The Rangers piled into the locker room at Madison Square Garden after 80 minutes of play in Game 2 of their second-round series against the Hurricanes.
Some players tried to hydrate. Others went for some nourishment. Nobody said much.
Just before the Rangers went back on the ice for the second overtime period, Jonathan Quick — dressed in full goalie equipment that hasn’t seen game action since April 11 — stood up.
“And he just kind of gave us a pat on the ass,” Vincent Trocheck told The Post on Tuesday, two weeks after the 30-year-old forward scored the game-winner to end that double-OT thriller and allow for the Rangers to be where they are now, in the Eastern Conference Final against the Panthers.
It was far from the first time, and probably far from the last time, that Quick said exactly what the Blueshirts needed to hear at that exact moment.
The future Hall of Fame netminder has been a pillar of support in the locker room in more ways than one.
When Quick speaks up, everybody listens.
A résumé that includes three Stanley Cups, two William M. Jennings trophies, a Conn Smythe and more wins than any U.S.-born goaltender will command that. But Quick’s influence goes well beyond his 92 games of playoff experience, the X’s and O’s and any insight he may have into opposing goalies.
Quick took the initiative to foster team camaraderie from Day 1 of his Rangers tenure, and that is seemingly what’s meant the most to his teammates. There’s so much value in team morale and Quick has done nothing but work to boost it.
Since he can’t make a direct impact on the ice, you better believe Quick is still finding ways to impact the Rangers regardless.
It’s a role he is no stranger to after serving as the third-string goalie for the Golden Knights during their Stanley Cup victory last season, when Quick’s 16-year run in Los Angeles came to an end after the Kings traded him to Columbus on March 1 before he was flipped to Vegas the next day.
“During the year, in the net or not in the net, throughout the playoffs, just whatever the team needed me to do that day, right?” Quick said of last postseason in comparison to this postseason. “You’re just trying to help out any way you can. Especially, you get to this time of the year, you need 20-25 guys all kind of with that same mentality — whatever you need me to do today, type of mentality.
“I do find it to be pretty similar and I find myself trying to do similar things that I felt helped the team last year.”
It should not go unmentioned how difficult it can be for a player of Quick’s caliber and stature to be relegated to the sidelines.
Here is a guy who not only served as the face of a franchise for years and backstopped the Kings to two Cups, but also a player who fully expected to retire in LA and settle down before the downturn of his storied career was suddenly staring him in the face.
Whether he was thrown into the role in Vegas or willingly signed up for the job in New York, Quick has approached it the same way: as a consummate professional.
“It’s especially hard to be [the] No. 2 [goalie] sometimes,” Artemi Panarin said. “If you’re not that good of a human, you can put not the best energy into the room. Quickie doesn’t have [that]. He’s doing it like a real man.”
Quick has been no passenger on this playoff ride.
He’s asked the skaters what drills they’re doing and if they need a goalie before and after practices. He’s spoken up on things he sees between periods and on the bench during the games. He’s always there to answer any type of question.
Igor Shesterkin, who has backstopped all 10 of the Rangers postseason games, said Quick pushes him in practice every day.
Quick’s words of encouragement have simply been endless, in addition to his calming presence.
“I forget what game it was, we didn’t come out and play the first like we wanted to,” Braden Schneider said. “[Quick does] just simple things like calming you down and reminding you how good of a team we are. We know how to win and just reminding us that we’re a great hockey team when things might feel like we’re going backwards in a game.
“Everything he says is just so simple, but you just pay attention and everything he says, he’s right.”
The way Quick has committed himself to the Rangers at this point in his career has not gone unnoticed by his teammates.
As much as any player who wears a letter on his sweater, Quick has had just as much of a hand in establishing the Rangers’ new-found mentality and standards this season, according to those in the room.
On top of all of that, in his 26 starts during the regular season, Quick largely resembled a modernized version of his 2014 self, who stood on his head to deny the Rangers a Stanley Cup.
“With everything he’s accomplished, to come here, the buy-in and the care, the passion, the want to be here,” captain Jacob Trouba said. “It doesn’t have to be like that, I don’t think, for someone of his stature — but it is. I think that’s why he is who he is and why his teammates love him. The love everywhere he’s been. It’s how he goes about his business, how hard he works. He’s out there making incredible saves at practice. A guy doesn’t have to do that if he doesn’t care or want to work or be that good.
“I think you see that as players, as teammates. It makes you want to bust your butt a little more I think. You see someone like him doing that. That raises everyone’s level.”
Back when the season started ramping up in August, Quick and his wife, Jaclyn, immediately started sending out texts to the team about planning dinners and the dinners they were planning to host.
One of their family traditions is to see how many teammates they can get to Thanksgiving dinner every year.
They arranged a team New Year’s Eve party. On most holidays, in general, it feels like the Quicks are always reaching out to bring everyone together.
As the only rookie to start the season on the roster, Will Cuylle said he didn’t know what to expect with the older players, but he considers Quick to be the nicest guy on the team. He said Quick was his first choice for the team-voted Players’ Player award — which No. 32 won by far.
And when Blake Wheeler suffered a gruesome injury just a couple days before the Stadium Series family skate at MetLife Stadium, Quick made sure to take Wheeler’s son, Louie, along with him.
“I can’t emphasize it enough, but it’s no coincidence that success follows him around,” Wheeler said. “I feel like I’ve learned so much from him this year. The way he and his wife Jackie just bring people together, that’s what winning looks like. When I say it’s no coincidence, I mean, the success he’s had, even last year going to Vegas, I believe his presence matters that much.
“I can’t speak highly enough about him individually, but overall, their family is just winning — the definition of winning is what their family is all about.”
