Someone needs to send John Tortorella a memo and sling his own words back at him. Smart move to bench Dubinsky and Higgins in the third period but give Captain Minus 19.5 minutes of ice time in this game. Yes, the turnover by Dubinsky was terrible. But he didn’t deserve to be benched for the entire game. The Rangers were up 3 to 1 when that give away happened. Who was the center on the ice for Montreal’s first, third and fourth goals? Take a wild guess.

Maybe someone should ask Tortorella who he thinks his best players are. Drury? Voros ??  Redden ???  If he thinks these guys are his best players, then maybe that’s what’s wrong? Maybe that’s why his best players aren’t playing like the best players because they aren’t the best players just the most overpaid.

Michal Rozsival really answered the bell tonight at the Bell center. Ryan Callahan was offensively invisible in his 18 minutes on the ice but I understand he has the flu. Comrades Lisin and Anisimov need to be used with Gaborik , Avery, Kotalik and Prospal on the first two lines and let the remaining players fall on to lines 3 and 4.  That’s how I would make an example of the underachievers and boneheaded play makers.

Mark Staal struggled all night and was a -3. But the game winning goal in overtime was scored because Wade Redden did not step up and body check Cammallari off the puck. Plain and simple. No matter how much Joe Michelletti tries to pimp Redden on the air, it cannot disguise the fact that Redden is abysmal in key situations. Tortorella better wise up and learn that he made just as boneheaded a play as Dubinsky when he put someone as slow and soft as Redden out against a win hungry team like the Canadiens.

When is Tortorella going to wake up and see that those who he thinks are his best players aren’t. This overtime loss, like the ill advised goal tender choice against San Jose, is on Torts.

Posted under New York Rangers