"It's a really special thing that they're doing for us. As excited as the dads are, I think we're just as excited too."
"It means a lot," added Neal Pionk. "For them to come out here and have some fun and see how we go about our day-to-day business, it's a lot of fun for them. We're going to have a good time."
About that business: Following five open dates on their season schedule, the Rangers are back to it on Saturday night in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers, the first of a pair on a Florida trip that wraps up on Monday against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. The Rangers have two wins in the bank against the Panthers this year and can sweep the season series while snapping a four-game road skid with a victory on Saturday.
The Panthers, meanwhile, will be playing the finale of an eight-game homestand on which they have neither won nor lost back-to-back games and are 3-2-2. They are coming off a 5-2 loss to Colorado that saw Roberto Luongo make 32 saves in his second game back from his second knee injury this season.
Mats Zuccarello joined the Rangers' traveling party for the weekend, but both the winger and his coach were sounding a note of caution about whether Zuccarello would be ready on Saturday to return from a nagging groin injury. No one is treading more carefully than Zuccarello himself, after he twice returned from this injury, only to find himself back on the shelf each time.
"I think it's coming along," said Zuccarello, who was a full participant in all three Ranger practices this week. "At the end of the day I don't want to go one game and then sit out; that was stupid to go too early twice. That was all my fault. Now I just want to make sure I'm 100 percent ready when I go."
"We'll just see," said Quinn. "He is the epitome of day-to-day."
Whether or not Zuccarello is able to return, the Rangers will get Vlad Namestnikov back from concussion protocol and will throw some new looks into their lineup too, changing up both combinations and players' positions. Kevin Hayes will take his first spin this season on right wing as Quinn elects to load up his top line, with Hayes and Chris Kreider flanking Mika Zibanejad - the first time the Rangers' top three scorers will play on the same unit.
Quinn said he liked how Hayes looked on the wing during practice this week, adding that "obviously a game will tell us a whole different story. Big-picture, long-term, he's a center for sure, but we're just trying different things to jumpstart the team. This is something that I know he did in college, he played wing a lot when he was in college, obviously played center a lot as a pro. The situation we're in, just trying different matchups, different combinations."
Into Hayes' spot in the middle will go Ryan Strome, giving the Rangers a second righty shot at the center position, along with Zibanejad. Strome has played center for most of his NHL career, and was used there almost exclusively as an Oiler this season before joining the Rangers in a Nov. 16 trade.
As Strome practiced on Friday with his new linemates, Jimmy Vesey and Filip Chytil, his dad was watching from the corner. Chris Strome has seen two of his boys go through an uprooting this season: Ryan's younger brother Dylan was traded to Chicago from Arizona nine days after Ryan came to the Rangers.
"The funny thing is, they've come and visited us in both places now ," Ryan Strome said of his parents, "so it's been quite the zoo."
With his dad mingling nearby, Strome said of his visit this weekend: "It's really fun. I just imagine if I had a son, or if I do one day, how fun that would be if I got to go on a trip like this. It's exciting for them, they come to the rink - and we do this every day, we're pretty privileged and lucky. They go into the meal room and my dad's eyes light up: 'You get free breakfast? People make you food?'
"It's pretty special. Anytime you get to share these moments with the people who helped you get here - the time commitment, the money, I think everybody knows what goes into playing hockey. It's special to have them here with us."
