The New York Rangers faltered down the stretch, losing 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night, which snapped a three-game winning streak.
On Sunday morning, the Rangers sent down Gabe Perreault to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League after just a three-game stint.
Despite being given an opportunity to play a top-six role, we did not quite see Perreault’s offensive explosiveness on display, with the pace of play simply moving too fast for the young rookie.
The Rangers brass felt it was best for him to continue to develop in the AHL.
“He’s got an awful lot of talent and he’s got a bright future in this league, but this is a man’s league,” David Quinn said. “Gabe did some good things when he was up here, but when Gabe is here, he plays on the top two lines, and when you play against the top two lines, you play against everybody's top D pairings, and you play against everybody's best players, and that can get a little overwhelming for you, physically and with the pace.
“We just felt like this was part of the growing process and the development process for him, give him an opportunity to come here, play meaningful games. Now, he’s going back down and I’m sure this experience will be beneficial to his development.”
It was announced prior to the game that Mike Sullivan would not be behind the bench tonight, with David Quinn and Joe Sacco splitting the head coaching responsibilities.
Throughout the season, Quinn has helped manage the defensemen, while Sacco has assisted Sullivan with the offensive lines.
Despite both taking on the role of head coach, Quinn continued to manage the defense, and Sacco took care of the offensive gameplan.
“It was very simple for Joe and I because I've been managing the D all year, and Joe has been helping Mike with the lines,” Quinn said of what went into the dual head-coaching strategy. “I managed the D and Joe called the line changes. There really wasn’t a lot of change to it. It was a pretty seamless situation for both of us and the players.”
The Rangers played a relatively steady game throughout the first two periods although they were outshot 29-16.
Mika Zibanejad scored on the power play in the second period, marking the team’s fifth power-play goal in six games, as the Rangers have been red hot on the man advantage since elevating Will Cuylle to the first unit.
In the third period, the Blueshirts’ game seemed to completely unravel. The tone of the third period was set with two consecutive penalties.
The Rangers were undisciplined all night, committing a total of six penalties throughout the contest.
The Red Wings dominated time of possession in the final frame, clearly shown by the 14-3 shot differential in favor of Detroit.
Jonathan Quick stood on his head and gave the Rangers a puncher's chance to win with his 40 saves, but New York’s lackluster play in the final frame ultimately caught up to them in the form of a Lucas Raymond game-winning goal.
Mike Sullivan Will Not Coach On Sunday Due To Personal Reasons
Mike Sullivan will not be behind the bench for the New York <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a>’ Sunday night game against the Detroit Red Wings due to personal reasons.
“Obviously, Quickie was unbelievable tonight,” Quinn said. “He made some huge saves… I thought we got away from it, that we were inconsistent with our purpose. I thought we fueled an awful lot of their offense too often. That's a team that thrives on the rush. If you manage the puck against them, you get a chance, and if you don't, you're gonna pay for it. It looked like we might be able to steal a point there as the game was evolving, but we weren't able to get it done.”
The game ended with both benches clearing in what turned out to be a big scrum involving every player.
Mason Appleton shot the puck into the empty net after the final horn sounded, and an upset Quick went to confront him, causing other players to get involved. Quick explained the root of his frustrations.
“You guys all saw it,” Quick said. “The horn goes, a couple seconds (pass), (Appleton) shoots it in the net. I don’t know why they were surprised. That’s usually the response when something like that happens.”
Quinn addressed the media in place of Sullivan. He was asked about the possible longevity of Sullivan’s absence, but Quinn didn’t delve into detail.
“I don't have an update right now, obviously, from the coaches to the players of the organization, we certainly are thinking about Mike and his family, and never an easy situation,” Quinn said. “Attending family, that’s all I can give you right now.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.