Kevin Shattenkirk, the New York Rangers' prized free agent signing a year ago, is expected to be a healthy scratch on Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks.

“You have to learn from it, obviously. I’m not a guy that would take that the wrong way and mope about it,” Shattenkirk told the New York Post on Tuesday. “It’s the NHL; if you’re not playing well, there are guys that are playing well. Tony DeAngelo played a phenomenal game the [Sunday] night [in Carolina]. He’s earned a spot on the roster. I think all the ‘D’ have earned a spot on the roster, and I’m probably the guy that needs to fight a little bit harder to get my spot back. It’s on me, for sure.

“I know that it’s a process, but this is probably a good little kick to get me going and get me out of this - I don’t want to say slump - but just get my confidence back and start playing the game I know I have.”

The 29-year-old is minus-4 through the Rangers first three games - all losses - and logged just 7:29 of ice time in Sunday's loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Shattenkirk signed a four-year, $26.6 million contract with the Rangers two summers ago, but was limited to 46 games last season and is coming off off-season knee surgery. He's also watched the franchise enter into a full-scale rebuild since his signing.

New Rangers head coach David Quinn, who's coached Shattenkirk in the NCAA and AHL, said Shattenkirk remains an important piece of the team, but needs to get his game back.

“He’s coming off major knee surgery. I think he’s fighting it mentally,” Quinn explained. “I think he’s unsure of himself. He’s a big part of what we’ve got going on moving forward. We’ve talked at length. I think he had a good practice [Tuesday]. I think it’s more mental than anything.

“He and I have talked about playing with more urgency, and I think he’s still a little bit hesitant because of what happened last year. He’s got to get his confidence back. He’s going to have every chance to get his confidence back.

"This is a process. This isn’t a punishment.”

According to Hockey-Reference, Shattenkirk has the best Relative Corsi of any Ranger this season at 10.7 per cent, meaning the team is controlling the puck when he is on the ice. He was, however, critical of his own game on Tuesday.

“Not great,” Shattenkirk said when asked to describe his play through three games. “I think I need to get the urgency back in my game a little bit. I think it’s just a little too slow right now for me. At the puck, just being a little harder to play against in our ‘D’ zone on my one-on-ones, just making my decisions quicker. There is making my decisions quicker and then there is playing with urgency and getting things done because you have to get them done. That’s what I’ve been lacking, and [it is] especially what the coaches want to see more from me.”

Quinn doesn't expect Shattenkirk to be out of the lineup for long.

“Listen, our job is to put the best guys out there to give us a chance to win,” he explained. “He’s going to be that guy when he gets back to being Kevin Shattenkirk and [having] a great mindset and being physically 100 per cent. I have zero doubt about that and neither does he. It might just take a little bit of time.”