Brady Skjei to sit vs. Panthers
(Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

New York Rangers head coach David Quinn has not been afraid to scratch his veterans, and Brady Skjei is just another example of just that.

Dom Renna

Following the New York Rangers 7-5 loss to the Islanders Thursday night, head coach David Quinn decided it was time to make some lineup changes. This time it is Brady Skjei coming out of the Blueshirt lineup.

Skjei has skated in all 19 games this season, scoring just one goal while picking up seven assists. He has continued to show the inconsistency that plagued him a season ago under Alain Vigneault.

The Rangers rewarded Skjei last offseason with a six-year contract extension expecting him to take his game to the next level. He took a larger role when the team traded Ryan McDonagh at the trade deadline a year ago.

If David Quinn has shown us anything in his short time as a head coach is that he is not afraid to scratch the team’s veterans. He did with Kevin Shattenkirk, Neal Pionk, Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Smith and now Skjei.

Smith will take Skjei’s spot in the Blueshirts’ lineup.


Newly acquired Ryan Strome will make his Rangers debut Saturday night. He will skate in alongside Brett Howden and Jimmy Vesey. Strome will wear number 16, the last Rangers to wear was Derick Brassard from 2013 through 2016 season.

In other Rangers news, Mats Zuccarello will miss his fourth game of the month with a lower-body injury, a game returning to the lineup. Jesper Fast is expected to move up in the lineup to replace Zuccarello.

Henrik Lundqvist will look to rebound after he allowed five goals against the Islanders. Since Nov. 1, the 36-year-old is 3-0-1 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.74 goals against average. He has a career record 24-10-3 with 2.06 goals against average and a .930 save percentage against the Florida Panthers.

Puck drop is at 7:00 at Madison Square Garden.

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Dominick is a graduate of Canisius College. He has covered the Rangers for the last seven seasons and the Yankees for the last four.