3:03PM: David Quinn spoke after the morning skate and said (NYR):

• On Kakko, “He’s still day to day, certainly close, good to have him back out there. It was his first time on the ice, so we are going to put him in the game at the right time, for a variety of reasons.”

• On Jacob Trouba and will you put him back with K’Andre, “That is something that, obviously, that will be on the table when he does come back. He’s made a lot of progress, he’s tracking sooner than later from the original diagnosis. It’s a situation where he is day to day and how he handles each passing day will determine whether he will be able to get in the lineup, when he will get in the lineup.”
• Could Trouba play on the road trip, “yea. He’s really day to day.”
• Is the lineup the same, “Shesty will be the goalie and the lineup will be the same.”
• On the mood of the team when players return, “When you get guys close to the lineup you create more depth, you know you are going to have a better chance to win hockey games and I’m sure some guys are excited and some guys are a little nervous. These guys are good players and they will step in the lineup when they are good to go, but overall it’s a good feel and guy’s get excited.”
• On Libor Hajek and the defense, “Libor always gives you his all, he’s a competitor, coachable, always trying to do the right thing. Libor, as we’ve touched on, his personality is that he always wants to please and I think sometimes he gets a little nervous about doing the right thing. He’s managed that better so far. There is a lot to like with his game, skates well, is physical, he has good stick skills and he can shoot it. To me it’s all about putting it all together consistently, night in and out, shift in and out to be the player he is capable of building.”
• What do you need to do against the Devils, “They’ve beaten us three in a row and I’d argue with you that the first night we played them this year that they had their way, we did have 50 shots on net, but to your point, they’ve been the better team when we’ve played them two of the last three games. We’ve gotta be more consistent with our effort, we have to match their speed, play a more honest game against them. They are defending well, they have a quick team, they are fast and we have to finish checks. That doesn’t mean that you run out of your way to maul people, but you’ve gotta win your battles and you gotta make sure you are playing through people to slow them down. We just haven’t done it consistently in the game’s we’ve played them, we understand what is at stake here, these are important games here, we are creeping up to the halfway point of the season and start making some hay. We want to make sure we feel good about our effort and intentions tonight and we think that the games we do that, we usually end up having success.”
• Is this month important to start stringing wins together, “without question we feel like we’ve gotta do that and go on a bit of a run. The good news about this format, the way the schedule is, the games you win this year, they are division impactful, because that is all you are playing, so you can make a little bit of hay. I know it’s cliche, but you just gotta focus on the game at hand and if you do that you have a better chance of stringing a good stretch together.”

11:50AM: The Rangers have announced that Igor Shesterkin will start tonight against New Jersey. (NYR)

Kaapo Kakko skated today for the first time since being placed on the Covid list on 2/20. (NYR)

David Quinn said that Kakko remains day to day, but is “close” to returning. (NYR)

Jacob Trouba skated in a non-contact jersey today. (NYR)