5:54PM: David Quinn spoke after the morning skate and said (NYR):
- On Kakko’s development, “he was really going well through November and then he got sick and missed a week and that set him back a little bit and I think he lost a little bit of his confidence because he was on such a good roll and as most 18-year olds do, there are peaks and valleys in your NHL season when you are that young. I thought he had his best game in a while in Calgary, not just because of the goal but even leading up to the goal there was an assertiveness to his game, a pace to his game that you need to have success. I don’t know if Finland beating the US had something to do with it but he was certainly bopping around like he scored the winner that night. I really liked his game. People always need to keep in mind that not only is this guy playing in the NHL as an 18-year old in the NHL but there are so many different things in his life, moves to a new country, living with a family, English is his second language, their is a lot that goes on in an 18-year olds head when you step into the situation he is in and I think he has handled it well.”
- On the road trip being an opportunity to gel as a team, “yea but winning helps gelling. We have an opportunity for a .500 road trip, obviously we want more but you take care of business tonight, get home, get some rest and we all know what is in front of us.”
- Is it a surprise when Panarin doesn’t get a point, “yea, it sure is. He’s been outstanding for us. I actually asked him if this is the best hockey he’s ever played and he paused and pondered whether it had been, didn’t want to say that it has been but statistically it seems that way. He’s been a great player in this league since the minute he got here but he’s better than I thought he would be.”
4:18PM: Alex Georgiev will start in net tonight against the Vancouver Canucks. (Cyrgalis)
At the Rangers morning skate today the lines used were (Cyrgalis):
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- Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich
- Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Jesper Fast
- Brett Howden, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko
- Brendan Smith, Greg McKegg, Steven Fogarty