First-year coach has the voice Rangers have been missing

Four days into training camp, David Quinn is losing his voice. This is not a particularly good thing because this coach uses it quite a lot. On the ice, behind the bench, in meetings.

“Very vocal,” says Kevin Hayes. “Always teaching.”

“Constant communication,” says Brady Skjei. “He talks to us all the time, but he listens, too, if you know what I mean.”

“Communication,” says Chris Kreider. “A lot of teaching moments. Nothing is assumed.”

These are not Alain Vigneault’s Rangers anymore, and before tap-dancing in celebration, you may want to consider that Lester Patrick is the only coach in franchise history to preside over more playoff-round victories than the one who was dismissed in the immediate aftermath of last season’s crash. Patrick’s teams won 14 rounds (and two Cups) from 1928 through 1937, while Vigneault’s squads won six in his first three years behind the bench.

But things had grown stale. Assumptions were made. Cohesiveness in the D-zone and coverage in front of the net had become oxymoronic concepts. It was time for a change.

“There’s a work aspect to this camp where everyone is held accountable,” Hayes said following Tuesday’s session. “Things that maybe should have been addressed and weren’t, maybe taken for granted, they’re being addressed now.

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“You’re going to work hard or you’re not going to play.”

Over the past couple of seasons, a frustrated Kreider had repeatedly pointed out a lack of communication on the ice between teammates. That shouldn’t be an issue this time around.

“There’s a lot of chatter between the players,” said No. 20, who killed penalties in Monday’s 4-3 overtime victory in New Jersey. “You could hear guys screaming on the ice and that’s good. It was too quiet before.

“If you’re going to make the right play, you have to know what’s going on around you before you get the puck. You have to have information. The game is too fast.”

The Rangers want to play fast. They want to be physical. What’s that other quality? Oh, right; they want to be relentless. The practice sessions reflect that philosophy. Every day brings a new, small-ice battle drill. Sunday, Mika Zibanejad took a misplaced shot to the head. Tuesday, Filip Chytil was crunched hard into the boards. That’s the price of doing hockey business.

“When you’re competing hard, you don’t realize how hard you’re working,” Kreider said. “These drills have a purpose.”

Benoit Allaire and Lindy Ruff are the holdovers on the coaching staff that now features Greg Brown and David Oliver as assistants. There is constant feedback between this group and the athletes.

“It feels like a fresh start,” said Skjei. “Everyone is excited and wants to take the next step. There’s a real good vibe here.”

The communication, the freshness of it, the harder-edged personality behind the bench, these will all become mere footnotes if the Rangers are as footloose and fancy free in their own end as they were for the past three seasons. But the team will no longer employ the hybrid man-to-man favored by Vigneault and instead is adopting a layered zone concept in the D-zone.

“You always want pressure on the puck, but there’s more of a read aspect to it where you react to the play developing,” said Skjei. “It’s designed as a five-man structure, with the priority to protect the middle. We kind of were exposed there last year.”

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“We have to protect the goalie,” said Hayes. “Hankie [Lundqvist] is going to make the stop, but we can’t have him facing second, third and fourth chances the way he did last year. Man-to-man was tough, but it was simple in that you knew who you were supposed to take. With this kind of zone, communication between the D and centers is key.

“You have to play as one unit. There’s a lot that goes into it, but the most important thing is that everyone is buying into the system. If everyone plays the right way, this should cut down chances.”

What should go without saying must be said. Lollygagging back by forwards into the D-zone when the play goes the other way will not be tolerated.

“There’s a concerted effort to get back and support the defense,” Kreider said. “It’s going to be five-in-the-picture all over the ice.”

The Rangers seem eager for direction. They are getting it from behind the bench.

“Monday night’s game, Quinney was all about teaching and pointing things out,” Hayes said. “He was doing a lot of talking, but he wasn’t yelling. There’s a difference.”

Of course he wasn’t yelling. He is losing his voice. In September. Hot water and honey for the coach, please. Make it a double.