Lafreniere on playing the off wing and Schneider’s outlook

The New Rangers flew to San Jose as their longest road trip of the season continues.  They have lost two of the first three games and take on another tough opponent in the Sharks who, like the Kings, are making a playoff push.  After a slow start to their season, they have come on and now, all three California teams are in a playoff position.

After practice, interim coach Kris Knoblauch emphasized the Rangers’ ability to bounce back from losses all season.  It’s true, the Blueshirts have lost 14 games this season in regulation or extra time and have lost only three games in regulation in their next outing.

In other comments, he said that one thing he has noticed is his Hartford players are very concerned about making mistakes, knowing that it could lead to them not playing. He said, “It’s a fine line, a balancing act for those players…but they’ve managed it very well.”

Alexis Lafrenière was back on the second line in practice, playing the right side with Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin.  That line was a combined minus eight against the Kings, though if Strome had been able to cash in on a couple excellent looks, it would have been a different game.  Lafrenière  set up Strome and the center was stopped twice in the game’s first 35 seconds.

Lafrenière found himself back on the third line late in the game, but that looks to be temporary.  He spoke about playing the off wing.  “It’s a little bit different, but I’ll try to adjust as quick as I can and be ready for every game.”    He did say that he’s played his entire life at left wing, but he made it clear that he has never asked to not play the opposite side.

Schneider ready to make his mark

Braden Schneider was oozing confidence when he talked to the press about his last minute call up to the Rangers.   It sure looks like he is going to play against San Jose, since they usually don’t make players available to the press if they are not going to start.

Schneider, 20,  said that he has benefited from starting the season in Hartford, saying that he is  “being harder on guys, handling bigger, tougher players.”   He assessed his growth, “I’ve been getting better each game, I feel like I’m skating forward more on guys, being more and more physical each game and trying my best to get as many shots to the net as I can.  I feel like I’ve been improving and I’m happy how far I’ve come so far.”

But he is here for a reason saying ” I think I wanna show that I can play at this level, I want to show that I belong here.  I think if I can improve my game each day, that’s my main goal to get one percent better each day, keep a positive mindset, that’s all that I can ask for.”

Schneider said that he models his game on Shea Weber, minus the big slap shot. He said he wants to be “a solid, big, reliable, physical defenseman, who can play both ends of the ice. The main thing is to take care of home base by your own net.”

Hartford coach Kris Knoblauch knows him well saying  “He’s a very good defensive player, an incredible skater and for his age, he’s very strong. ”   He cited his physical strength and ability to “knock guys off the puck”, saying that he is better suited to making the transition to the NHL than other defensemen his age.

Picked 19th overall in the first round in 2020, Schneider is the lowest defense pick for the Rangers since they took Dylan McIlrath with the 10th overall pick in 2010.   You have to go back to 2005 and Marc Staal (12th overall) to find a defenseman picked lower by the Rangers than Schneider who has  made it as an NHL regular.

Roster moves

There is no indication that Igor Shesterkin is going to come off the COVID protocol, but he has been out since the night of January 6.  Today marks his sixth full day on the protocol, so he should be close.  They did return Tyler Wall to Hartford, leaving them with only Alexandar Georgiev and Keith Kinkaid available to play goal, but both of them have been out due to COVID so the team must be confident that they are not in any danger of getting infected again.

With Lauri Pajuniemi the only forward on the Taxi Squad, the Rangers added center Justin Richards on Wednesday.

Julien Gauthier, Ryan Reaves and Barclay Goodrow are all still on the protocol list. Both Reaves and Gauthier could be back by Saturday night’s game in Philadelphia.

The San Jose Sharks have two regulars on the COVID list in center Nick Bonino and forward Alexander Barabanov.   On the injured list are left winger Jonah Gadjovich (undisclosed) and top goalie James Reimer (lower body) both on injured reserve.  Reimer is eligible to come off on Thursday, but it looks like Adin Hill will get the start

Game time Thursday is 1030pm EST and it will be televised on the MSG Network.