David Quinn irked by Rangers’ passive response to head shot

Boo Nieves did indeed suffer a concussion on the blow to the head he received from Eric Gryba midway through the third period of Monday’s 4-3 overtime preseason victory in Newark, and head coach David Quinn wasn’t exactly thrilled the Rangers did not respond to the New Jersey defenseman’s aggression.

“It happened so fast, I don’t know if guys saw it, and we responded by winning the game, obviously, but there are other ways you can respond,” the coach said when asked about the absence of retaliation. “It’s been discussed [with the team].”

The Blueshirts, as you might know, have been famously passive the past few seasons, notably Feb. 3 in Nashville, where both Marc Staal and Jimmy Vesey were injured on second-period head shots delivered 1:52 apart. So maybe Monday was simply an exercise in muscle memory.

Nieves, whose history includes multiple concussions, was carrying the puck through the neutral zone along the left wall while being hectored by Brian Boyle with 9:45 remaining in regulation. Gryba, working on a professional tryout for the Devils, came across laterally, raised up and caught the Blueshirts’ center in the head with either his own helmet or his shoulder. Nieves left the game and did not return.

Quinn declined to offer an opinion of the hit, saying for the second straight day, “I’ll let the league handle that.” As of late Tuesday afternoon, it did not appear the Department of Player Safety intended to act on the play that put the 24-year-old center into the NHL’s concussion protocol.

There is no timetable for Nieves’ return. The third-year pro entered camp with an outside chance of sticking as a fourth-line center. But Nieves, behind Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes, Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson and perhaps Brett Howden on the depth chart, hadn’t made much of an impression his first three days on the ice.

And now he is dealing with the aftermath of another brain injury. Too late for him and probably no deterrent at all, but if it happens again (as it surely will), the Rangers aren’t at all likely simply to stand around and feel bad for their teammate.

The Blueshirts trimmed eight players in reducing the roster to 45, with defenseman Sean Day and winger Ty Ronning the most notable cuts. The 20-year-old Day, among the group that played poorly in the prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich., has been assigned to the AHL Wolf Pack.

Ronning, Vince Pedrie, Chris Nell, Dawson Leedahl and Brandon Halverson were also sent to Hartford’s camp, while Nico Gross was returned to OHL Oshawa and Jeremy Brodeur was released from his PTO.

The Rangers are carrying 26 forwards, 15 defensemen and four goaltenders.

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