NHL

Missed call on spear irks Rangers

Everyone could see Alex Burrows spear Marc Staal in the family jewels during a battle in front with a little more than five minutes to go in the second period of the Rangers’ 1-0 victory over the Canucks last night at the Garden.

Everyone, that is, except for referees Dave Jackson and Marcus Vinnerborg, who, of course, then saw Staal’s retaliatory chop across Burrows’ ankles that was called tripping.

“It’s ridiculous and it was dangerous,” said fuming Rangers coach John Tortorella. “The thing that bothers me is how they didn’t see it. That’s what aggravates me. They said they didn’t see it.

“It’s a dangerous play on Marc Staal,” he said. “It’s beyond me that two guys didn’t see it. If I’m Marc Staal, I’d try to retaliate, too, and try and break his ankle. It’s ridiculous.”

Staal, who logged 26:45 on his 24th birthday, pretty well did try to break Burrows’ ankles.

“He speared me in an area [where] no one wants to be speared, so I gave him a two-hander as hard as I could over the top of his ankles,” the defenseman said. “It’s a little tender.”

“I thought at least there’d be two calls. I don’t know how they didn’t see [the spear]. It’s unfortunate.”

***

Brian Boyle
blocked two shots during the Canucks’ 47-second, 5-on-3 power play that was created when Chris Drury
swatted a pass out of mid-air and into the crowd for a delay-of-game penalty 1:13 after Staal was sent to the box.

The Blueshirts received a standing ovation after killing the entire 3:13 while holding the NHL’s leading power play to three shots.

“I said to Dubi [Brandon Dubinsky
] after coming back to the bench that that it was a lot of fun out there,” said Boyle, credited with three of the club’s 24 blocks on the night. “When we were out there, me and Dubi and Danny
[Girardi
] were trying to keep it tight.

“It was a lot of fun to get back to the bench with everyone involved and get a pat on the back.”

Boyle received a verbal pat on the back from Tortorella.

“Brian Boyle, he hung himself out there tonight,” he said. “He had a huge impact.”

***

While Wojtek Wolski
scored the Rangers’ lone goal and linemate Marian Gaborik
created a third-period breakaway by blocking a shot on which he was denied, the Gaborik-Wolski-Derek Stepan
unit had issues.

“That line needs to understand the grind in the game,” Tortorella said. “That’s who we are — no one is exempt from the grind game.”

The Rangers have scored a total of nine goals in their last seven games, going 4-2-1 while being shut out once, scoring one goal three times and two goals, three times.

The Blueshirts have allowed 14 goals in their last nine games in recording one shutout and limiting the opposition to one goal three times, two goals four times and three goals, once.

***

The Rangers entered last night’s match on a 1-for-22 power-play skid that has dropped the club to 22d overall in power-play efficiency at 15.9 percent.

Tortorella said he would use a Marc Staal-Matt Gilroy
combination as the No. 1 point unit at least to start against the Canucks. He also said that he would employ Ruslan Fedotenko
, and perhaps Boyle, to go to the front and set screens.

“We don’t have an ideal point man, and that’s very important,” the coach acknowledged. “Marc is trying to develop into that, Step at times was decent but I don’t think ever as good as he is up front.

“Gabby is a big reason why the power play worked last year, and with him not totally dead-on and not having Vinny Prospal
from the get-go, that plays into it, along with a number of things.

“We just don’t have the big bomb to shoot the puck. Plus, I don’t think we move the puck quickly enough. We are what we are,” Tortorella added. “But we have to try to figure it out because it’s very important if we’re going to succeed in the second half.”

***

Gaborik entered last night’s match without a goal in his last five and with 11 overall in 30 games while scoring in just seven contests. Tortorella was asked whether Gaborik just might be having, “one of those years?”

“It can’t be one of those years because the team won’t be successful if it continues,” Tortorella said. “I think Gabby’s close, I do. I know he wants to do it.”