Rangers coach David Quinn said that over the final four periods of the preseason, his players found “a blueprint” for what it’s going to take to be successful.
Team identities can take a while to establish. With a young roster and a lot of new players that might take longer than normal. It’s hard for too much to be carried over from Quinn’s first year behind the bench, when the organization continued to be torn down in order to be built back up into the prospect-heavy group it is now.
But those final four periods saw a team that played with a physical edge, that was fast in straight lines up and down the ice, and sprinkled in the skilled plays — with far more skill players than were on the roster a year ago.