The saga of Brady Skjei’s diminishing confidence and how the Rangers are dealing with it continues.
First-year head coach David Quinn made the 24-year-old defenseman a healthy scratch for the team’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Jets on Sunday night at the Garden. It was the third benching this season for the player whom the franchise believes in deeply, but who had a brutal game in Montreal on Saturday night amidst a season of disappointing play.
“This is a guy that we have a lot of faith in,” Quinn said. “He’s a really good player having a little bit of a struggle. He’s going to get right back in there and we’re going to get this right. He’s going to be a big part of what we’ve got going on now and the future. It’s not a punishment, it’s more take a deep breath and let’s get back at it.”
Before the game, Quinn had said one of his defensemen was “questionable with an unspecific injury.” Whomever that was turned out to be good enough to play, and the healthy Skjei was the one benched.
Quinn was happy his players came out and watched the pregame ceremony that sent Vic Hadfield’s No. 11 to the rafters.
“It’s important to realize the organization you play for, the history, how much these guys mean to our franchise,” Quinn said.
Defenseman Brendan Smith had a difficult game, taking two bad penalties. The second was a cross-check at the start of the third period, the only shift he got that period as Quinn sat him for the final 18:04 of regulation.
The club called up veteran winger Matt Beleskey and he made his season debut, getting 8:27 of total ice time on a fourth line with Steven Fogarty and Vinni Lettieri, a line that didn’t play for about the final 9:30 of regulation.
The 30-year-old Beleskey had been with AHL Hartford after clearing waivers following training camp, when he missed time with a separated shoulder. Once he got healthy, he put up three goals and nine points in 14 games with the Wolf Pack.
“He’s played well down there,” Quinn said. “Went down with an injury, but came back in game shape and has been playing well. He’s a veteran presence out there, and he’s been playing well.”
To make room for Beleskey, the Rangers sent Tim Gettinger back to Hartford. The 6-foot-6 20-year-old from Cleveland made his NHL debut on Nov. 24 against the Capitals, but it was a rather uneventful four-game cup of coffee for the 2016 fifth-round pick.
Defenseman Tony DeAngelo came back in after he had been a healthy scratch in Montreal. He started paired with Smith, but was mixed and matched in the third period.
Mats Zuccarello missed his fifth straight game and the ninth in the team’s past 11 with a right-groin injury. He did take part in the on-ice Hadfield ceremony.