Winning ways help Rangers enjoy outdoor experience and soak it all in
Jonathan Quick works in the goal during Rangers practice at MetLife Stadium on Friday. Credit: Ed Murray
GREENBURGH
As the Rangers and Islanders meet Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in their first faceoff in more than a year, it’s obvious that the Rangers, winners of their last six games, are in a better place than their rivals. The Islanders are in desperate need of two points every time they take the ice regardless of whether the game is indoors or out.
“I think getting into this weekend with a win, you get to enjoy, maybe, the first couple days before Sunday here in a different way,’’ Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said after the Blueshirts’ win over Montreal on Thursday. “The mood stays up from winning . . . A lot of people have family in town, so we’re hoping that we can enjoy this week.’’
Center Vincent Trocheck said after the Rangers’ practice at MetLife on Friday that it is easier for the Blueshirts to enjoy the spectacle of the outdoor game because they hold a comfortable lead in the Metropolitan Division.
“For sure,’’ he said. “It’s definitely more enjoyable winning games. I mean, any time, not even just . . . Even the [locker] room when you saw a couple weeks ago, when we were going through a little bit of something, the room is just — not that it’s not fun, I enjoy my job, very much so — but it’s just not nearly as fun coming to the rink every day whenever you’re losing games.’’
Winning allowed the Rangers to soak in the experience and enjoy Friday’s practice. Their families were able to attend, and their children and significant others could join them for a skate on the stadium rink afterward.
Towering teammates amaze Goodrow
Barclay Goodrow is listed on the Rangers’ website as 6-2 (“and every bit of it,” he said). But on Saturday, he was made to look small by his two linemates, rookies Adam Edstrom and Matt Rempe, who are 6-7 and 6-8, respectively.
“I’d never have believed I’d play on a line where I was the shortest guy by 5 inches,’’ Goodrow said.
Edstrom and Rempe were called up from AHL Hartford last Sunday.
Edstrom played on the fourth line with Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey on Monday and Thursday. But with Blake Wheeler injured, Vesey was moved up to the first line, with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, and Rempe stepped in with Edstrom and Goodrow at practice Friday and Saturday.
If he plays Sunday, Rempe will make his NHL debut.
“That’d be a pretty sick first game,’’ Vesey said of Rempe’s possible debut at MetLife Stadium. “Stadium Series and Rangers-Islanders. We’ll see what happens, but if he’s in, the only thing I’d probably say is it’s probably the coolest NHL debut I’ve seen so far.’’
Rempe, by the way, is listed as 6-7, 241 pounds on the Rangers’ website and 6-7, 207 on the Hartford website. On Saturday, he said for the record that he is 6-8 1⁄2, 245 pounds.
Edstrom said he really is 6-7.
“Yeah,’’ he said, “[Rempe] is a little taller.’’
Quick wears GoPro camera on helmet
Goaltender Jonathan Quick, who is expected to back up Igor Shesterkin on Sunday, wore a GoPro camera on his helmet at practice Friday at the request of the NHL.
“You don’t even notice it up there,’’ Quick said. “I’m just glad no one was aiming for it [when taking shots during the practice].
“I haven’t seen any of the footage they got out of it, but I’m sure it’ll be interesting.’’
Quick, who played in three outdoor games while he was with the Los Angeles Kings, enjoyed the practice and the family skate afterward. He was joined by his son and his nephew, and he also had teammate Blake Wheeler’s son with him.
Wheeler suffered a season-ending injury in Thursday’s 7-4 win over Montreal.
Laviolette: Back-and-forth travel is good
After Friday’s skate at MetLife Stadium, the Rangers returned to their practice facility outside of Tarrytown on Saturday for a regular practice. After that, they were scheduled to travel back to New Jersey to spend the night in preparation for Sunday’s 3 p.m. faceoff against the Islanders. They weren’t able to practice Saturday at MetLife because the Devils and Flyers played there at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
But rather than viewing the back-and-forth from New Jersey as a logistical annoyance, coach Peter Laviolette said the entire experience was a good thing.
“I think it’s actually terrific,’’ he said Saturday. “If you think about it, [Friday] is a day in itself. And now we’re back to work here, in our practice facility with our practice routine that we do every single day to prepare for a game. And I actually think that that day of separation is a good thing for us. And maybe [the Islanders are] saying the same thing. I’m not sure.
“But for us to be able to come back here and go to work and practice, and get ready for this game, it just separates some of the stuff . . . which I kind of view as a positive.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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