The Rangers were running through power-play drills with a couple of revamped units during Wednesday’s practice when the head coach interrupted the proceedings with the same message that might have been delivered by Tom Renney, John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault before him.
“Shoot the damn thing!” David Quinn bellowed. “It’s not a beauty contest! Get the puck to the net!”
Simplifying the power play is a mentality that does not come naturally to the pretty pass-first Blueshirts, who perennially have looked to make the artful dodge with the man-advantage rather than simply pounding it through from the top and driving for rebounds.
Kevin Shattenkirk and Neal Pionk were the primary defensemen on the points through the first three games with Tony DeAngelo getting a fair share of the responsibility in Game 3 Sunday in Carolina. But with both Shattenkirk and Pionk likely scratches for Thursday’s match at the Garden against San Jose, DeAngelo will be the point-defenseman on the first unit while Brady Skjei handles the assignment on the second unit.
“The main focus is getting the puck to the net,” said Skjei, who had gotten a sum of 20 seconds on the power play through the first three games after averaging 1:23 on the point two years ago as a rookie and 1:12 last season. “That’s a part of my game. We’ve been on the perimeter too much.”
DeAngelo will skate with Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Mats Zuccarello and Pavel Buchnevich. Skjei’s unit will feature Kevin Hayes, Jimmy Vesey, Brett Howden and Ryan Spooner. The Rangers are 1-for-8 with 17 shots in 13:39 on the man-advantage.
“I like his pace,” Quinn said of Skjei. “He’s not a slow player. He’s a fast-twitch guy. He gets it and he moves the puck well. He gives the power play some pace.”
If, as signals suggest, Shattenkirk is out against the Sharks, Quinn said, “I don’t look at it as a healthy scratch.”
“This is a guy who’s coming off major knee surgery, who is getting his game back, who’s physically getting there and mentally getting there,” the coach said. “To expect him to come back and hit the ground running might have been a little premature.
“I know this is a great story, but it’s not a story in my mind. This is a guy who’s coming off major knee surgery and finding his way back.”
Shattenkirk skated on the left on the fourth pair with Pionk as his partner. Quinn answered, “Yes,” when asked if No. 44 might sit. If these two righties are indeed out, Fredrik Claesson will play his first game as a Ranger, paired with Brendan Smith. Both are lefties who have played a substantial number of games on the off-side throughout their respective careers.
Quinn, who has talked and been asked about enforcing accountability on an almost daily basis in the wake of scratching Vlad Namestnikov and benching Shattenkirk and Hayes within the first three games, touched on the subject again.
“When you do stuff like this, there has got to be clarity and there has got to be an explanation,” he said. “Accountability and performance are what this is all about. I also understand that people have built bank accounts, too, and you just don’t bench guys for every mistake. To me, the piece that’s non-negotiable is effort; consistent effort.
“I’m not doing it to be the big, tough coach. It’s more like, if we’re going to have the success we’re capable of having, this is the bar and this is what’s expected. Holding people accountable is a coach’s No. 1 responsibility, but a lot goes into it. This is the way I’ve always done it.”
Henrik Lundqvist, 0-2/.933/2.05, gets the start in nets. … Cody McLeod appears destined as the scratch up-front for the third time while Vinni Lettieri rejoins the lineup after sitting Sunday.