BOSTON — So here comes John Tortorella back to the Garden, where he will be behind the Canucks’ bench for Saturday afternoon’s match against the Rangers.
“You guys will all talk about it,” Brad Richards said to a handful of reporters following Friday afternoon’s 3-2 defeat to the Bruins. “We’ve got a lot of other things to worry about.”
The match will not only serve as Tortorella’s return to the place he called home for four-plus seasons before being fired following last year’s second-round playoff elimination by Boston, it will also mark Rangers’ coach Alain Vigneault’s first shot against the Vancouver team he coached for seven years before he was dismissed after the Canucks’ first-round sweep by San Jose.
“Probably it will be a more emotional game for the two coaches,” Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello said. “I’m sure everyone in here is going to do whatever it takes to get the game for our coach.”
Vigneault said before the loss to the Bruins he had given no thought at all to the upcoming matchup. He was not asked about it after the game, with the coach’s anger over the Rangers’ effort palpable.
The Canucks, 2-5-2 in their last nine games after defeating the Senators in Ottawa on Thursday, will enter the match with a 13-9-5 record. They are three points out of the Western Conference’s final playoff spot.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Henrik Lundqvist, who likely will be on the bench while Cam Talbot gets his first start at the Garden, said after the match. “I’m still thinking about this one.”
Michael Del Zotto was scratched for the second straight game and for the fifth time in the last eight matches.
“It’s not that Michael is playing badly,” Vigneault said. “It’s a matter that at this time, [Ryan] McDonagh, Dan [Girardi], [Anton] Stralman, [Marc] Staal and [John] Moore are all in our opinion playing a bit better than Michael.
“So the decision for the sixth guy, we’re going with the guy with a little more bite,” Vigneault said, referring to Justin Falk. “[The Bruins] are a big, strong, physical team.”
Falk, who played 13:34, got the better of Milan Lucic in a first-period confrontation, sending the big, menacing winger down to the ice on a collision that occurred following the defenseman’s pinch 9:15 into the match.
Derek Dorsett missed his second straight match with a sprained wrist he suffered late in Monday night’s defeat in Tampa. Vigneault said that the winger might undergo further exams upon the club’s return to New York.
In losing to Boston, the Rangers (13-13-0) squandered the chance to go two games over .500 for first time this season. They went 3-2 on the road trip that began in Dallas on Nov. 21.
“We could have made this a real solid road trip instead of making it an OK trip,” Vigneault said.
Richards was held without a shot for the first time this year. … The Rangers were credited with 33 hits to Boston’s 26, a reflection of the Bruins’ edge in puck possession. … Ryan Callahan hasn’t scored in seven straight and has one goal in his last 10 matches. … Derek Stepan has one goal in his last 11 games while Chris Kreider has scored once in his last 14. … Benoit Pouliot has gone 15 straight without a goal.