Quinn has plans to play Pionk

It seems like that’s it for sitting Neal Pionk.

First-year Rangers coach David Quinn made clear his confidence in the 23-year-old defenseman after he had scratched Pionk for the second straight game during the team’s 2-1 loss to the Oilers in a Saturday matinee at the Garden.

“Pionk is going to play a lot of hockey for us,” Quinn said. “He and I have talked. I don’t want to reveal our lineup for our next game, but he’s a guy I like an awful lot, and he’s going to play a lot for us.”

The next game is Tuesday night at the Garden against the Avalanche, the first of a backto-back that concludes Wednesday night in Washington against the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals. Pionk had seemed solidified in the top four after another good training camp following his 28game rookie season with the Rangers, but Quinn scratched him for Thursday’s 3-2 overtime win against the Sharks, lauding the team’s depth on the blue line.

“I liked the way some of the guys were playing,” Quinn said in explanation.

Veteran defenseman Kevin

Shattenkirk returned to the lineup after his one-game absence as a healthy scratch. The 29-year-old was paired with

Fredrik Claesson and got 17:42 of total ice time, including 1:57 as the quarterback of the first power-play unit.

“I thought he played pretty well,” Quinn said of Shattenkirk, who had surgery on Jan. 18 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and struggled in his first three games this season. “I thought it was a nice bounce-back effort by him. I thought he defended well, he skated more. It was definitely a step in the right direction.”

Defenseman Tony DeAngelo was a healthy scratch for the third time in the first five games, and forward Cody McLeod remained out for the fourth time.