David Quinn gets extreme to send Pavel Buchnevich message
The length to which David Quinn would go to get a point across is growing ever more clear.
The Rangers’ first-year coach went to an extreme when he planned to make talented 23-year-old winger Pavel Buchnevich a healthy scratch for Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Flyers at the Garden, their first game back after the 10-day break for the bye week and All-Star Game. In his place, Quinn was set to dress seven defensemen, a lineup configuration that he admitted he would rather not do.
“I’ve said this before — I don’t love playing seven ‘D,’” Quinn said Tuesday morning. “Sometimes, there are things more important than that.”
That would be the frustrating pace of development for Buchnevich, who is finding himself in the coach’s doghouse for the third time this season (and four games overall). There was no mincing words for Quinn, either, as he made it crystal clear why the third-year Russian was going to watch in street clothes.
“He’s got to play better,” Quinn said.
Quinn had struggled to find a permanent spot for Buchnevich in the lineup, with the previous seven games before the break placing him at right wing on a fourth line with Cody McLeod and either Boo Nieves or Brett Howden. It was not the most advantageous place for a player with his offensive skill set, but it was the kind of limited ice time that Quinn thought Buchnevich had deserved.
He did score two power-play goals in a win against the Hurricanes on Jan. 15, but even in that game he only got 9:52 of even-strength time (12:20 overall). Having missed 13 games after breaking his thumb on Nov. 10 in Columbus, Buchnevich had nine goals and 15 points in 32 games this season.
Quinn tried to deny there was a rising frustration with Buchnevich, and he played it off like this was all part of the maturation process for the third-round pick (No. 75 overall) in 2013.
“He’s 23 years old,” Quinn said. “I think it’s the evolution of a player, guys grow at different times. I think sometimes you have to regress before you make progress. I think he might be in that situation.”
Quinn first scratched Buchnevich on Oct. 16 against the Avalanche, which was the sixth game of the season. He then scratched him for two straight on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, the final two games of the California swing. Upon returning, Buchnevich, who is still a bit uncomfortable doing interviews in English, had nothing to say about the benching.
“I don’t want to talk about this. It’s just me and him,” he said at the time. “I don’t think you need to know what he told me.”
As far as scratching a player as a teaching tool on three different occasions during the season, Quinn didn’t see it as any big deal. Minus the 13 games missed, Quinn, who admitted he “was not a math major,” said the three games as a scratch compared to the 32 played was still a pretty good ratio.
“Percentage-wise, it’s not a lot,” Quinn said.
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And yet it seemed like the message was not exactly getting through to Buchnevich as clearly as the coach would have liked. When asked if the problems were mostly away from the puck, Quinn broke a smile.
“Yeah,” he said, “and sometimes with the puck.”
The fact is Buchnevich has a ton of offensive skill, but sometimes he takes risks in hopes of making a play, which can drive coaches crazy. He also doesn’t seem to quite have the same level of intensity along the walls and in the corners that is needed from even the most skilled winger. He can occasionally play with a chip on his shoulder, but more often than not, it’s easy to forget he’s 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds.
And as the same mistakes keep on showing up, Quinn wanted to try once more to drive home the point they are not acceptable.
“It’s pretty much the same thing over and over again,” Quinn said. “Bad habits are hard to break.”
Which isn’t stopping Quinn from trying to break them in any way he can.
Rookie forward Brett Howden left with 6:25 remaining in the first period due to a knee sprain. Quinn said “he’s probably going to be out a little while. Not sure on the extent on it. We’ll know more [Wednesday].”
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Center Kevin Hayes returned to the lineup after being out since Jan. 2 with an upper-body issue that was treated rather cautiously. Hayes was terrific in getting six shots on net in 22:25 of ice time.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Hayes said. “I felt good with the puck, felt fresh. When you get about a month off, you should feel pretty good.”
Defenseman Neal Pionk returned the lineup after missing three straight games and four of the previous five before the break due to a lower-body injury suffered on a blocked shot just after Christmas. Pionk said he did not regret playing through the injury for almost two weeks, or returning for one game on Jan. 13.
He got 15:54 of ice time mostly on his offside left, with fellow righty-shot Kevin Shattenkirk on the right.
Brendan Smith returned to the lineup as the seventh defenseman after the veteran had been a healthy scratch for three straight and nine of the previous 11.
Forward Mats Zuccarello missed the game with his recently revealed foot infection. He did not skate on Tuesday, but Quinn called him “day-to-day” with the hope being he could play on Thursday in Newark against the Devils.