Preview: Rangers Begin Homestand Against Sharks

In an effort to spark an attack that had been piling up the chances but not being rewarded with goals, David Quinn took his Rangers into Carolina on Sunday with 11 forwards and an extra defenseman on their bench - and the Rangers wound up putting up a five-spot on the Hurricanes, which Quinn called "a good sign."
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So has the coach fallen in love with the unconventional lineup?
"No. No, I didn't really like it," Quinn said with a laugh on Wednesday. "We scored five, and I still didn't like it."
Nevertheless, in the opening week of the season, Quinn has continued mixing up his ingredients in search of the recipe that will get his Rangers into the win column. Without four full lines of forwards on Sunday, the alignments were juggled throughout the game - and in practice on Wednesday, the Rangers went to work with all new combinations that they will take into Madison Square Garden for Thursday's matchup with the San Jose Sharks.

"I'm taking some chances on a couple things, some hunches that I might have, and that we have as a staff," Quinn said. "I guess with a new staff, you're trying new things, and talking to guys and getting a feel of what pieces of the puzzle might fit together."
"I think we've played good offensively in games, and we've played good defensively - putting that together in one 60-minute game is what we need the most," said Brady Skjei. "Putting all the pieces together is what we need to do."
It so happens that Skjei and his defense partner Adam McQuaid are the only Rangers who have remained together through the first week of the season. On the blue line, Tony DeAngelo impressed his coach in his season debut on Sunday and skated alongside Marc Staal on Wednesday, while Fredrik Claesson, the only player on the roster who has yet to see game action, was paired with Brendan Smith and could make his Rangers debut on Thursday.

All of the forwards have had new linemates this week, and on Thursday Quinn will try one of them in a new position. "I'd like to see Pavel on the left side," the coach said, referring to Pavel Buchnevich, who shoots left. "He's been a right wing his whole life, but you get that lefty-righty combination. I think Buchnevich has really good skill, I think sometimes we don't see a lot of it because I don't think he's able to make a lot of plays because he's on the right side, he's on his backhand a lot.
"And again, I don't know if I'm right. We're going to find out. This is a hunch. I'd like to see how he fares on his forehand all the time as Mika (Zibanejad) is a right-shot center. So he might get the puck more and he might be able to make more plays. With Quickie (Jesper Fast) on the right, I think you get a little of everything on that line."
Much of Wednesday's practice time was devoted to the power play, which went 1-for-4 on Sunday in Carolina. Skjei and rookie Brett Howden are likely to get a look on the man-advantage Thursday, with Quinn seeking a higher tempo out of his PP units. "I like his pace," he said of putting Skjei on the power play. "He's not a slow player." Following an off day Monday, the Rangers also spent two practice days addressing some of the defensive breakdowns that occurred in Sunday's loss in Raleigh, and more than one player noted that they will need to shore up their defensive game when they face a Sharks team coming off an 8-2 drubbing of the Flyers on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Like the Predators, who visited the Garden last Thursday, the Sharks are considered among the Western Conference favorites after re-signing winger Evander Kane (four goals in four games this season) and trading for defenseman Erik Karlsson in the offseason.
"We've got to bring our game," Skjei said. "We've got a lot of speed on our team. We've got guys here who can make plays and counter their offense."
Quinn said he was watching Tuesday night as his team's next opponent raced out to four first-period goals in Philly en route to their 8-2 win. "I turned that game off early," he joked. "I didn't want to ruin my night."

LINEUP AT WEDNESDAY'S PRACTICE

Pavel Buchnevich-Mika Zibanejad-Jesper Fast
Chris Kreider-Brett Howden-Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey-Kevin Hayes-Ryan Spooner
Vlad Namestnikov-Filip Chytil-Vinni Lettieri
Cody McCleod
Brady Skjei-Adam McQuaid
Marc Staal-Tony DeAngelo
Fredrik Claesson-Brendan Smith
Neal Pionk-Kevin Shattenkirk
Henrik Lundqvist
Alexandar Georgiev

NUMBERS GAME

The Rangers have averaged 34.7 shots on goal in their three games, the seventh-highest average in the league entering Wednesday's games. San Jose is second with 37.25 shots per game.
The Rangers are 25-10-3-1 all-time against the Sharks, including a split of their two games last season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Buchnevich has scored in two of the Rangers' three games this season, and it will be interesting to see how the lefty shot fares playing his natural side.
The Sharks' top power-play unit features three Norris Trophies at the points in Karlsson (2012 and 2015) and Brent Burns (2017), both of whom are righty shots.
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