If benching Brandon Dubinsky once turns into benching Dubinsky twice turns into benching Dubinsky three times, isn’t it safe to suggest John Tortorella’s tough-love tactic, which is unique in the coach’s approach to the Rangers’ core players, isn’t having the desired effect and might not be the best way to get the best out of the 25-year-old Alaskan?
The Rangers’ game has been less than pristine not only over the last five weeks, during which the team has gone 9-7-2, but also throughout much of this season, during which Henrik Lundqvist’s Hart Trophy caliber goaltending and Martin Biron’s essentially equally impressive support in nets have negated even the most glaring breakdowns.
Seriously, well before this team’s motto for whatever reason became an annoying, “We’re not concerned with the results,” it was, for good reason, “We found a way to win.”
We all know we’re not watching the 1979-1983 Islanders here, and that is what makes this season so noteworthy and this team so commendable. This coaching staff and these players have combined to wring nearly everything possible out of their natural abilities, so much so that the Rangers had regained first place overall in the NHL pending the outcome of the equally admirable Blues’ match last night in Phoenix.
This is not meant to excuse Dubinsky for abandoning good defensive position to chase the puck as third-man high, a mistake that opened an avenue for the Maple Leafs to create (and score on) a two-on-one midway through Saturday night’s first period, only 24 hours after the Rangers drowned under a tidal wave of the Sabres’ odd-man rushes.
But while Dubinsky was hardly the only Rangers player to commit an egregious defensive error or make a foolhardy decision in the underwhelming contest from which the Blueshirts emerged with a 4-3 shootout victory, he was the only player of whom Tortorella chose to make an example.
On Feb. 24 at the Islanders, Michael Del Zotto committed a ridiculous penalty by sliding Brian Boyle’s stick back to him. Tortorella was incredulous and displeased and critical in his postgame assessment, but the defenseman never missed a shift.
One week later in Carolina, Dubinsky committed a ridiculous penalty by grabbing an opponent’s stick and throwing it following a scrum. Tortorella nailed the winger to the bench before excoriating him before the following night’s game.
Dubinsky has to answer for himself and his largely sour season. By no means is this nine-goal, 30-point year on the coach’s shoulders. But benching and demoting Dubinsky within the rotation (a tactic meant to punish, teach and motivate), which has been part of Tortorella’s approach since Thanksgiving, hasn’t yielded dividends.
The Rangers are going to need Dubinsky to be a reliable, hard-edged and productive player in the playoffs. He has been that. Last year Dubinsky was the team’s best forward in the five-game first-round defeat to the Capitals, even moving back to center when Derek Stepan struggled in his first best-of-7.
If the final two weeks and seven games of the season, starting with tomorrow night’s match at Minnesota and followed by Wednesday night’s game at Winnipeg are as much about preparing for the playoffs as they are about retaining the conference lead, it is imperative that Dubinsky is put in a position to succeed while also being allowed to fail.
Just the same as everyone else in the lineup.