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Back at #NYR practice today. More changes, it appears. Lines the same as yesterday- 26-13-23; 89-93-17; 20-21-36, 90-72-95. But D pairs look different. 76-54 stays same, but 18 with 77, 33 with 42, and 22 with 44.
— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) October 10, 2018
Quinn said the decision on the 'D' for the game tomorrow hasn't been made yet. He said Pionk is a possibility to be scratched tomorrow. He skated with Shattenkirk today, so it's possible that pair is scratched against the Sharks.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) October 10, 2018
First PP: 77-89-93-20-36. Second PP: 13-21-23-76-72. Second unit is all lefties.
— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) October 10, 2018
"These guys are really good players, I think sometimes they don't realize how good they can be."
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 10, 2018
After practice #NYR Coach Quinn discussed raising the bar, special teams, lines and defensemen. pic.twitter.com/xiQVgBrYaK
"I'm not doing it to be the big, tough coach," Quinn said. "It's more like, 'Listen, if we're going to have the success we're capable of having, this is the bar and this is what's expected.' Holding people accountable is a coach's No. 1 responsibility.
"This is how I've done it my whole life. It's not like I'm coming in here changing the way I've coached. This is just how I've done it."
Hayes and Shattenkirk each talked about Quinn's ability to communicate with players and hold them accountable immediately after the Rangers announced him as the new coach May 24. There's tangible proof of it now, but Hayes said it's been going on since training camp began.
"No one is really safe," said Hayes, who was benched for 11:25 straight in the second period and the final 6:49 of the third in Buffalo on Saturday. "Everyone has to play well to get their ice time here. It's a fresh face and he has his way of doing things. I think what he does is great. He doesn't let guys have days off."
Quinn, though, is respectful of the tightrope he's walking between holding his players accountable and having veterans turn on him for going too far. That's why he insists on having open lines of communication between coaches and players.
Hayes and Shattenkirk said they initially didn't know why they were being benched in the games last weekend. But following the games they each had separate meetings with Quinn, with assistant Lindy Ruff in on the meeting with Shattenkirk.
Their voices were heard. There were no blurry lines after those meetings, each said.
"When you do stuff like that there's got to be clarity and there's got to be explanations," Quinn said. "At the end of the day, accountability and performance are what this is all about. That's coaching, in my opinion, holding people accountable but also understanding people have built up a bank account too. You don't just bench guys for every mistake, but to me the piece to it that is non-negotiable is effort. If the mistakes are made because of the lack of all-out effort then I don't care what your bank account is, you'll be held accountable."
"It's about consistent effort and raising the bar."