SUNRISE, Fla. — It hasn’t been an easy go of it for Lias Andersson, as the Rangers 21-year-old center has struggled to maintain steady ice time through the first 18 games. And it didn’t get any easier when Andersson was a side-effect of coach David Quinn cutting down his bench during a 4-3 loss to the Panthers on Saturday night.
Andersson finished with just 3:55 of ice time, while his line with Brendan Smith (6:04) and Micheal Haley (1:26) got minuscule minutes.
Quinn had a chat with Andersson at the morning skate, trying to reassure him that the organization still believes in his abilities, even if it’s not currently resulting in a huge role.