Defenseman gives Rangers spark they were looking for
RALEIGH, N.C. — Looking for a spark from his team and wanting to get defenseman Tony DeAngelo involved, coach David Quinn rolled out a Rangers lineup Sunday night with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
DeAngelo delivered a pair of assists in a physical 17:34 of ice time in his season debut, but it wasn’t enough as the Rangers fell to the Hurricanes 8-5 at PNC Arena.
“I thought Tony played well,” Quinn said. “Tony did a good job for his first game and he had a good training camp. I liked his game.”
DeAngelo was often paired up with Brendan Smith, whose regular partner, Kevin Shattenkirk, played a team-low 7:29 — 3:22 of it on the power play.
Rookie center Brett Howden, who scored his first NHL goal Saturday night in Buffalo and was on the ice for important minutes down the stretch, has quickly earned Quinn’s trust.
“Just his hockey sense, pace of play, he doesn’t get rattled by the situation for a young kid,” Quinn said. “He’s got great skills. He uses his teammates well, he’s responsible.
“Other than that, there’s not a lot there,” Quinn deadpanned.
Howden continued to deliver, notching his first career assist on Chris Kreider’s first-period goal and playing 15:53 while also appearing on the top power-play unit.
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Howden and Filip Chytil took some ice time from Kevin Hayes on Saturday, as Quinn kept the more veteran center on the bench for much of the second and third periods.
Quinn was hoping to see Hayes — who recorded a pair of assists Sunday night — play more physically to complement the rest of his game.
“I think Kevin’s got world-class talent,” Quinn said. “When he plays fast and physical — and when I say physical, I don’t mean running around and going out of his way to hit people, I mean being physical around the puck. Physical enough to let his skills influence the game. Sometimes skill guys lose that perspective. When he’s playing physical around the puck, he’s as dangerous a player as we have.”
Vladislav Namestnikov returned to the lineup while forwards Vinni Lettieri and Cody McLeod and defenseman Fredrik Claesson were healthy scratches.
Jesper Fast recorded his 100th career point with a secondary assist on Jimmy Vesey’s first-period goal.