In the NHL’s 56-game season that begins Thursday for the Rangers, quick starts will be essential.
Pavel Buchnevich, despite how he started seasons in the past, intends to play an important role in this.
“I always have a slow start, a time to go up and down,” Buchnevich said Sunday night after the team staged a three-period intrasquad fight. “I just want to get ready right away.”
If the performance of the Rangers draw training camp is a clue, he may be ready to take the place where he left the stretch last season, when he played one of the strongest hockey of his career.
“The guy who throws to everyone is Buchnevich,” said coach David Quinn. “Obviously, he had a very good second half last year. This is the best camp I’ve had since I’ve been here. I really liked the way he played scrimmage [Thursday] at night, I just like the way things work for him. He and I had long conversations about his abilities and we certainly know what he is capable of. I am delighted that he seems to have the chance to maximize his potential for a full season as opposed to just half ”.
Buchnevich, who had another sharp Sunday, finished the regular season last year with 10 goals and 14 assists in his last 28 games after starting the season with six goals and 16 assists in his first 40 games. He thrived on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider and took the weakness late when Kreider came down with a broken leg.
This line was together for the first time in training camp on Sunday for a morning skate before scrimmage as Zibanejad makes his way back from a late start, but this trio is set to stay together to open this season, which offers extra comfort for Buchnevich.
“I’ve probably played half my NHL career with these two guys,” Buchnevich said. “We had fun together. We just have to work hard for each other. [We were] clicking at the end of the regular season before stopping. I think we’ll be fine. We just have to start immediately, not wait for 40 games “.
While Quinn put Buchnevich as the player who could take the game to the next level this season, the 25-year-old Russian said he is less focused on points and more focused on where the team can go.
“I just want my team to make the playoffs,” Buchnevich said. – Not [care about] points or other, lately I just want to help my team win the games and make the playoffs. That’s it.”
Buchnevich, who is entering the final year of his contract, attributed his growth at the end of last season to being prepared for each game and better understanding his body. He showed signs of continuing that strong play in the training camp, even trying to get his hands on the penalty during Sunday’s fight and doing “a very good job,” Quinn said.
“He’s getting better and better,” Quinn said. “It simply came to our notice then. … I really like his attitude and approach to the training camp. “