of injured Kevin Shattenkirk.