BUFFALO — Maybe David Quinn is really just starting to like this seven-defenseman look, or maybe the coach just needed to prove a point, but Quinn went with seven defensemen for the third straight game and still managed to insert Hartford call-up Connor Brickley to the lineup.
He did it by scratching 19-year-old rookie Filip Chytil.
It was the second time this season that Quinn has scratched Chytil, the second of the Rangers’ two first-round picks in 2017. He benched the Czech forward on New Year’s Eve in St. Louis.
“I think Fil’s play has slipped a little bit,’’ Quinn said.