Pavel Buchnevich did not practice Sunday, Kappo Kakko and Julien Gauthier both took advantage of their opportunities, each scoring twice. Coach David Quinn to reassess the goaltending now that a week of camp has passed.
The good news about Buchnevich is that Quinn does not think his absence will result in him missing the play-in round. This may be an indicator that Buch's absence is not COViD related. Hopefully, it's a very mild problem and he will return before too long. Game 1 against Carolina is slated for August 1, so Buchnevich has a bit of time to be ready.
DQ on whether Buch's status for the playoffs is in jeopardy:
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) July 19, 2020
"I can tell you, that is not the case."
So, there's that. #NYR
In Buchnevich's absence, Kakko was moved up to skate with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kredier. Kakko continued his strong camp with a pair of goals. The time off clearly benefited Kakko, who has taken his game to another level since Phase 3 began. He looks more comfortable on the ice, having worked on his mental approach while back home. You wonder if he continues playing like this, could Quinn and the coaching staff move Kakko up to skate with Artemy Panarin and Ryan Strome, moving Jesper Fast down, even though Fast is the defensive ballast on that line?
With Kakko on the top line, Julien Gautheir slid into his spot on the third line with Filip Chytil and Philip Di Guiseppe. Gautheir, like Kakko, potted a pair of tallies. Gauthier could be a major X-factor versus his old team in the play-in round. He has the size to be a difference maker down low along with the skills to score, as seen by his career numbers. Gauthier right now is on the fourth line with Greg McKegg, filling in for the suspended Brendan Lemiuex, and Brett Howden. He too could slide up a line, possibly replacing PDG.
Quinn and Shesterkin post-practice.
"From a coach’s standpoint, you want to play good defense, but I love scoring goals. To win hockey games, you’ve got to score goals, so there's a balancing act. You can do both."
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 19, 2020
Coach's update with one week down: pic.twitter.com/13lfJN5VPj
"The bottom line is, I’m so happy to be back." - Igor Shesterkin pic.twitter.com/bbH9wPlRuh
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 19, 2020
Quinn said the following about Igor: ""He's very comfortable. I love the fact that he's comfortable with a lot of confidence. We talk about his swagger. He just doesn't have it on the ice; he has it off the ice, as well. He has a personality. This isn’t a guy that keeps to himself." He added on the goalie decision "It’s a battle. I think we're going to probably have a conversation here. After a week now that we've gone through practicing, I think it's a good time to kind of reassess where we're at and take it from there." While a formal decision won't be made yet, Shesterkin clearly looks to be in the lead. Henrik Lundqvist's historical record vs. Carolina will be a factor and could sway the decision, along with play the next 10 days or so, but as of now, Igor appears to be in the lead.
Shesterkin talked about how he worked on his mental game following his promotion from Hartford to the Rangers, with whom he won 10 of his first 12 NHL games while posting a 2.52 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. "When I got called up, I watched how NHL players deal with victories and defeats," said Shesterkin. "I learned to psychologically not beat myself up too much and be able to roll with the punches. Maybe it came with age and maturity, but definitely learning from the guys in the locker room helped." He added that from Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev he has learned the work ethic needed to succeed in the NHL, not just in games but in practice as well.
Learning from the best. pic.twitter.com/AANjRioGJn
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 19, 2020