This must be home because those coins in my pocket aren’t loonies.
Speaking of whom, no, John Tortorella (we kid), did not bench Marian Gaborik in the third period of Monday’s 2-1 victory in Winnipeg that allowed the Blueshirts to complete their magical mystery tour with a 3-1 record in Canada and a 3-2-2 record overall.
The truth, as explained by the Rangers coach when queried well after the match had ended, is that Gaborik played only 3:03 on four shifts in the third because the Rangers spent so much time hemmed in their own end.
That limited the opportunity to get the sniper ice because it was necessary to allot more time to checking-oriented players.
“It was not a benching,” Tortorella said. “Gabby has probably been our most consistent forward.”
Would the coach say that about Brad Richards, who had an absolutely awful time of it at Winnipeg and whose game is nowhere near up to par?
The Rangers were supposed to be deep at center; so deep in fact, there wasn’t going to be enough quality ice time available for the fourth-line pivot, which was one of the reasons the coach moved Derek Stepan from his natural position onto the wing.
But by the third period of Monday’s match, play down the middle left so much to be desired, Tortorella shifted both Stepan and Brandon Dubinsky off the flank and back to center while demoting Artem Anisimov to fourth-line duty while indeed limiting the time he gave to Richards, who played only two shifts over the final 9:12.
Richards doesn’t yet seem comfortable as a Ranger. He seems tentative and rarely has the puck. Indeed, Gaborik seems to be carrying the puck out of his own end and through the neutral zone more than ever.
Maybe Richards is trying to do too much. Maybe the long and winding road trip has taken a toll on his ability to adapt to a new group of players with which serious practice time and video work has been limited.
That won’t be the case going forward, with the Rangers home for the next 14 days, during which time they will play six games at the remodeled Garden beginning with tomorrow night’s match against the Maple Leafs.
The Rangers won’t be on the road for more than one night at a time until a two-game trip bridging Thanksgiving. In other words, there is ample time to sort things out.
If Richards’ play has been a disappointment, the dysfunction displayed by the Anisimov-Dubinsky-Ryan Callahan unit, the one staple everyone was certain the coach and the team could rely on, has been a stunner.
It’s difficult to tell which side is up for the Rangers, who were out-attempted in shots by an almost impossible to believe 252-162 over the last four games.
But then, they never have the puck. They look slow.
There’s no forecheck, down-low cycle game, so there’s no ability to generate shift-to-shift momentum. There’s no forecheck game because the Rangers spend so much time being pinned in their own end, they are reduced to merely chipping the puck out before chasing to the bench for a line change.
Hence, they are perpetually scrambling in the neutral zone, unable to either generate a transition game off turnovers or stand up at their own line. This cannot all be blamed on the absence of Marc Staal, compounded by the injury to Michael Sauer.
Fact is, this has been such a disconnected October, it is nearly impossible to evaluate the Rangers seven games deep into the season.
But as matters settle down, the front office must provide help on defense beyond a third-pair Band-Aid and players the club is counting on — including Richards, Dubinsky, Callahan and Anisimov — must dramatically lift their respective games.
That is the coin of the realm.