David Quinn Set to Make Hometown Head Coaching Debut vs. Bruins

BOSTON - Throughout his hockey career in Boston, David Quinn encountered plenty of high highs and low lows. There were two Beanpot Championships as a defenseman at Boston University; there was a national championship season as associate head coach at BU; there was one crushing defeat on the TD Garden ice in the 2015 NCAA championship.
On Saturday, Quinn will return to TD Garden - his old stomping grounds - not as a BU player, assistant or coach, but as head coach of the New York Rangers as they take on the Bruins (7 PM, MSG Networks). Even 47 games into the season, he hasn't had much time to contemplate what it will be like to be a visitor at home for the first time.

"I'm just really starting to think about it because you take a job and there's so much going on in your head when you're taking a job at a new level," Quinn said after Friday's afternoon practice at the MSG Training Center. "Obviously this was a game that popped into my head when I looked at the schedule, but I didn't think much about it after that. Certainly been thinking about it a lot over the last 12 or so hours, and what we're going to face - but for me personally, going to school there and coaching in Boston, and coaching so many games at [TD] Garden, it will definitely mean a lot more."
Quinn, a native of nearby Cranston, R.I., played at BU for four years from 1985-88. He spent five seasons as associate head coach under the tutelage of the legendary Jack Parker. Then, for five years, he succeeded Parker and led the Terriers to two Hockey East championships and a Beanpot title.
In the Summer of 2018, Quinn was presented with an opportunity to become the head coach of an Original Six franchise, and soon enough, he found himself calling a different Garden his home.
On Saturday, Quinn will return to a building that holds many, many memories - some incredible, some heartbreaking - but all unforgettable.
"It means a lot, I think, to have his head coaching debut back in his hometown," said defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, a former Terrier who played on the 2008-09 championship team. "There's going to be a lot of people there watching him obviously, and I think he's excited. I think he's earned it, and he'll definitely cherish it. Hopefully we can get him a big win to top it all off."
Quinn is prepared to be a visitor in a city that once was home. It will be strange, but he's prepared.
Something that will be even stranger: game-planning against his own former players. The Bruins' roster features three former Terriers - forward Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson and defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk - who played for Quinn at BU.
"Coaching in college is unique," Quinn said. "You really form lifelong relationships with these guys. You're friends, and when they all leave, you certainly continue to stay in touch with them. It'll be a little strange, not going to lie - it'll be strange to have three of them over on the other team - but once the puck drops, you don't pay much attention to them."
Quinn stands by that. At the end of the day, Saturday's game is a game, and one that has plenty of implications for the Rangers. They'll be looking to extend a two-game winning streak, and after, they'll embark on a nine-day break due to the bye week and the ensuing All-Star Weekend in San Jose. With a road win on Saturday, the Rangers can go into the break with two points against a conference opponent and some much-needed momentum heading down the stretch.
"Everybody understands the timeline and where we're at and what's in front of us after [Saturday]," Quinn said. "But for every second you think about what beach you're going to be on, or what hotel you're going to be staying at, what cocktail you're going to be drinking, you're taking away from what our task is tomorrow."
That task is simple: getting a W. That task owns Quinn's sole focus - to the degree that any friends and family will be on their own for tickets if they want to see him make his head coaching debut in his hometown.
"I got out of the ticket business," Quinn said with a laugh. "There is not one ticket I've left for [Saturday] night. They can watch it on MSG or NESN.
"I don't know who's going to be there, but I'm going there to win a hockey game, and then I have nine days off after that, so I'll spend a lot of time with those people after the fact."