The New York Rangers travel to the Nassau Coliseum to take on the Islanders in an absolutely crucial four point game against a key playoff rival. While a loss will not mean their playoff hopes will be dashed, a loss will put the Rangers in an almost untenable position when it comes to making the postseason.
The Rangers will be going back to Igor Shesterkin in net, reinforcing his role as the top goalie. That despite the fact that he has yet to win in three starts against the Islanders with a 3.00 Goals Against Average (GAA) and .905 Save Percentage (Sv%) while Alexandar Georgiev has absolutely owned the Isles with a 7-2 record and a 1.70 GAA and .940 Sv%.
The rest of the lineup will be the same group that almost lost to the Devils on Sunday. That includes Tony Bitetto on defense in place of Libor Hajek. That raised some eyebrows.
So Bitetto, who was on for two NJ goals in the third on Sunday, played one shift in the final 14:01 and sat for the final 8:33, is in again tonight v NYI while Hajek is scratched again. I don't get it.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) April 20, 2021
When Brooks asked David Quinn to explain why Bitetto was in the lineup for Hajek, he got the usual vague response. Quinn said “I just think this lineup gives us a better chance tonight.” That’s it, no explanation at all based on what the players are doing or not doing. You have to hope that what he says to his players is more than that.
It’s easy to pick on Quinn for his lineup choices, but his lack of specificity when answering questions is almost disturbing. Case in point, when asked what Trouba had done to take himself to the next level as a team leader, Quinn spoke about the difficulty in coming to a new team, then said “This year it’s gone to another level…he’s continued to do the things we need him to do from a leadership standpoint.” Another answer with no information.
Compare that to what Brendan Smith had to say about Trouba and leadership. “His voice is great in the room, he’s helped bring along some of these younger guys, and then you see what he does on the ice. He’s physical, he’s big…he’s got a lot to like, but the one thing that really sticks out to me this year especially with a young group is the leadership that he’s brought, just to see him grow into that type of player, it’s exciting to see.”
Quinn was asked about what he’s seen from Zac Jones and what it would take for him to crack the lineup. His answer was that they haven’t had enough practices to see what he is capable of, but then said “He’s got a quick brain, quick stick, great skill set, really understands the game and hoping, we have another practice tomorrow, to give us an opportunity to see what he is capable of doing.” The right answer would have been that he hasn’t seen enough to put a kid just out of college into a must-win game against a tough team like the Islanders. That’s an answer.
Okay, enough about the coach. The hope has to be that he communicates better with his players than he does with the press (and therefore the fans).