So there was the news conference after the game. We played great. One of the best games we played all year. We are putting it all together. We had great chances. We hit the pipes. Blah blah, blah blah, blah blah! Hey coach we lost. We scored one goal against a team fighting for its playoff life in the Western Conference.
Yes, Semyon Varlamov was great with 41 saves. He was cat like, crouched low and going side to side with the greatest of ease, but we helped him. That ole bugaboo, the power play, what a misnomer, was 0-5. It is 6-60 over the past 16 games. Five of those power play goals came in two games against the Islanders. So that makes our vaunted PP 1-49 in 14 games against the rest of the NHL. Wow! You know what's worse than that stat? What's worse is that no one in the blame stream media had the you know what to ask the question: "When are you going to fix the f-ing power play." It has been a three year problem and it will be the death of us. But we played great.
It's getting crowded in the East. The Pens are two points back and after today's game may well be tied. Philly is five points back, could creep to three, and if it's another one of those three point games both teams will creep up. There is what, eleven games left, and regardless of what coach disagreeable says. or doesn't say, the points right now are more important than the style. This isn't figure skating, this is hockey where goals matter and power plays are important.
Fix the power play, damn it!
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Someone will have to convince torts to recruit a coach to come in for the PP, otherwise nothing will change.
As we know, torts only answers to himself. So we can forget about PP improvement, especially when I see mitchell, rupp and erixon getting PP time. Huh!?
We only have 1 productive line, and even they don't show up every game. No depth beyond that at all, and I blame this 30% on the players and 70% on you know who.
Lastly, king Henrik. Oh how I adore thee. However, I must admit that since the rangers officially showed his best bud Avery the door his performance has been quite poor. Coincidence? I think not. Mix that with worn down D men and you get...well, this.
Lastly, I have to steal this one from Scotty hockey:
*Mike Rupp may be the most useless player in the NHL. A grinder who doesn't grind, a fighter who doesn't fight, a former hat trick scorer who doesn't score. And yet he got some power play time. Seriously."
Well said my friend, well said.
The ghost of Sean Avery is already upon us, and it could get even creepier....
It is amazing that no one makes a ruckus about the power play. It is killing us. I am putting it on Torts for playing Del Zotto. He is not the right guy for that unit. You have both a personnel problem and a tactical problem. But no one on the team, or MSG, or the media wants to light a fire under Torts' scrawny ass to fix things?
I do hope the ghost of Avery haunts Torts until he wins something or gets run out of town.
The media doesn't ask about the pp because Torts rips them a new one for it and the msg crew i believe is being told to pump torts tires and not talk about anything negative. I think there are plenty of fans out there who are sick of the dictator coach but are waiting to see what the team does in the playoffs since we've been in first place since December. This year torts is clearly running the whole show, he plays who he wants, with no regard to a players talent level or what the gm brought him in for. If he doesn't deem you worthy you can sit in the press box for 4 months or play in Hartford, hell you can retire for all he cares just don't dare and try to play for his club. He clearly is not concerned with pp percentages as illustrated by the last 3 seasons or any of his seasons as a head coach and has even referred to it saying something along the lines of, the pp is a crap shoot. Clearly the guy has no clue how to create offense and he doesn't care to know. He lives on defense and he'll die by it because that's how he's going to do it and to hell will anyone who dares to question his tactics.
I can't wait for the day when we are finally rid of this pompous, arrogant, egotistical, closed mind fool who calls himself a coach.
Andy - I agree with you completely on Rupp, let's not forget the fact that the guy never shoots the puck and if he does does he hit the net? He has 25 shots on goal in 49 games, 5 points and somehow torts thinks this guy is heads and shoulders over Avery!!!! But hey the coach does whats best for the team, right? C'mon what crock of SH**