TAMPA, Fla. — David Quinn did not say as much, but the Rangers are abandoning their power-line experiment in which the coach shifted Kevin Hayes to right wing on the unit with center Mika Zibanejad and left wing Chris Kreider because such a move depletes the team’s depth and ability to match up against the opposition.
Quinn said he would “keep some of the reasons to myself” for terminating the trial after getting mixed results in Saturday’s 5-4 shootout victory over the Panthers, but imagine the Blueshirts trying to keep up with Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos-Brayden Point one-two punch down the middle under that configuration?