New York Rangers coach David Quinn has been constantly exhorting his players to shoot more. It’s obvious that the style of play favored by most of his players is not his style. Can this marriage of two different styles be successful?
David Quinn is an old school hockey coach. He likes players who win battles on the boards, play a heavy forechecking style and score “garbage goals.” It’s a formula that many teams have used to win in the NHL. There’s only one problem. The New York Rangers are not built to play that way.
David Quinn was hired in May 2018 and he inherited a major league roster and an NHL organization that was built by Jeff Gorton and Glen Sather. He didn’t have much input in the June 2018 NHL Entry Draft and the top pick last June was a foregone conclusion when the Rangers won the second selection in the draft lottery.
It’s clear that his greatest frustration since he got the job is the fact that the New York Rangers don’t shoot enough. He has articulated that concern often with the same refrain. “Last year we had one of the highest shooting percentages in the league and this year we have one of the highest shooting percentages in the league cause we only shoot when we think we’re gonna score.”
That’s it in a nutshell. They only shot when they think they are going to score. He has repeatedly expressed his belief that young players are looking to score a “highlight reel goals” and aren’t willing to do the dirty work that results in so called “garbage goals.”The NHL has had a long history of goal scorers who feasted on rebounds or tip-ins or poke-ins during a netfront scrum. In the seventies, Phil Esposito was a prolific goal scorer who was one of the best at scoring so-called “garbage goals.” In the 80’s it was Steve Vickers of the Rangers who was adept at scoring on rebounds and tip-ins and the dirty area in front of the net was where Adam Graves made his name in the 90’s.
Quinn wants the team to shoot when they can because shooting creates scoring opportunities for other players. That is true, but they also need to have players in front of the net looking for those second chances and rebounds. That’s where the Rangers are lacking. Chris Kreider is supposed fulfill that role especially on the power play, but many games he is MIA. Brendan Lemieux has shown a talent for it and is one of the few Rangers willing to take a beating in front of the net. But that’s it for the roster, the rest of the forwards are more finesse players who play a perimeter game.
While Quinn has been harping on the lack of players with a “shoot first” mentality and has blamed it on the new generation of hockey players, he has also recently been blaming the European influence. That is an issue when your team is 41% European.