It’s not the new bye week, or the Olympic break (remember those?), or even the All-Star break.
This is just a random quirk in the Rangers’ schedule that has them without a game for five straight days, from Sunday’s Vic Hadfield night at the Garden until Saturday’s match with the Panthers that starts a two-game Florida swing. And it came at a great time for the Blueshirts, who were reeling from major injuries that helped contribute to the recent 1-4-1 record.
So Thursday was another hour-plus, college-boy practice from first-year head coach David Quinn, with top-nine wingers Vlad Namestnikov and Mats Zuccarello participating fully.