At his post-practice news conference Thursday, Rangers coach David Quinn was asked whether his rebuilding club could take inspiration from a team like Montreal, who finished last season and well out of the playoffs, with 71 points, but had bounced back in a big way this season to occupy the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, entering Friday.
“Absolutely,’’ Quinn had said, going on to make a case that the Rangers were better than their record so far this season. “From the way we’ve played this year, we kind of feel like we deserve a little bit of a better record, but you look at what Montreal’s done, look what the Islanders have done – a couple changes, a couple tweaks and all of a sudden, your season turns into the season we’re having, compared to what the Habs are doing and what the Islanders are doing.