Rangers head coach David Quinn picked def-to-back defensemen Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren in back-to-back sets against the Flyers on Thursday and Friday to put Libor Hezek and Zac Jones on the ice together. .
And with Jacob Trosa looking forward to what he considered to be a future for the future, Quinn said the approach would continue with the defensive corps.
The strategy was more effective than Friday in the Rangers’ 4–1 win, in Thursday’s defeat, when 10 of their 12 penalty minutes were served by the defenseman.
“It was easier to manage the D tonight because we didn’t take many penalties,” Quinn said on Friday. “Apparently, Fox and Lindy were one hell for a year. They have been our best pair. You will see them together under these circumstances in major situations. Obviously, with TROBA day in and day out, you can see this approach for our D-core. “
It is understandable why Quinn did not want to deploy Hajek and Jones together, considering Thursday that Jones had his first game of NHL debut and Hajek, who was in the lineup after his play.
Quinn was blunt when asked before Friday’s rematch with the Flyers in the Garden if he was worried about burning Fox and Lindgren.
“Yes,” he said, before a long pause. “We’ll do a better job – not a better job, I shouldn’t say that. The penalty was actually skewed the way the D rotation was going. It was just too much punishment.”
Alexander Georgiev was back for a Friday win, his third start in the last nine matches.
The 25-year-old Bulgarian scored 10 in the final 20 minutes with 26 saves to win each of his final three matches. After a Rocky at the beginning of the season, Georgiev said he feels that the work he has done in his game has paid off.
“It seems to be far away, the beginning of the season and now,” he said. “We keep playing every other day and I think getting the game up helped the practices. As the season goes, you start to become a little bit more aware of the need to focus on the snow . “
With a back-to-back schedule, Quinn said he did not consider moving in again with Igor Shusterkin due to his recent heavy workload.
“I don’t think of going back to Shitey,” he said. “Georgie did well in his final start and we feel confident in both goalkeepers. At some point, Shiney will play back-to-back but this will happen [two] And [three] It also begins, so this is the second piece of the puzzle, it is not just a short season. “
The Rangers’ back-to-back home games against the Flyers on Thursday and Friday marked the first time in franchise history that they had two consecutive season matchups against the same opponent at Madison Square Garden.
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