SUNRISE, Fla. — The game was scoreless midway through the second, Florida defenseman Dennis Wideman shoved Brandon Prust into the back boards from behind, no penalty was called on the play, and so winger Dale Weise, playing in his third NHL game, sought to provide some justice of his own by sweeping in and taking a shot at Wideman.
As is the rule, the retaliatory act draws the penalty. As is not uncommon, a bad penalty came back to haunt.
David Booth scored on a rebound at 11:32 to give the Panthers a 1-0 edge on their way to their 3-0 victory. Weise skated back to the bench, never again to see the ice.
“It was a dumb offensive-zone penalty; you don’t kill those off,” coach John Tortorella said. “That penalty aggravates me.
“It’s a [bleep] penalty, I don’t even want to hear about a, ‘rookie penalty.’ It can’t happen. It can’t happen.”
It did.
*
The Blueshirts got off to another slow start before finally beginning to generate offense in the final five minutes of the second period.
They also generated good opportunities against Tomas Vokoun through the third as the game opened wide into a series of odd-man rushes, but could not convert.
They thus scored one goal — Marian Gaborik‘s score with Henrik Lundqvist pulled for the extra attacker at 19:14 of the third at Tampa Bay on Saturday that sent the game into overtime — in the two-game (0-1-1) New Year’s weekend in Florida.
“I have usually have something good to say, but I don’t really know what to say about this,” Brandon Dubinsky offered. “We did have some chances, but we have to find a way to score and we have to find the way to get off to good starts and get the lead.”
When Tortorella was asked why the team would have started so slowly, the coach said: “I don’t know. I don’t have an answer.”
The game marked the Rangers’ first loss on the second night of back-to-backs. The record is now 9-1.
*
Tortorella switched his line combinations going into the game, swapping Gaborik with Mats Zuccarello. The Great Gabby skated with Artem Anisimov and Alex Frolov while the Norwegian rookie worked with Dubinsky and Derek Stepan.
Zuccarello had his most impressive game by far of his five in the NHL, jumping into holes, creating chances for himself by going to the net and skating with confidence with the puck. Stepan and Dubinsky picked it up beginning late in the second.
“I liked him,” Tortorella said of Zuccarello, who had four shots in 18:30. “That was out best line.
“And I thought Gabby was much better, too, he created some offense.”
*
Martin Biron had no chance on Booth’s goal after being bumped in the crease by Rostislav Olesz. But Olesz was shoved into the goaltender by defenseman Steve Eminger, so the goal properly stood.
Still, Biron wasn’t sure he was buying it.
“He said he was pushed, but he was coming full speed, so even if he wasn’t pushed he was coming through the crease,” Biron said. “It’s a gray area.
“You don’t want to go back to, if you’re in the crease, there’s no goal, that schlmozzle, but maybe we should send a couple of guys into their crease and see how it goes.
“In the end we did crash the net and reacted to that.”
*
Michael Del Zotto was reinstated after a four-game absence, bumping Matt Gilroy into street clothes. Tortorella deferred when asked for his take on the sophomore defenseman’s game.
“I’d like to look at the tape before I say anything,” the coach said. “I know you’re all interested in him, but to be fair, I need to see the tape.”