Today’s practice should be interesting: Tortorella will speak for the first time since his suspension. He hasn’t apologized yet that I know of. Blair Betts will surely be reexamined, and if he sustained a concussion he’s probably done for quite a while.

The Rangers will try to make everybody believe they think they can win Game 7, and that all is well with their goalie, who wasn’t as horrible as people make him out to be, but surely buckled against an overwhelming attack playing vs. a less-than-ordinary defensive team (men vs. boys?).

And will talk about Colton Orr, and whether he will dress for Game 7, and whether they will have to recall a player from Hartford (which was up 2-0 in its playoff series and got bounced in six).

Here is my column in The Journal News and LoHud.com today, talking about what a proud day yesterday was for the New York Rangers (not).

Yet here the Rangers are, needing only to win one game to advance. Imagine.

I’ll be back later from practice.

Here are the official game summary and event summary from Game 6.

MORNING UPDATE, 11:05 P.M.: Artem Anisimov is in the building. Don’t know if he’ll play, but why wouldn’t he?

First some Game 7 numbers: The Rangers haven’t played one since June 14, 1994, when they blew a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup final and then beat Vancouver at MSG. They have won three Game 7s in a row—1992 and 1994 against the Devils, both at home, were the others.

But, the Rangers haven’t played a road Game 7 since 1974, and they have never, ever won a Game 7 on the road: lost in 1939 at Boston, lost in 1950 at Detroit, lost in 1971 at Chicago, lost in 1974 at Philadelphia.

An interesting piece of news. Jim Schoenfeld, the interim assistant coach who was the interim head coach today, said that Brandon Dubinsky needed a tetanus shot after he was bitten by Shaone Morrisonn during a scrum, that Dubinsky got the misconduct because he was trying to show the officials he was bleeding.

Shoenfeld also said that Donald Brashear and Colton Orr nearly got involved in a pregame warmup incident, and that he thought Brashear could have been ejected from the game right there (Orr didn’t play). As an aside, I saw Brashear and ref Bill McCreary exchange pleasantries and smiles at the end of the game, on the ice.

It was Brashear who knocked Blair Betts from the game with an open-ice elbow to the head which went completely unpenalized. Betts didn’t return, and obviously has a concussion. He was very wobbly as he was helped off the ice.

“I didn’t see it at the time,” Schoenfeld said. “I saw it on the replay. It was a late hit to the head. It was pretty vicious. He’s a pretty strong guy … and Bettsy didn’t see it coming. And he’s hurt signifcantly.”

Some other Schoenfeld remarks:

“We had some guys who were locked in and ready to go and we had some other guys who wanted to test the water.”

Wow! In Game 6, up 3-2 at home? Wow. That’s an indictment.

In general about the Capitals being better. “They’re one-on-ones. … We frankly just didn’t win enough one-on-one battles. And if we don’t win our share of one-on-one battles in Washington it could be a similar fate.”

“It doesn’t matter who’s in, who’s out. The task at hand is the task at hand. We have to find a way to get it done or it’s over. It’s that simple … I think our guys have enough character, have enough courage, have enough want to get it done. If not, what’s the sense of even going to Washington?”

And this might be foreboding: 

“We had some guys who I could tell were physically gassed.  I could just tell that they wanted to give, and they didn’t have it to give.”

Because it seems we will never actually get to hockey today, here’s a letter Glen Sather and the Rangers sent to Gary Bettman’s office today or Saturday. Seriously:

Subject: Washington vs. New York, Game 5

Dear Gary:

In addition to your suspension of Coach Tortorella for his actions during last night’s game, we respectfully request that you consider appropriate discipline in light of Washington’s gross negligence in ensuring the safety of the personnel on the Rangers’ bench, including Coach Tortorella, in the face of the Rangers’ repeated requests for intervention against egregious fan misconduct during Game 5.  As importantly, we would like the League’s intervention to ensure that there are adequate security measures in place to protect our personnel in the event there is a Game 7 in Washington.  

Neither the NHL nor either team has had the opportunity to conduct a full investigation or to interview all witnesses but the television coverage and the statements made by Rangers bench personnel make clear that Washington utterly failed in its security obligations to the Rangers, not to mention its own fans.  The tension was evident from before the opening face-off.  Throughout the game, several people seated immediately behind the visitors’ bench took advantage of the looseness of the glass panels and the unusually wide gaps between the panels to assault the Rangers with some of the most obscene language imaginable.  Because of the way the glass is installed, the patron sitting behind Coach Tortorella (the gray-haired, bearded man in the white T-Shirt) could literally scream into the coach’s ear.  According to Rangers trainer Jim Ramsay, one patron was screaming at the team, in graphic language, about whether Dan Girardi and Marc Staal have a sexual relationship.  This was within earshot of several children seated nearby.  Several other fans also made repeated homophobic remarks.  Moreover, Mr. Ramsay reported that he and other bench personnel were spit on by one or more “fans” as they yelled through the gaps in the glass.

Your statement tonight referred to alerting security.  In the first period, Mr. Ramsay warned the security guard stationed on the nearest stairwell (a large African-American man) that the situation was unacceptable and was likely to get ugly.  No action was taken.  The misconduct continued.  In the second period, Mr. Ramsay warned a female security supervisor that some fans were out of control and that he was concerned that something unfortunate was going to happen.  Although this supervisor was equipped with a radio, she apparently took no action, because the same fans were in their seats when the team returned to the bench for the third period.  According to press accounts, no fans were ever ejected or permanently removed from their seats.

Washington’s failure to respond to what its personnel knew — and were specifically warned — was a potentially dangerous situation contributed significantly to this unfortunate incident.  Accordingly, we respectfully request that you consider imposing appropriate discipline on Washington for its knowing failure to protect the Rangers and prevent the situation from deteriorating into an incident that reflects badly on all of us.  In addition, we must immediately discuss how Washington is going to handle security for any Game 7.  Neither the Rangers nor the well-behaved Capitals fans should be forced to endure the extraordinary level of fan misconduct that Washington failed to prevent in Game 5.

Thank you for your consideration.

Glen

———-

AFTERNOON UPDATE, 2:06 P.M.: A league spokesman said that all the appropriate security measurements have been implemented for today’s game and for a potential Game 7.

A couple of quick things and I’ll come right back with some quotes from Jim Schoenfeld:

1) John Tortorella is in the building and is allowed in the building. He had to leave the lockerroom two hours before gametime (noon) according to the rules of his one-game suspension, and could return to the lockerroom when the game is over.

2) Schoenfeld said that he knows the real story about the incident in Washington, and that it wasn’t that Tortorella was doused or sprayed or anything that set him off: It was a comment about one of his players.

3) Sean Avery will play today and that was Tortorella’s decision.
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Some Schoenfeld interview highlights, with a few more to come:

He will be joined on the bench by Hartford coach Ken Gernander and assistant J.J. Daigneault—the Wolf Pack was eliminated from the AHL playoffs Saturday. Gernander will handle the forwards, Daignuealt the defense, and Schoenfeld will direct traffic.

He said that he and Tortorella are “very like-minded” and that there will be very little difference. The gameplan is the same as it’s been the whole series.

On Tortorella’s mindset at the moment:

“Obviously he feels bad. He feels that he presented a distraction the team could do without. But I think it should be said that the passion, the fire and the leadership that Tortorella has brought to the team — he took a team that was dead in the water when he arrived, and without the work of John Tortorella this incident wouldn’t have happened because we wouldn’t have made the playoffs. That’s fact. So when you’re a fiery guy, there is that fine line, whether you’re a player, a coach.

“His hurt is that he created a distraction for the players. He still believes they’re going to get the job done.”

On the distraction factor:

“The ramifications of the game should be enough for the players to focus. There are always extraneous thngs that can effect you one way or another in a playoff series. And it’s up the athletes to have the mental discipline to block them out. This is just another one of those.”

I asked him if he found the irony of being behind the bench, since he was involved in the most infamous coaching playoff suspension in NHL history in 1988 with the Devils.

“To address that, I think there are 40 young men who are playing their asses off for a chance to get a crack at a Stanley Cup and the water really shouldn’t be muddied with what happened 20 years ago. It’s a little bit too long ago in the past and it really doesn’t have anything to do with (today). …

“Yeah, it’s a tad ironic. Yeah, I’ll give you that. It’s a tad ironic that people think I was holding Torts back when I was trying to push him over the glass.”

He was kidding, of course. We think. Or maybe not.

On if he changed after his suspension: 

“You’re always tryng to make yourself a better person, a better coach, a better player. To analyze the events of the day, it’s kind of a day wasted. …

“But, yeah, you want to keep it in check, sure. I mean, listen, if I could rewind the tape and put the ‘erase’ button on over the course of my life, I’d have a sore thumb. There are  alot of things I’d like to change, but you are who you are and maybe you needed those things to get you to this point in your life. You don’t know. We all have things we try to keep in check, and sometimes those are the things that enable us to do what we do. Sometimes we go over the edge.”

On if he feels disappointment he feels as assistant GM, that Tortorella put himself in that position:

“No. I come right back to the fact gthat this team was dead in the water before he arrived. I was here. I’m not the new guy who came in with the coach I was here. You guys were here and you wrote about it before the change was made, and that’s certainly not an indictment of the former regime because they three or four years where they did a helluva job. … that team was looking for direction at that point in time and he came and gave them that direction. This is a bump in the road.”
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Just a few more, and these are good:

On Tortorella:

“I’ll tell you. I know the heart of the guy and I know the thing that triggered it. And it wasn’t any sling they threw at him, and there were many. It was something they said about one of his players. It’s easy to say ‘You’ve got to be in control, you’ve got to keep it in check, you’ve got to turn the other way, there are rules’ but there’s a certain part of your being when you’re a coach and it’s just like being a parent, and there’s certain things you’ll put up when people slander your kids, and there’s a certain line that people cross. That’s what happened with John. You could say what you want about Torts. I know the man. Call him whatever you want. He’ll tell you what to do with your horse, but he’s OK with that. But don’t get down on the people he cares about. He’ll fight for them. He will fight for them. And that’s what he did.”

On using this as motivation:

“If we need motivation, then we’re not going anywhere anyway, to be honest with you. I think our main task is to get the players to focus on teh tangible things that they have to beat a team that’s full of firepower. I know the players have a high regard for John. I know Sean Avery has a high regard for John because John cared enough to put himself in a position where he knew he was going to get criticized, because he knew it was the right thing to do to help this kid take the next step in his growth, just like you’d do for your son. I know the heart of the guy. You guys don’t yet. Once you do, I think you’ll have a way better understanding of some of the things he does and why he does them.”

Rangers coach John Tortorella was suspended for a game for throwing water on a fan, etc. in the Friday night game in Washington. Here is what the league had to say in its release:

NHL SUSPENDS NY RANGERS’ TORTORELLA FOR ONE GAME

NEW YORK (Apr. 25, 2009) – The National Hockey League announced today
that New York Rangers coach John Tortorella has been suspended for one game
for squirting a fan with water and throwing a water bottle that struck a
fan during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final Series with the
Washington Capitals Apr. 24 in Washington.

The incident occurred 6:33 into the third period.

“While it is a difficult decision to suspend a coach at this point in
a Playoff Series, it has been made clear to all of our Players, Coaches and
other bench personnel that the National Hockey League cannot—and will not –
tolerate any physical contact with fans,” said NHL Senior Executive Vice
President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. “We do not take
this action lightly. It is the result of an entire day of investigation and
evaluation that included the retrieval and review of videotape of the
incident and discussions with Mr. Tortorella, other Rangers’ bench
personnel and a number of other people, including the security personnel at
the Verizon Center.

“That investigation revealed that Mr. Tortorella squirted a fan with
water before Mr. Tortorella was doused with a beverage.

“While, in these circumstances, it always is easy to allege
mitigating circumstances, the fact is we do not tolerate contact with our
fans in this manner. That is communicated before each season in a memo that
is issued by the League to all of the management, coaches and players of
every team.

“The Sept. 8, 2008, memo entitled, ‘SUPPLEMENTARY DISCIPLINE
REMINDERS FOR THE 2008-09 SEASON,’ included the following section regarding
Contact With Fans:

Even where a fan is verbally abusive, intoxicated, or profane,
Club personnel should either ignore the conduct or, where appropriate,
seek the assistance of police or security personnel at the arena.

This prohibition extends to all forms of physical contact,
whether it be direct physical contact, the throwing of objects (including hockey sticks
and other equipment), or even the squirting of water. While the latter form of
conduct may have, in the past, seemed to be of a minor or harmless character,
such conduct may serve only to incite and provoke an unruly fan and may ultimately
lead to unforeseen consequences.

Accordingly, please be on notice that all Club personnel
(management, coaches, trainers, and/or players) who engage in any
form of physical contact with fans, including the squirting of water,
will, on a going forward basis, be subject to discipline in the form
of a suspension. The Club involved will also be subject to a fine.

The suspension was issued pursuant to the Commissioner’s authority
under Section 6.3(j)(1)(a) of the NHL Constitution.  Tortorella will miss
the Rangers’ next game – tomorrow afternoon vs. Washington.——————————————
EVENING UPDATE, 10:35 P.M.:  With the Rangers’ minor-league team eliminated from the playoffs tonight, it is assumed that one or two of the members of the Wolf Pack coaching staff (Ken Gernander is the head coach at Hartford) will join Jim Schoenfeld on the bench for Game 6.

Here is the Rangers’ official reaction:

STATEMENT REGARDING JOHN TORTORELLA SUSPENSION
New York, April 25, 2009 – The New York Rangers have issued the following statement in response to Head Coach John Tortorella’s one game suspension:
“We disagree with the suspension and will have no further comment.”

I’ve just been told by somebody very plugged-in that it remains possible that John Tortorella will still be suspended for tomorrow’s Game 6.

And this is my speculation: That he might be allowed to coach tomorrow and be suspended for a game later on. Again, this is all my imagination working, but it’s possible the NHL doesn’t want to attach any measure of guilt to Tortorella where there could be legal issues regarding his throwing a water bottle at a fan or fans.

But the main point is this: He has not been cleared by the NHL at this point.

When John Tortorella was hired as Rangers coach, I spoke about the comparisons to Mike Keenan. In short, I said the similarities were his tough-guy, no-friends-needed approach, his aggressive style of play, and the way he would hold players accountable.

Where he didn’t compare was in the nutty department. Not that I don’t think Keenan is brilliant in his own way. He truly is. But he’s way out there sometimes.

So last night, here was Torts doing his Keenan impression A-Z. First he sat out Sean Avery. Never mind the magnitude of the game, or that perhaps a sit-down chat might achieve the desired result. No, Tortorella felt he needed to be scratched, perhaps as much a message to Avery as to everyone else.

Then, in Game 5 of a playoff series, he sent out Blair Betts, Colton Orr and Aaron Voros for a power play after the Rangers’ high-priced, supposed skill guys gave up a short-handed goal, and he explained that the top players cannot assume they will get the premium ice time and assignments based on their reputations and resumes. Very Keenan.

Finally, Tortorella (Getty photo, above) had a meltdown himself, a loss of discipline just like Avery and Scott Gomez—who took a retalliatory penalty 1:16 into the game, as if the whole Avery/discipline thing had flown right over his head.

Here is Yahoo.com’s story with photos and video links on Tortorella winging a water bottle at a fan, then threatening him with a hockey stick. And here is TSN’s video of the incident.

Now Tortorella—if he’s not suspended—has to put Avery back in the lineup. He is stuck with this clown for three more years, and if he can’t play now, then Glen Sather will have to find a way to get rid of him over the summer. Good luck with that. Remember, no other team wanted him at half-price in March when he was on waivers.

Some thoughts:

1) Interesting that Henrik Lundqvist, an Avery friend and supporter, had his worst game of the series.

2) Chris Drury was worse than awful, one hand or not. He was directly toasted on the short-handed goal and on Alex Ovechkin’s highlight-reel goal, and was a tidy minus-3 in 7:21 of ice time.

3) Gomez was worse.

4) Is it possible the power play has actually gotten worse?

5) Rangers goals in the last four games: 1, 0, 2, 0. Against a rookie goalie and a team not known for its defense. Still want to debate the skill-level? 

6) When you see Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky still playing after everybody quit, two letters come to mind: C and A.

7) I still think the Rangers can/should/maybe even will win this series. Momentum doesn’t carry over from game to game (see all three of the ongoing Eastern series). But they are not beating Boston.

Here are the official game summary and event summary for Game 5.

I may not be able to post again until my pregame from MSG Sunday morning. In the meantime, get out in this nice weather and away from all those thoughts about Game 5.

Here is a story from Yahoo.com, with video of John Tortorella winging a water bottle at a fan in Washington during Game 5 last night.

And here is TSN’s video from the incident.

Could Tortorella—who scratched Sean Avery for lack of discipline—be suspended of fined by the NHL for this incident, which followed him allegedly being doused by a fan’s beverage?

I would think a suspension is unlikely, but a fine probable. Don’t forget who metes out justice for the NHL: Colin Campbell, who as Rangers coach had a near, similar altercation with a fan in Philly during a playoff game. Campbell knows what that moment is like. I don’t think Tortorella will be suspended.

But Torts has his hands full with the fallout from the Avery decision, because a whole bunch of his players showed a lack of discipline in the 4-0 loss that sends the series back to the Garden for Game 6 Sunday afternoon.

I’ll have a post late Saturday morning, and then a heavy schedule. So that could be the only post of the day. We’ll see.

John Tortorella wouldn’t say today what his lineup tonight will be. But it’s crazy to think he might sit Sean Avery, isn’t it?

He won’t. Or, I’ll be shocked if he does.

Thanks to reader “mosesjd”  who notified us of this alleged minor incident between Sean Avery and Ray Ferraro, who was working Game 4 for Canadian TV.

According to the story, Tortorella was ticked at Avery for that squirt, and he obviously wasn’t happy with Avery in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Whatever. I’m sure it will be the same lineup tonight, including Paul Mara’s beard.

I “borrowed” this from Steve Zipay’s blog … and I say “borrowed” because a few days ago Zipay wrote about blog-authors who straight-out steal stuff from other blogs and don’t give credit. Zip and I had a good laugh over it the other night. He wasn’t talking about me or Jane.

But he wrote this in his blog today, Tortorella talking about Nik Zherdev:

Another player trying to stay out of Torts’ Chateau Bow-Wow, Nik Zherdev, made a rare appearance at today’s optional. Zherdev played less than seven minutes in Game 4. “With Nik, I’m not gonna get into being critical of him in this venue, but some of it has to do with what we did with the lines, too,” said Tortorella. “I changed the lines around, some guys fell out of the mix. I thought Zherdev, early in that game, skated pretty well. He’s one of the most talented guys we have, we need him to score a goal in this series if we want to win it or keep competing in it, so he’s gonna be back out there, I don’t know what the lines are gonna be as the game starts.” (Aside: Why not Antropov and Zherdev together to get Z going? They seem to have some kinship. Probably worried about defense.)

While waiting for the puck drop here’s something to read:  NHL.com had this nice story about how Brian Leetch still looks up to his younger brother, Eric, an Army captain.

Jane and I will be stopping in at the best seats in the house, the comments section, during the game tonight. Enjoy, and behave.

Seeing Marty Brodeur’s tantrum the other night (I know you guys liked that one) and Sean Avery’s meltdown Wednesday got some of us to talking about players famously losing it. And it immediately transported me to one incident.

In the 1980s, Tony Granato was one of the great pests in the game. He could spear you and he could accurately do so to various, ahem, body parts. Well, this one night he was giving it to Marty McSorley (not one of the most level-headed players in history) of the L.A. Kings.

Finally, Granato caught him in the, uh, especially painful and annoying area, and McSorley, who was about twice Granato’s height and weight, with an NHL suspension rap sheet to match, predictably flipped. It took both linesmen to wrestle him across the ice and into the penalty box. They finally got the door closed and McSorley grabbed the top of the glass and began shaking the entire glass and sideboards until he was finally ejected from the game. Then, on the way to the exit doors, McSorley decided to make one more attempt to get at Granato, tossing the linesmen (I think Kevin Collins was one of them) like a ragdoll in the process. Eventually all three officials got McSorley to the door, but he hugged the side of the door and they had to pry him off it before they could close it. He was still going nuts once they got him safely off the rink.

That’s not the story, though. This is: A year or two later, Granato was traded to the Kings. His wife, upon learning the news, said to him—with her eyes wide open—“You can’t go there. That man is there and he is going to kill you.”
——————————-
Do we live in Bizarro World? The Devils sell out their first three home playoff games and the Yankees don’t sell out the first homestand in their brand new palace?
——————————- 
The Rangers will host four viewing parties tonight, with special guests and giveaways. Here are the basics, or for more you can click here. 

WHAT:   New York Rangers viewing party to watch Rangers vs. Capitals
                live coverage on MSG Network at 6:30 p.m.
WHO:       Glenn Anderson at Black Bear Bar & Grill
                Jeff Beukeboom at the Brazen Fox               
                Nick Fotiu at the Blue Moon Mexican Café
                Pete Stemkowski at Stout
WHERE:    Stout, across from Madison Square Garden: 133 West 33rd Street, New York, NY.
                Black Bear Bar & Grill:  205 Washington St, Hoboken, NJ
                The Brazen Fox: 175 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY
                Blue Moon Mexican Café: 1444 1st Ave. (corner of 75th St.) New York, NY
WHEN:   Friday, April 24, 2009 @ 6:30 p.m.

——————————-
Hey, guys, if the wife/girlfriend makes you shave, why not snap a photo first and then later on you can send it as your “after” shot. You never know how the vote will go. Plus, if you entered you might as well stay in the contest for the duration.

We’ll be back with any updates that happen later, including the NHL’s awards finalists. Then a pre-game post for your commenting pleasure, as usual.

—————————————-

MORNING UPDATE, 11:33 A.M.: Looking to kill some time before Game 5 faceoff? Jane McManus and Ernie Palladino are doing a live video chat on the NFL draft today at noon. Access it here.

You can read their blogs, also, at: http://jets.lohudblogs.com and http://giants.lohudblogs.com. I recommend both.

NOON UPDATE, 12:03 P.M.: Every year I used to write “who cares?” instead of giving my vote or opinion on the Lady Byng Trophy candidates. Why? Because, while I appreciate sportsmanship, I don’t think you want a “gentlemanly” player on your team. Anyway, here are the NHL’s finalists for the award: Zach Parise, Martin St. Louis and Pavel Datsyuk.