. But the game will also be meaningful for the coach.){kind=link}
NEW YORK — David Quinn is aware of his winless San Jose Sharks will play an essential sport in opposition to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, NBCSCA, ESPN+, SN NOW). But it’ll even be significant for the coach.
Quinn received his NHL teaching begin with the Rangers in 2018-19, and led them for 3 seasons till he was fired May 12, 2021.
“I’d be lying to you if I said no (it’s not special),” Quinn mentioned. “Yeah, it is, I mean, I had three great years in New York. I loved my time there. I loved the players. You know, unfortunately, it didn’t end the way we all wanted it to, but it’ll be pretty cool.”
The Rangers had been one level shy of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot when the 2019-20 season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 18 wins of their final 29 video games (18-10-1). When play resumed, they had been swept by the Carolina Hurricanes within the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
“I’ve been fortunate to be on teams where you have swagger and you know, if you show up and you do A, B and C, you’re going to be successful and that was one of those teams,” Quinn mentioned. “We felt that when that pandemic hit we were one of the best teams in the NHL from Jan. 7 on.
“I imply, COVID impacts individuals in another way. … I believe we had gamers that had been involved about coming again and enjoying in a bubble. It was loopy, distinctive circumstances. Things you can by no means plan for. There’s no blue e book on how to deal with getting back from the pandemic and going right into a bubble and enjoying in entrance of no one. Just lots of issues which are uncontrollable and issues you do not expertise.”
The following season in 2020-21, the Rangers were 27-23-6 in the shortened 56-game season and failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing 11 points behind the New York Islanders in the East Division. Quinn was fired four days after the season ended.
Now, more than a year later, after coaching the United States men’s team at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Quinn is back coaching in the NHL with the Sharks.
After losing two games to the Nashville Predators in the 2022 NHL Global Series in Prague to open the season, San Jose returned to North America to lose three more, including 5-2 at the New York Islanders on Tuesday. The Sharks (0-5-0) are one of three NHL teams without a win, along with the Minnesota Wild (0-3-0) and Vancouver Canucks (0-3-1). San Jose also has the worst goal differential in the League (minus-11), have not scored more than two goals in any game and rank last in the NHL in goals per game (1.60). The Sharks have allowed at least three goals in four of five games.
Only two San Jose players, center Nico Sturm and forward Evgeny Svechnikov, have scored as many as two goals. Five players have one.
“We’re not that far off,” Quinn said. “I do know it seems like we’re however we’re actually not. And you realize, there are stretches the place we appear like hockey crew. We’re simply not doing these issues persistently.”
San Jose had a spirited practice at Chelsea Piers on Wednesday, which lasted more than 70 minutes and included Quinn and the coaches spending about 10 minutes talking to the team on the ice before the practice began.
“Just touched on the fragility of our group, clearly, we’re not feeling nice about ourselves,” Quinn said. “And when you have not gained a sport, you’ve gotten to perceive why, however there are issues we are able to do on the controllables that we could be higher at that may put us in a greater place to win.”
The Sharks hired Quinn on July 26 to replace Bob Boughner, who was fired July 1 after San Jose went 32-37-13 last season and finished 20 points behind the Predators for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. It was the third straight season it failed to qualify for the postseason after reaching the playoffs 14 of the previous 15 seasons.
“I imagine on this group — we as coaches — and I mentioned that to [the players], I mentioned, you realize, hopefully you guys assume you are pretty much as good as we predict you might be,” Quinn said. “And I do know we’re not that far off and there is a lot of believability throughout the workers and [the players] want to really feel the identical quantity of confidence that we really feel in them and that is the one approach we’re going to get out of this.”
Quinn’s first NHL win came Oct. 11, 2018, against the Sharks in his fourth game. Would it be more special for him if his first win with the Sharks came against the Rangers?
“I do not care if we beat the Westchester Rangers, I simply need to freaking win,” he mentioned.