New York Rangers defenseman Neal Pionk had appeared in every game his team played since he was called up to the team last February. That was until Thursday night where he experienced another first in his NHL career, his first time being a healthy scratch.
Pionk watched as his Ranger teammates took on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night at MSG. The team had been looking for their first win of the season, coming off a disappointing 8-5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in which head coach David Quinn said of Pionk [he] “wasn’t great” when he described the defenseman game on Sunday.