Ryan Callahan, Nikolai Zherdev, Petr Prucha, Scott Gomez, Chris Drury and Markus Naslund all scored tonight as the Rangers new aggresive style of play finally broke the dam.

Between that and the five minutes of non-stop fighting, the fans at Madison Square Garden gave the team a standing ovation at the end of the game.

Here is audio of coach John Tortorella.

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A cut on Sjostrom forehead was reopened during a scrum 15:43 into the third period, when he and Cody McCormick went at it after contact heading toward the Ranger’s goal. The left wing had just gotten the stitches out. Remember? The medical glue? Back to Frankenstein I bet.

Drury hadn’t scored in 18-game scoring drought.

Gomez had a goal and two assists.

“It felt like we’ve been waiting for this game,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist. “The last couple of games we improved the way we are playing. The feeling in here has been a lot better. I think the guys are having more fun the way we play right now.”

That was the most effusive comment I got. Everyone else—Gomez in particular—tried to play it cool. Kind of, act like you’ve won a game before. Same with the fighting.

And a heartwarming tale. Young Avery Zaretsky, 11, wearing a No. 30 jersey, ended up with the stick Lundqvist threw into the stands after the win.

“Finally, my dream of catching a stick,” Zaretsky said.

That’s the moment some guy came up behind me and asked why they always have to throw the good stuff to the kids.

I said it was probably because he’d sell it on eBay.

The Rangers don’t play again until Thursday night at the Islanders.

Tonight the Rangers host Colorado, and the team had a practice this morning in Greenburgh. John Tortorella worked with some new lines, although in typical Torts fashion he would not confirm that this is the lineup for tonight’s game. He reiterated that he liked Chris Drury and Brandon Dubinsky together, however.

Lines:

Naslund, Gomez and Zherdev; Dubinsky, Drury and Callahan; Dawes, Korpikoski and Prucha; and Sjostrom, Betts and Orr.

On defense, the pairings are Mara-Kalinin, Roszival-Redden and Staal-Girardi.

Voros, Valiquette, Reitz and Mark Bell are out for tonight’s game.

I spoke to Fredrik Sjostrom, who still has two nasty cuts from a skate to the face. He said the stitches made him look too much like Frankenstein so they took them out and replaced them with some kind of medical glue… hope no one was eating when they read that, sorry to gross you out! He said he feels fine though and is ready to go.

Tortorella said he really missed Sjostrom during the penalty kill on Thursday when he sat out to get a look at Aaron Voros, who you may notice is not playing tonight. Tortorella said the Rangers have only given up nine scoring chances in each of the last two games, a stat he liked.

Hey, it’s Carp. Here is the explanation I got from NHL exec Mike Murphy regarding the review of the disallowed Brandon Dubinsky goal last night.

Murphy said that the call was correct, but the process was not:

“In regards to your questions relating to last nights Ranger – Panther game, here is what happened.

As the on-ice officials were coming together and concluding that Brandon Dubinsky’ stick had made contact with the puck above the height of the cross-bar and that their call on the ice was “no goal”, the play was being looked at both by the Toronto Video Room and by the in arena Video Goal Judge at Madison Square Garden. It was the opinion of both that the call made by the on-ice officials would stand, as there was inconclusive video evidence to overturn this call.

There were, however, a number of errors made in the video review process as it applied to this play. Essentially, there was a communication break down between the on-ice and off-ice officials. The Video Goal Judge failed to sound his horn, signalling the on-ice officials of the need for further video review, and the on-ice officials failed to recognize that the play required official video review and assumed that no further review was necessary. This should never have happened and this play should have been placed under formal video review.

Over the course of the season, the NHL Video Room has overturned very few plays involving pucks that may or may not be high sticked into the net. For the most part, the on-ice officials have the best view of these plays and it is extremely difficult to get a true and accurate perspective of the puck, the crossbar and where the puck makes contact with the stick threw replays. With very few exceptions, the call made by the on-ice officials stands. This is particularly true when more than one on-ice official has a view of the play.

In the end, while there were mistakes made in the process, mistakes that we have taken steps to resolve for the future, we are confident that the correct result was reached.”
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WITT-LESS: No Brendan Witt for Thursday’s Rangers game against the Islanders. The NHL just suspended him for five games for an elbow to the head of Toronto’s Niklas Hagman.
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AFTERNOON UPDATE: CASINO NIGHT

The Rangers still have limited tickets available for Casino Night. Here’s the info from the team:
New York, February 27, 2009 – The New York Rangers players and coaches will be decked out in their tuxedos and dealing out a great night of fun at Casino Night on Monday, March 2 at Gotham Hall in Manhattan benefitting the Garden of Dreams Foundation. This exciting night will bring new head coach John Tortorella and the entire Rangers team together with Blueshirt fans for a festive evening in a casino setting to support the Garden of Dreams Foundation, which makes “dreams come true for kids in crisis”.

This full team event, including Rangers Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Drury, and Scott Gomez, will also feature a live and silent auction. For further details, please visit newyorkrangers.com.

WHO: The entire 2008-2009 New York Rangers team
WHAT: New York Rangers Casino Night
WHEN: Monday, March 2, 2009 beginning at 7:00 PM
WHERE: Gotham Hall, 1356 Broadway (and 36th Street)
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***AVERY ON THE WAY?

Here is TSN’s story that Sean Avery will go on re-entry waivers Sunday or Monday, which means he could be a Ranger (if no other team claims him) by Tuesday.

Practice was a little unusual today. The group was split roughly in half and the players with the most playing time in the John Tortorella era worked out off ice while the others had a brief and intense workout. There were pyramids and pushups, and shooting drill after shooting drill.

“The more practice scoring, the more shooting a lot of pucks, the more you’re going to score,” said defenseman Paul Mara, who was on the ice.

Assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld had players getting down on the ice to check out angles from the puck’s point of view, and he even had Valiquette and substitute goalie Chad Killam from Mahattanville lie down in front of the net as the Rangers shot over them.

When Lundqvist heard about that after practice he laughed and joked it was a shame he missed out;

Briefly, those getting a break: Naslund, Drury, Gomez, Lundqvist, Redden, Dubinsky, Zherdev, Roszival, Staal, Callahan and Girardi.

Mark Bell was on the ice.

I’ll update after Tortorella comes in for his interview.

Update 2:02: Torts came in for the post practice, said he went over film with the two groups while Schoenfeld ran practice. He said the team just needed to go over the basics. He wouldn’t say anything about lineups or who will be in goal, but did say the split in the groups was made over ice time.

Sunday will be a day of rest for the team, and he said sometimes this time of year that is the most important thing for players.

Another game, another strong showing with a third-period lead—and another loss. The 2-1 loss to the Panthers tonight led to full-bodied chants of “Fire Sather!”

Jane here. Tortorella said they immediately reviewed Brandon Dubinsky’s non-goal 17 seconds in, and Toronto had the final word so there was no review for him to request. It’s late and I’m going to add some quotes from the principles in this drama. Here is Henrik Lundqvist, I think you can hear how perplexed he is by the losses.

lundy0226

John Tortorella on tonight’s game…“I think we did some really good things. Our pressure was outstanding. I don’t think we were fatigued. Maybe for a few minutes, but I think we controlled the game. I think our weakest moment was our 5 on 3. Other than that, I think we played a hell of a game.”

John Tortorella on the powerplay…“You can’t hate your guys because they’re struggling. Its easy to love them when its going well and then hate them when its going bad. Our best players are going to have to be our best players. And they will. They are going to have every opportunity to get us out of this scoring funk. I think Zherdev has a tremendous amount of talent. On the next 5 on 3, he’ll be back on the ice. They did a lot of good things tonight. We’re just struggling to score and that’s compounded when they score a couple of quick ones on us towards the end of the game when we controlled most of the game for the 60 minutes. As a coach I have to realize how our team is playing and act accordingly.”

Brandon Dubinsky on whether the team is frustrated…“Yes with the fact that we generate so much again and aren’t able to find the net. And no because the way we attacked, the way we pressured, the way our D stepped up and played, the way we move the puck. I thought we did a lot of good things. It is one of those things that you just have to keep at it, keep listening to Torts and it is going to come. We are going to bear down and get it done.”

Henrik Lundqvist with more on the team’s play…“I think, as a team, we have to be perfect now. When you are not scoring, you have to be perfect. It is not only for me but for the whole team. We feel like every mistake can cost us the game, which it has. We have been playing pretty well defensively and offensively we create enough to score at least three or four goals. Today we had a couple of open nets. The puck doesn’t want to go in. I hope it just turns around for us.”

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Here are the official game summary and event summary for last night’s game.

When John Tortorella got to Madison Square Garden tonight, Chris Drury was already here. The center craned his neck last night on the bench to look at his new coach as if to say, “Put me out there.”

“That’s Chris Drury,” Tortorella said. “That’s how much he cares.”

Tortorella can see how much Drury wants it, but like a lot of the other Rangers these days, that desire leads to gripping the stick too tightly and missing shots.

John Tortorella spoke before the game and had a few observations like that after watching tape of his debut against the Maple Leafs.

“I feel pretty good about the club,” Tortorella said. “Especially after watching the tape.”

He thought Wade Redden and Marc Staal were the two best defensemen out there last night.

Brandon Dubinsky, who Torts coached in the world championship, was one of his favorite offensive players out there. Henrik Lundqvist will be in net. He’s sitting Fredrik Sjostrom so that he can get a look at Aaron Voros.

Voros sat last night and said he was glad his coach talked to him before the first game to explain why he was sitting him. He didn’t like it, but appreciated the honesty.

Torts declined to specify the lines he would use tonight, so props to whoever posts them first.

Lastly, he said four or five guys were in bad shape, but declined to call them out by name. So props to whoever names those first, too!

More later.

So do you think they’ll fire John Tortorella now, or wait until the end of the season?

Obviously I’m kidding, and you could definitely see a difference in the game last night. But you could also see more of the same, and without looking very hard. Just the score tells you, once again, that this team is always going to have trouble piling up goals. I have said it again and again, they lack the front-line skill of most other teams in the NHL. Not to mention the top-two defensemen skills.

So now it’s one regulation win, one shootout win, in the last 15 games. And it’s 14 goals in the 13 non-wins.

Here are the official game summary and event summary for last night’s game, in case you want to check out ice time, etc.

Some thoughts on the latest debacle in Toronto—oh, by the way, that’s three goals in two games against the worst defensive team in the NHL, under two different coaches:

1) It was really interesting, Tortotrella questioning their conditioning. Just one more comparison to Keenan. He demanded that conditioning on a level higher than most coaches, and he wasn’t afraid to honk about it in public.

2) Chris Drury was better. He made a lousy move in the skills competition, and he failed to finish a couple of great chances, but he was better. He screened the goalie on the only goal. Brandon Dubinsky looked pretty good in the new system, too. He will have to be one of their top two forecheckers. But he will need to find his hands around the net, too.

3) The power play was immediately improved. Not just because it scored.

4) The Rangers went for it in the OT, didn’t they?

5) You guys would have gone ape if Renney allowed a tying goal in the third period with his fourth line and sixth defenseman on the ice as Tortorella did. Also, the Rangers had one solid shift after their only goal, then on the next shift Dominic Moore came flying in to create two unbelievably good chances. So that hasn’t changed yet.

6) For some of these overhauls, the Rangers need some practices right now, so starting out this new era with three in four nights isn’t helping one bit. After Saturday, they get a four-day break, through the trade deadline. But after Saturday they have only 18 games left.

7) Tortorella said more than one assistant coach is too much. Which means next year you can count on Mike Sullivan, his guy in Tampa, to be here. It was Sullivan’s contract that held up the announcement Monday, not compensation. At least that’s the way I understand it.

8) Wade Redden scored a goal in Europe, the next game scored one in the United States and 57 short games later he scored another one in North America. Seriously, though, he looked a little better, too. Firing away, joining the play. Marc Staal also.

9) In case you missed it, here were Jacques Martin’s thoughts on trading Jay Bouwmeester at the deadline, although I seriously doubt the Rangers have the assets to get him or the cap space to fit him.

10) Also, in case you missed it, George Vecsey, the great columnist at The Times, had a piece on the 30th anniverasry of the Denis Potvin hit on Ulf Nilsson, which begat the infamous chant. You can read it here. Potvin will be in the building tonight as Florida’s TV analyst. Oh, in the story, I don’t believe Vecsey once used one of the two words in the chant. (NOTE: I’m now finding  you may need a password to get in. I was reading it without a password early this morning).

11) I’d fight Markus Naslund for paychecks.

12) Have I told you what I think of the shootout?
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Jane is doing the game tonight. She’ll put up a post before the game. Enjoy.

We’ll rename the blog for one night, since you guys are so excited.

So here is some stuff from TSN on Tortorella’s debut tonight.

And here is TSN’s report (on the right side of the page) in a preview of Tortorella’s first game, from today’s morning skate. They interview Kubina (who was with Tortorella in Tampa and says that, if the bus leaves at 5 p.m., and you’re there at 4:50, you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late. Sounds like Coughlin!). They interview Redden, too.

Also, here is a story about Toronto GM Brian Burke asking an awful lot for Kaberle before the trade deadline.

Once again, Mara remains out, and Voros is expected to be the scratch (along with Bell, presumably).
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Finally, here is the official announcement of the Mark Bell acquisition, even though I think he’s going to Hartford:

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has acquired forward Mark Bell off re-entry waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bell, 28, has appeared in 56 games with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, registering 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points, along with 34 penalty minutes. He ranked fifth on the team in goals (12), sixth in points (27) and seventh in assists (15). He also tied for fourth on the Marlies with five power play goals. Bell recorded a season-high, five-game goal scoring streak from January 14 at Chicago to January 23 at Syracuse. He has registered three multiple-point performances this season, including a two-goal game on January 2 vs. Iowa.

A veteran of seven NHL seasons, Bell skated in 35 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2007-08 season, registering four goals and six assists for 10 points, along with 60 penalty minutes. He missed 31 games due to injury after sustaining a broken orbital bone on January 3, 2008 at Pittsburgh. He notched a goal in back-to-back games, on April 3, 2008 vs. Ottawa and April 5, 2008 at Montreal, to close out the regular season.

The 6-2, 220-pounder has appeared in 445 career NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs, registering 87 goals and 95 assists for 182 points, along with 597 penalty minutes. Bell established career-highs in goals (25) and points (48) while skating with Chicago during the 2005-06 season. His 25 goals and 48 points ranked second on the club, while he finished fourth on the team with 23 assists. In 2003-04, he set a career mark with 24 assists and was one of only four Blackhawk players to appear in all 82 games. Bell has skated in nine career NHL playoff contests with Chicago and San Jose. In addition, he has appeared in 117 career AHL games with the Norfolk Admirals and Toronto Marlies, registering 27 goals and 42 assists for 69 points, along with 160 penalty minutes.

Prior to turning professional, Bell spent four seasons with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), registering 105 goals and 102 assists for 207 points, along with 291 penalty minutes in 212 games. In his final season with the 67’s, Bell established OHL career-highs with 38 assists, 72 points and 95 penalty minutes, and his 34 goals tied his career-high set during the 1997-98 season. He also appeared in 48 OHL post-season contests with Ottawa, tallying 16 goals and 18 assists for 34 points, along with 35 penalty minutes.

The native of St. Paul’s, Ontario was originally selected as the Chicago Blackhawks first round draft choice, eighth overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Well, it might be a pop quiz. But it sure isn’t a final exam.

Rest assured, though, John Tortorella’s new system will be in full bloom tonight. Also rest assured that any line combos or personnel decisions the new sheriff employs tonight will not be final or conclusive.

The first lesson: Put the object on the right into the net, which is that red thing with the white mesh all over it, behind the big guy in the Maple Leafs uniform with the mask and all the big equipment.

In order to to that, Lesson 1A is: Chase it, pursue it, attack it, be aggressive for it.

That will be the more interesting drama playing out tonight. How the Rangers play, how they pursue. It will be different than they played all year, or for the last three years. It will look different.

Here is Jane McManus’ story from The Journal News and LoHud.com today.

I am not going way out on the limb and saying it will result in more victories. I still think the Rangers lack true top-level skill. I really do. And I think their defense is middle-of-the-pack. So they will rely on Henrik Lundqvist a lot. More than they have in a while, although his mental strain should be lessened by the idea that his team might be able to overcome any and every goal he allows.

On the obvious personnel issues, it will be interesting to see how Tortorella uses Scott Gomez, Nik Zherdev (they may play together), Chris Drury, Petr Prucha and especially Wade Redden. It will be interesting to see how different the God-awful power play looks (and you are probably hoping that Jim Schoenfeld is smart enough to leave the penalty kill alone).

The fourth line, other than Blair Betts on the PK, is probably going to see a lot less ice time. A lot less. The top guys will see a lot more. A lot more. But each and every one of them will have to earn it. Or they will be sitting next to Colton Orr and Jim Ramsay. But any and all lines that start tonight’s games are subject to change. Immediate change.

It will be different. It will probably be better right off the bat because of the instant spark a coaching change ignites, and because of the bark in Tortorella’s voice and his reputation. Tortorella, though, barely can put names with faces at this point, so to that end, this is a something of an audition for most of the players.

And while he’s here for the long term (we assume), there are some instant decisions that have to be made with the trade deadline and Sean Avery both looming before next Wednesday’s trade and playoff roster deadlines.
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I’m asking you guys to do some reporting tonight. I will be at another event and unable to watch the game live. So if you see anything really interesting in the way Torts uses players, or anything drastically different other than the system, do me a favor and toss it in the comments. I will have my laptop, and will be recording the game for viewing later, but I need to be kept up to date. Thanks.
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AFTERNOON UPDATE:

Here’s the info on Mark Bell, claimed off waivers by the Rangers today. Bell is likely headed to Hartford.

Tonight’s lineup: Mara still out, Voros scratched.

One of our devoted readers pointed out last night that this is the first time since 1993, when Neil Smith hired Mike Keenan, that the Rangers actually got the best coach available.

Sorry, there are too many comments in the last 48 hours for me to sift through and find out which one of you guys said that—I think it may have been Doodie. And, before I go any further I want to add to what Jane said earlier today. You guys absolutely rocked yesterday. I never thought I could have so much fun working 14 hours on a day off. It was a blast.

But the point is, not only is this the first time the Rangers have actually hired the best coach available since Keenan, but there are tons of similarities in the personalities and the situations.

This, I believe, was a fabulous move. I said in my first days on the blog that if Renney had to go, Tortorella was my choice, the best available. I didn’t believe for a second that Glen Sather would hire him, but this is a great move by Slats … and I’m willing to go on the record with that so if it blows up on him, well, I can’t rip him for it.

I thought Sather, by and large, was really good on the conference call last night, too. He made a lot of sense about this decision, and he had the requisite respect for the men he fired, and it was one of the best moments of his tenure. Of course, we rarely get to talk to him, so you hav eto take that into account.

Now, back to this coaching thing. Here is the column I wrote for The Journal News and LoHud.com today.

Also, Sam Borden and I discuss expectations of Tortorella at our Faceoff blog.

The theme was: when you make a change, you need to change all the way. If you’re firing a chops-breaker, you bring in a players’ coach. If you’re firing a guy who was soft on players, you bring in a tail-kicker to replace him. Otherwise, why make the change?

So, I went back. Roger Neilson’s calm and systematic approach replaced Michel Bergeron’s/Phil Esposito’s fire and chaos. Keenan replaced Neilson and his interim successor Ron Smith. They worked.

The similarities don’t end there, either. Neilson was a defense-first, trap, sit-back, four-lines coach who had a lot of relative success doing it that way. Keenan came in, bold and brash, with a puck-pursuit, aggressive system, and won a Stanley Cup immediately. Don’t count on Tortorella winning any trophies in the near future.

Keenan and Tortorella have a lot in common, but they are not identical, just in case anybody’s drawing that comparison. Keenan came in and started talking about accountability (and winning a championship), and he had plenty of help along those lines having Mark Messier as a captain. Tortorella will hold players’ feet to the fire. He will let them (and us) know when he’s not happy. There won’t be much confusion in that area.

But Tortorella is not as nuts as Keenan could be, either. And not all the nutty things Keenan did were without reason. One of the players he had was a second-year phenom who smoked. Keenan put an end to that quickly, by sitting the player, then sending him to the minors. Worked better than Nicorette. He told one established player he was finished because he lets his teammates down. He made one of his guys fight one of the tough guys from Keenan’s former team, just for the heck of it. But he also almost completely alienated players who were important to him with his constant, unnecessary pushing and prodding. And he decided there were players he just didn’t like, for various personality reasons that no other coach apparently saw in those players.

Tortorella’s most well-known project was Vincent Lecavalier, whom he would call out in public and with whom he would spar in private. And Lecavalier went from a kid with all this upside to an outright star.

I know Tortorella from the last time he was here. I know he’s no Keenan in terms of tyranny, and indeed his fire and brimstone are exaggerated. He doesn’t take any guff from anybody, but he’s not spoiling for a fight, either, and I think he’s better than Keenan when it comes time to gently point a player in the right direction, or to encourage a player in need of encouragement. Or to patiently teach a young player.

Tortorella is probably a better X’s and O’s guy than Keenan, too.

And more capable of surviving in an environment where he works for a strong-headed boss, and that will be a test indeed for the new Rangers coach. He walked in and decided today that Mike Pelino is not an assistant coach. He will use Pelino to help pre-scout opponents, and Pelino may have some other input. But Tortorella made it clear that his assistant coach is Jim Schoenfeld, that Benoit Allaire is the goalie coach, and that is his coaching staff. Pelino will not be on skates at practices, despite Sather’s wishes.

So already it is more interesting than it was yesterday.