I would say that the last time something like this happened was when John Tortorella took Marian Gaborik to the third period of Game 5 of the 2012 Rangers against the Devils Conference final, except that doing so was a procedure. standard operating for the coach. .
Therefore, there is no shock value there.
However, Thursday night in Newark was different. This was different with David Quinn, who, for the first time in the three seasons behind the bench, knocked down the hammer on one of Rangers’ top players, dramatically reducing Mika Zibanejad’s ice time in the first period before placing him. for the first 10:46 of the second.
Finally, after weeks of giving Zibanejad the advantage of the doubt he gained not only last season but throughout the center’s work under Quinn, the coach saw enough after another period. in which the Swede was a figure on the ice.
And so he placed it. He placed it after a disappointing 20-minute team-wide opening, in which the Devils were only able to build a 1-0 lead thanks to Igor Shesterkin’s exceptional play in the net and put him in the middle of the second, when the Blueshirts equalized 1-1 on Chris Kreider’s power goal.
Shock value here, okay.
“I didn’t like his game, I didn’t like what I saw – I didn’t like it very much in the first period – but, obviously, he had a difficult start to the season and maybe he put him down for a while. a little noise and give our team a little noise, ”Quinn said after the Blueshirts rushed back for a 6-1 victory. “I liked what I saw when he came out.
“I would simply see how he plays, how he competes, how he skates. If I thought I saw an increase in his game, I would continue to play him, and if not, he will continue to stay. That’s what he really got himself into. ”
This was a game full of titles. Kreider, starting with one of his patents Made. You. See. Chris! stries, recorded his second hat trick in five games, giving him nine goals in the last six games. Shesterkin, who lifted his game over the two weeks, was forced to leave with 5:52 after suffering an apparent injury to his right leg that could force him to miss a period of time. If so, it will have significant ramifications for this 9-9-3 team that went 5-2 in the last seven.
But Zibanejad’s decline will reverberate. You never know how a player as proud as Zibanejad will react to that. You also don’t know how his colleagues and the best buds will react. Let’s not forget. He was one of the best players in the world last season. He was one of the best centers in the league a year before. And he was sitting on the chair.
“I think he lets the statistics and all the pressure slow him down a little bit,” Quinn said. “It simply came to our notice then.
“This is a guy who was a fearless player, he was a brave player and he is still a guy who gets into a fight, but only something is missing. We certainly kept trying and letting him make his way, he definitely won that opportunity, but right now we have to keep playing the guys who play well.
Zibanejad played purposefully through his last 13 shifts and 9:05 ice, continuing to excel on the penalty kill unit that went 4-for-4 in it. He was involved, jumping on a free puck to set up Alexis Lafreniere for the dart that made it 6-1 at 18:27 in the third for the freshman’s sixth point (3-3) in the last six games.
(And, boy, did Quinn suddenly become much better at developing young people, right?)
Zibanejad’s decline was shrouded in mystery. Its large branches and large images are strong. But the small image ramifications of this bank will also be severe. There is no doubt that his colleagues have their backs, Kreider releasing an unsolicited testimony from the captain in support of his friend and besieged colleague. You almost heard Mark Messier in front of Brian Leetch. Close.
It was a meaningful night for the Rangers and Quinn, who repeated a star and whose team responded with a dominant 40 minutes behind him.
“I think you always sit down with one of your top players, which definitely gives everyone a wake-up call and we thought we improved as the game went on,” the coach said. “If it had anything to do with it, I don’t know.”
Rangers and Quinn waited for Zibanejad for 20 games. The coach did not wait 21. Now we are all waiting to see how the substitute captain responds to this.