Why Tony DeAngelo is proving to be a puzzle for Rangers coach

If Tony DeAngelo deserved to be in the Rangers lineup every night, he would be.

Instead, coach David Quinn is dealing with the mercurial nature of his 23-year-old defenseman, still here in part because of his inability to be sent to AHL Hartford without clearing waivers (which he wouldn’t). At times, DeAngelo has shown the talent mixed with grit that make for a great player. Other times, he has shown unbridled emotion that easily overflows into undisciplined decisions.

So Quinn is likely going to keep his blueline carousel moving when his team plays host to the Islanders for the first game of this home-and-home on Thursday night at the Garden. It’s then anyone’s guess which six defensemen Quinn will dress for the finale on Saturday in what could be these two teams’ final game against each other at Barclays Center.

Quinn put DeAngelo back into the lineup for the team’s 4-2 loss in Vegas on Tuesday, the final game of a three-game western trip that extended the team’s losing streak to four games. DeAngelo had been scratched for the previous three straight and six of the previous eight, and for 16 of the first 42 games.

DeAngelo started the game early in the first period by being planted face-first into the boards by Max Pacioretty, no penalty called and forcing DeAngelo to go to the locker room for medical inspection — en route, ripping his helmet off and smashing it on the floor.

When he returned for the second period, he found William Karlsson and got his revenge by planting him into the boards in a very similar manner. Yet DeAngelo got called for a boarding minor, and then as he took his gloves off to fight anyone in sight — and no one obliged — he got a 10-minute misconduct.

“I’m going to hold judgment on that penalty,” Quinn said of the original call on DeAngelo. “Nothing I can do about it. He took the penalty. Then the 10-minute misconduct, we certainly don’t want. We need him on the ice. That was disappointing.”

Quinn had scratched Freddy Claesson and Brendan Smith to make room for DeAngelo, and it’s more likely that Claesson would come back in against the Islanders if Quinn decides to make a change. That is, unless he wants the snarl of Smith in a game that is more than likely going to be contentious.

If Quinn does decide to keep DeAngelo in, then at least it’s hard to see him paired with Kevin Shattenkirk again. Both righty-shooters are offensive-minded, and they often looked confused making reads on Tuesday night. It also means one of them has to play his offside, which in this case was DeAngelo — even though, again, they looked confused on who was playing where.

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Claesson has had some chemistry with Shattenkirk in limited time together, so that might make the most sense. The Marc Staal-Neal Pionk duo seems to be inseparable at this point, while the pairing with stay-at-home righty Adam McQuad has seemingly had a calming effect on Brady Skjei.

When Quinn was asked if he has three guys rotating in and out for one spot — DeAngelo, Claesson and Smith — he just reiterated his weary refrain of believing the club has eight defensemen who can play.

“I know it seems like that now, but that’s not the way I look at it,” Quinn said. “That’s just the way it’s been over the past three weeks. So that could change in the next week or two.”