It seems like that’s it for sitting Neal Pionk.
First-year Rangers coach David Quinn made clear his confidence in the 23-year-old defenseman after he had scratched Pionk for the second straight game during the team’s 2-1 loss to the Oilers in a Saturday matinee at the Garden.
“Pionk is going to play a lot of hockey for us,” Quinn said. “He and I have talked. I don’t want to reveal our lineup for our next game, but he’s a guy I like an awful lot, and he’s going to play a lot for us.”
The next game is Tuesday night at the Garden against the Avalanche, the first of a back-to-back that concludes Wednesday night in Washington against the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals.