For a while last night it looked like the Leafs were going to skate the Rangers out of the Garden, jumping off to a 3-0 lead. But the line of Dubinsky, Prust and Avery sparked them with a great shift in the second period and the Rangers rallied back to make it 3-2 and an exciting third period. Alas the rally died and an empty netter by Cody Franson sealed it for the Leafs.
Of course, the loss may have been averted if the coach had seen the big picture rather than looking short range as he usually does. This coach can't see beyond his nose. The Dubi, Prust, Avery line averaged about seven minutes even strength. It was posse hockey. The usual suspects were rounded up over and over again. For a moment there was a brief, bright spot. Sean Avery got 14 seconds of PP time. Actually, I thought the Rangers would win when Prust tangled with Jay Rosehill a little over two minutes into the game. The previous Prust early bouts resulted in Ranger wins, 7-0.
However, I always get a little nostalgic when we play an original six team. I think back to two dates with Toronto. The first was 1940 and us beating the Leafs 4 games to two to win the Cup. The second was the now infamous 1963-64 season when we traded Andy Bathgate to Toronto for a load of nothings, and where he immediately helped Toronto win the Stanley Cup. Aah memories.
Speaking of original six, the NHL has proposed some new conference setups. I propose one that will revolutionize the NHL and all sports. How about an original six conference? Imagine, the Rangers, Bruins, Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Red Wings and Black Hawks all in one conference. It will never happen. But imagine it.
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This comment over at the Daily News Blueshirts Blog nicely echoes your feelings about how Torts coached last night:
"As for Toronto. Great job by coach ReTort. No Avery in first, no team intensity. Some Avery in 2nd, look at them go! So...he benches him again in the third? He really, REALLY, does not know how to coach. The first sign of adversity, and he reverts back to being a peewee dad coach: overplay the best kid on the team. Hey! Why not play the 1st line for all 60 minutes, coach?! Don't think he hasn't thought of it..."
I like the part where he calls Torts a "peewee dad coach". That is so true.