Gerard Gallant met with the media following practice today and said (NYR):
- Do you need to see more north/south from Panarin, “He makes great plays for us and is a real good playmaker and you gotta be careful, he’s not the guy that drives the net, that’s not his job and he’s great at his role for our team. It’s a fine line on getting/going to the net. If you look at last night’s game alone, we needed more of that from everybody, to be totally honest with you. The north/south game, we needed more of it, more people around the blue paint and we just didn’t get enough of it. I mentioned it last night, they were the hungrier team last night, for whatever reason. We talked about their record coming into the game and you knew they were going to be hungry, they were more involved in the battle than we were last night.”
- St. Louis is in the same position Minnesota was before last night, “yea, but we weren’t happy with ours, too. I think they’ve lost four in a row, St. Louis, and they are a good team. Last time we played them, in our building, it was a real good game and then we found a way in the third period, we got 2 or 3 against them.”
- Does Dryden Hunt bring the north/south element to that line, “yea, he got a big goal last night, it was good to see the little goose egg he had for a while. He plays hard, competes hard and that is a big part of it, down the road, 6-7 weeks away and hopefully get a chance to get into a playoff spot and get into the playoffs and that is the type of hockey it’s going to be, working hard, competing hard and going to those blue paints. It’s too early to talk about playoff hockey, but that is the way the game is. That first round is about competing and battling and getting to those areas.”
- Is that what you are looking for from the bottom-six, “Definitely, that is their role. Consistency, doing that stuff, finishing checks on the forecheck, definitely. You’ve got your top end players like every team has, but when you are playing in the bottom-six in that group you have to make sure you are doing the right things. Forechecking, aggressive, banging bodies going to the blue paint, doing all the little things.”
- What about Chytil in that role in the bottom-six, “he’s works at his overall game, no different than…you talk about Fil, is he more set for a second-line player, probably, but he’s young, we’re pretty good in the second and first line, it’s just take advantage of the opportunity you’ve got. Right now he’s playing on the so-called third line in the middle, and again, we’ve got a lot of guys out with injuries, so the lines aren’t the make up that they could be. Guys are filling in and doing the best they can, working hard, overall I’ve been pretty satisfied with it for the most part. Last night was a little disappointing, but overall it’s been good.”
- What are you seeing from Morgan Barron, “not much the last couple (laugh). He’s a good kid, developing, he hasn’t played many pro games, he works hard, is in great shape, it’s an NHL game, when he’s in there, some shifts are real good and other shifts he looks like he a little in awe of it. He’s growing in the game like all the young players do and it takes time and he’ll get another opportunity sooner or later and just keep playing. We’re not disappointed in him just because he’s not playing games right now.”
- You want Barron to stay up with the Rangers instead of go down, “yea, well, you know the position we are in, we’ve got a lot of guys hurt and I like when he’s playing games, it’s great, but you’re still developing when you skate and practice with the guys and be around NHL players. It’s not hurting him, it’s not like he’s sitting out for 20 games in a row.”
- On Sammy Blais being on the trip, “I have no idea why he came on the trip besides being back in St. Louis. It’s nice, rehab is going well, it’s probably a good break for him, he probably asked to come on the trip and I’m sure Chris and the staff said ‘yea, be around the guys’ because it’s pretty lonely when you are hurt for a long time and not around your teammates. I’m sure that is all it is, but he’s getting good medical attention here and he’s getting his rehab here, I think it’s great.”
- Is he skating by himself you, “I don’t know if it’s at that point. Honestly, I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s at that point.”
- How much do you focus on last week against St. Louis in preparing for tomorrow, “it’s a big focus on the last game, we know their team, they are a skilled team, probably not as heavy as they were a couple of years ago, but still a faster team, a quick team. You look at their lineup and there is depth right through it, very talented team. They are going through a rough patch like most teams do, but it’s going to be a battle tomorrow night. They are trying to get points and in a tight playoff chase like everybody else and it should be a good game. I like their team, they have character guys, won a Cup a few years ago and are going to be ready to go.”
- Is Reaves someone you can use in the top-six once in a while, “he’s done it a couple of times this year, went up for a few shifts, but that’s not his role. I put him there because they had Foligno, Greenway and it was a pretty big, physical line against Mika’s line. I just wanted to give those guys some more room. Do you do it the odd time, yes, but it’s not going to happen a whole lot.”
The lines used today were (Stephenson):
- Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere
- Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Dryden Hunt
- Tim Gettinger, Filip Chytil, Julien Gauthier, Morgan Barron
- Barclay Goodrow, Jonny Brodzinski, Ryan Reaves