NEW YORK_Before his team's game Saturday night against the NHL's top team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers coach David Quinn was asked what he thought may have changed in the 20 games since his team last played the Lightning back in early December.
"Well, I think, hopefully, we're a better team,'' Quinn said. "I think we are.''
Quinn's group sure put up more of a fight against the Lightning this time than they did then, though they ultimately lost, 3-2, in the first of a five-game homestand at Madison Square Garden.
Trailing 3-0, the Rangers rallied on goals by Mats Zuccarello late in the second, and by Kevin Hayes on a power-play at 6:49 of the third. The Rangers pressed for an equalizer but just couldn't get one because Tampa Bay goalie Louis Domingue made 31 saves, many of them stellar, including one on Chris Kreider with 1:03 left and one on a last-chance slap shot by Kevin Shattenkirk with 1.6 seconds left.
Quinn opted not to make any changes to the lineup that had won Thursday night in New Jersey against the Devils, and that meant scratching defenseman Tony DeAngelo for the second game in a row.
But Quinn promised that DeAngelo wasn't going to be banished to the press box much longer. "I think he's a real good player, and you'll see him very, very shortly,'' the coach said.
Quinn said he stayed with the same lineup because the six defensemen dressed against the Devils played well enough to all retain their places in the lineup. He did say that, without DeAngelo's skating and passing ability in the lineup, the Rangers might be a weaker team. But he said he believes if DeAngelo learns the lesson he's trying to teach him, the team will be better down the road.
"It's a balancing act, for sure," Quinn said of scratching any talented player. "And what I would say to that is, you've got to think big picture. Do I want to lose tonight? No, I don't. But I think, big picture, if we're going to have the success we're capable of having, throughout the season, you may lose a game because of what (not having a player in the lineup one night), but over the course of 82 games, you're going to have a much better hockey team.
"It's something, as a coach, you're certainly aware of when you're making these decisions," he continued. "You don't want to let the season get away from you, but you also want to make sure that _ if we get Tony DeAngelo playing to his ability, and being the player he's capable of being _ we're going to have a much better hockey team over the last 30 games of the season."
The Lightning built a 3-0 lead on goals by Yanni Gourde (at 6:51 of the first period), Erik Cernak (his first of the season, at 4:31 of the second) and Steven Stamkos (at 8:33 of the second) before Zuccarello got the Rangers on the board at 16:17 of the second period with his ninth goal of the season. It extended Zuccarello's point streak to seven games, and was assisted by each of his linemates, Mika Zibanejad and Kreider. That gave the trio a combined total of 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) in the last seven games the they have played together (Zuccarello missed Tuesday's game with a foot infection).
