Filip Chytil did not practice today with a maintenance day. (Stephenson)
The lines used today were (Stephenson):
- Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko
- Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Dryden Hunt
- Alexis Lafreniere, Barclay Goodrow, Julien Gauthier
- Tim Gettinger, Greg McKegg, Ryan Reaves
- K’Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba
- Libor Hajek, Adam Fox
- Patrik Nemeth, Nils Lundqvist
- Matthew Robertson and Zac Jones as extra defensemen
- Jonny Brodzinski and Morgan Barron as extra forwards.
Gerard Gallant spoke after practice and said (NYR):
- What do you like about Goodrow, “he’s a great leader, character guy, he plays wherever we ask him to play, LW, RW, center, kills penalties, does all the right things, a good addition to the team, good leader and all that and he’s doing the right things.”
- How important is to have a guy like Goodrow that has won, “it’s huge, that is what we want our kids to be. We want them to come and be consistent and play the game the right way and you learn from players on the ice and he’s a good example of how coaches want guys to play and compete. He’s been through the ringer the last two years, won two Stanley Cups and that goes a long way. He plays his role perfect and that is what the Rangers were hoping for, people to show the young kids the way and that is what we need and I think he’s done a great job.”
- On the test that comes with playing Tampa, “that team has had a lot of controversy this year with their team and injuries they had to their star players, but they just keep finding ways and they are first place in the NHL again. Jon Cooper does a good job with his staff getting his team ready to play, they play hard, work hard and that is why they won Stanley Cups, it’s not just their skill, it’s the will and way they play every night.”
- What will be key for you tomorrow, “when we play well, the second period last night, we got pucks behind their defense, we chipped pucks, we didn’t put pucks in the middle of the ice. I said that from day one this season, but it was true last night and so obvious, we did the right thing with the puck, managed the puck well and did a good job. If we are going to play a loose game against Tampa and exchange chances 2 on 1 or 3 on 2 and not do the right thing with the puck, we will have a tough night.”
- Is it nice to get to know the Taxi Squad guys, “yea, I saw a lot of those guys at camp and it was the first time I met a lot of those guys and it’s nice to have them around. It’s not a perfect scenario, but it’s good for those guys to be around our team and when they get the opportunity to play games, if that happens, it will make it that much easier to adjust to our systems and everything. It’s good to see those kids, they are happy and excited to be there.”
- What did you think of Shesterkin, “I thought he looked real sharp, to be honest with you, after being out that amount of time. I don’t blame Igor on that goal, I thought it was tipped by Foxy. The way I guess I can explain it the most, he looked frustrated the way it went in, that is probably why I said what I said, it’s not like I thought it was a bad goal, it was just that he looked frustrated. Looking at it from the bench I figured it got tipped, Foxy’s stick was right there, whether it tipped it or not doesn’t matter, it was still an issue.”
- You are good with how Shesterkin played overall, “Real good, I thought he looked really solid. The other two goals I can remember off my mind he had no chance on, the top shelf and right in the slot were just great clean shots and the other one, the tic-tac-toe play in front of the net he had no chance. I thought he looked really sharp.”