The Rangers may have felt good about a third period comeback that earned them a point but they sure must be unhappy about the loss of Marian Gaborik for a few weeks. The Ranger star suffered a separated shoulder on a hit from Colby Armstrong, who drew a minor penalty.
There was some good in this but there was more bad. The good was Brian Boyle's two third period goals which tied the game. Lundqvist made 33 saves including 16 in the first period when he held Toronto scoreless. Also the penalty kill was outstanding in regulation going 6-6. Sean Avery picked up two assists and played a fiesty game throughout.
The bad begins with too many penalties, including Staal's interference in OT which led to Kessel's game winner, the porous defense which allowed too many shots on Lundqvist and Chris Drury reinjuring his finger.
So now is the time for all good Rangers to come to the aid of their team. Maybe they can steal a page from the Yankees where everything starts from the bottom of their order. Let's hope so otherwise it is going to be a long winter.
ICINGS: The Rangers went back to tradition by introducing each player individually. Maybe coach disagreeable learned something over the summer.
Tortorella Postgame remarks:
NHL teams with the most wins in a single season
2 hours ago
I truly wonder what kind of direction and coaching the defense get. Tortorella strikes me as a guy who understands and is more effective with forwards. I could be totally wrong, but I wonder why the defense seems to keep making the same mistakes over and over.
It's not totally explained away by being young.
I'm patient as can be, but something looks wrong back there so many times.
Good point. Will our young defensemen improve under Torts? Should we be concerned? Look at Marc Staal's recent play. He signed a 5 year deal last month, but his penalties have cost the Rangers the last two games. He's 23 and should still have lots of upside. Same for Del Zotto, giving up the puck in front of the net isn't improving. Torts has given these guys the green light, it seems, to join the attack. But taking care of business in the defensive end looks like it's an afterthought.