Tortorella: “I Thought We Sucked”

March 26, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Sometimes, few words are needed to describe a bad loss which was precisely what transpired at Phillips Arena where the Rangers blew a three-goal lead falling to Ilya Kovalchuk and the Thrashers 5-4 in a shootout.

Ranger coach John Tortorella to MSG troll John Giannone:

“I thought we sucked. Right on through the game. We were fortunate to get a point.“

That was the extent of a very brief postgame press conference in which the very fiery coach who thankfully is the polar opposite of Tom Renney was blunt in assessing a dismal performance in which the Rangers were fortunate to even get a point. I’ll bet the reporters hate Tortorella but who cares? He’s here to get wins. There are no brownie points like the measly one they got for managing to run the clock out and get a game they once controlled into overtime.

Too often, Garden policy is to always accentuate the positive. What exactly has been positive about their two franchises since James Dolan took over? Two playoff round victories by the hockey club over a futile decade isn’t much to toot your own horn over. Precisely why Tortorella is a breath of fresh air compared to phony Knick coach Mike “No” ‘D‘Antoni.

He understands that his team must be much better their remaining seven games just to see a fourth consecutive meaningful Spring. And with them blowing a valuable point, it allowed the teams behind them in the Habs (3-2 OT winners over the Bolts) and the Panthers (4-2 triumph over Flyers) to gain ground.

Sure. The Rangers are still seventh with 87 points two clear of the Canadiens and four better than the Panthers. However, they better be careful. The pivotal road game at Pittsburgh Saturday a point out of sixth now looms very large. All cause a lack of composure allowed a dangerous Thrasher team that has nothing to play for except pride got off the mat digging in thanks to one of the game’s brightest stars.

How bad was it? In blowing a 4-1 late second period lead in which an undisciplined host all but gift wrapped the game, the Blueshirts completely collapsed. Oh. It’s true Kovalchuk took it over with his beautiful wraparound with 21 ticks remaining in the second sparking the Thrashers.

Kovalchuk was unbelievable. He kept a puck in forcing it behind the net where Colby Armstrong was able bank one in off a skate past backup Steve Valiquette, who deserved a better fate. That suddenly cut it to one with still 16:30 left. By then, I was resigned to the Rangers’ fate. They just were sloppy and couldn’t get out of their own way.

When Kovalchuk came together with Sean Avery knee on knee near the benches, you knew something would happen. MSG replays clearly showed that the NHL’s most hated player didn’t stick the leg out but you could easily see why Kovalchuk was upset, losing composure by taking a highsticking minor which handed the road club a chance to get momentum back.

When Jim Slater was whistled for highsticking Paul Mara 1:15 later, here was the big opportunity to score on the power play which had connected twice victimizing Atlanta the previous period when Nik Antropov (4-on-3) and outstanding Ranger captain Chris Drury (5-on-3) scored to help build a three-goal lead. Markus Naslund got his 23rd 1:40 prior to Kovalchuk’s momentum turning 39th.

With a key two-man advantage for 45 seconds nursing a one-goal lead, Tortorella used his timeout hoping to get his club’s attention. Instead, they didn’t listen at all standing around making it an easy kill for one of the league’s worst PKs. When you work the puck around the perimeter and don’t even register a shot, you have no one to blame. The PP was what got Renney axed. You would’ve thought Perry Pearn drew up the lack of cohesion as there was zero desperation in a game they needed two points.

Pat—het—ic!

Once Atlanta killed it getting a clear from an energized Kovalchuk who was flying all night, it was just a matter of time. If the Thrashers hurt themselves handing the Rangers eight power plays on which they converted half their output, when the game was at even-strength, the home club was superior using their aggressiveness to create chances.

The Rangers got two of three on a jittery Hedberg, who relieved Kari Lehtonen (1 GA on 10 shots) following the first in which he appeared to suffer a head injury. The play in question was when Avery shoved a Thrasher into Lehtonen for goalie interference. To be honest, there wasn’t much contact but the No.1 Atlanta netminder had an awkward landing and seemed dazed. Hopefully, it’s not too serious.

Nik Zherdev had given the Rangers a late first period lead getting to a loose puck for his fourth in five. Brandon Dubinsky and Freddy Sjostrom set it up both getting sticks on Paul Mara’s shot in front leading to confusion before Zherdev snuck his 23rd through.

Before a rash of Atlanta penalties, Slava Kozlov tied it at 6:28 getting to a loose puck inside the blueline firing past Valiquette. Then, the Rangers scored three straight including a brilliant Valiquette lead pass for Drury, who blasted his 19th from the top of the right circle past Hedberg. That followed Antropov’s career tying 26th when a Drury one-timer went off his right skate. Naslund would then score stuffing in a bad rebound before the wheels fell off.

Marc Staal and Dan Girardi have gotten a lot of good press lately as the team’s shutdown pair. But tonight, they failed miserably on the ice each for four goals against including Kovalchuk’s tally late which got the comeback started. The Russian took a Todd White pass and then skated around Staal and Valiquette scoring into a vacant net for his 39th. Girardi got caught watching and never recovered.

After Kovalchuk’s hustle led to Armstrong’s 18th, he was at it again stealing a puck in the neutral zone flying around a pursuing Staal before centering for an open White for the tying tally at 13:10. Just a tremendous play by a dynamic player who seemed to be going around the net before dishing off for White’s 21st. What if the Atlanta superstar played on a good team? He sure is fun to watch.

With the game knotted, it was all Atlanta as they attacked looking for the winner while the Rangers were on their heels looking as if they had seen a ghost. Only some big saves from Valiquette prevented a total collapse in regulation.

Ryan Callahan got the only decent Ranger chance in the final minute but a sliding Hedberg robbed him off a Scott Gomez setup. Kovalchuk then missed a tip try wide taking it to OT.

In it, the Rangers got three of the four shots but nothing came close to beating Hedberg forcing a shootout. The Thrashers were 6-1 including a 2-1 decision at MSG when Adam Graves’ No.9 was retired last month. The Rangers entered 10-5.

Despite some excellent stops from Valiquette including on Bryan Little, Kozlov and Kovalchuk, the Rangers could do nothing with Hedberg to sneak out a win. It seemed a couple of the shooters were thinking how the heck they were in this position as they failed in their bids to win it.

It also seemed Tortorella suffered from brainlock excluding Zherdev in the six rounds before White went top shelf glove side to win it. He instead sent out Gomez, whose slapper was eaten up by Hedberg giving the Thrashers a deserved two points.

This was one of those you hope doesn’t comeback to haunt the Rangers. But that all depends on how they handle it. They’ve responded well since Tortorella took over. It’ll be interesting to see how they play against a much better opponent in the Pens with so much riding on the line Saturday afternoon.

They can’t over analyze what didn’t happen tonight. It’s over and done with. How bad do they want it?

Three Stars:

3rd Star-Todd White, Atl (tying goal w/6:50 left, SO winner, assist, +3 in 18:06)

2nd Star-Chris Drury, NYR (PPG, 2 assists, 2 SOG in 20:43)

1st Star-Ilya Kovalchuk, Atl (goal-39th, 2 assists, 4 PIM, +2 in 23:43)

Notes: Kovalchuk is fourth in goals scored two behind Philly’s Jeff Carter (41) and the Devs’ Zach Parise (41) with the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin leading the Rocket Richard race with 51. Since a Feb.6 loss to NJ, Kovalchuk has 18 goals including 13 last month. Even more remarkable, the Atlanta captain has 35 points (18-17-35) including a ridiculous 11 multi-point games during that span. It was his fourth game of three points-or-more in the fantastic run. For the season, he has eight three-point games. Kovalchuk is 39-46-85 on one of the worst teams.

… Former Devil defenseman Anssi Salmela tallied his first two assists as a Thrasher going plus-two in 18:43. He was acquired a day before the deadline for veteran Niclas Havelid. … With two points, White has 12 points (4-8-12) this month only being shutout twice. He has 23 points (7-16-23) over the past 19 games… With his third PPG of the month, Drury now leads the Rangers with 10 for the season. With his fourth three-point effort of season, he’s quietly got 11 points (4-7-11) in the past 12 contests. … With his fifth as a Ranger, Antropov tied his 2007-08 career high in goals (26) and moved within two points of establishing a new best in points. He’s 5-4-9 in 11 GP as a Ranger.

… In his second NHL game, rookie D Michael Sauer went plus-one with a shot in 12:31 not seeing much time late. … D Derek Morris registered two assists for his first two-point game as a Blueshirt. He’s 0-4-4, +4 in 11 GP since being acquired. … With a helper, Dubinsky has points in four of his last five. His 28 assists are two more than he had his rookie season. He needs four points to set a new high in points. … In relief, Hedberg made 14 saves while Valiquette turned aside 26 of 30. … Habs’ captain Saku Koivu notched the OT winner lifting the Habs over the Lightning keeping them in eighth within two of the seventh Rangers (39-27-9, 87 Pts), who visit Mellon Arena and the sixth Penguins (40-27-8, 88 Pts) Saturday.

Here is the Eastern playoff picture:

*1.Bruins 102 Pts 9 GR 46 Wins

2.Devils 97 Pts 9 GR 47 Wins

3.Capitals 97 Pts 7 GR 45 Wins

4.Flyers 90 Pts 9 GR 40 Wins

5.Canes 89 Pts 6 GR 41 Wins

6.Penguins 88 Pts 7 GR 40 Wins

7.Rangers 87 Pts 7 GR 39 Wins

8.Canadiens 85 Pts 8 GR 38 Wins

9.Panthers 83 Pts 7 GR 36 Wins

10.Sabres 78 Pts 9 GR 35 Wins

*Clinched Division

Note: Wins 1st Tiebreaker