It was one-and-done for Rangers coach John Tortorella doing it Henrik Lundqvist’s way, one-and-done for the coach as far as doing it the goaltender’s way of going second in the shootout.
Tortorella, whose Rangers scored a 4-3 shootout victory over teh Kings last night, had broken with his long preferred strategy of going first at the Garden (home teams have the option of leading off or taking last licks) on Feb. 1 against the Penguins. The day after dropping a 1-0 decision to the Penguins in a seven-round competition, the coach explained he had done so at the behest of the goaltender, who preferred getting the chance to make the first save.
But last night, Tortorella chose to lead off, sending out Erik Christensen, who gave the Rangers a 1-0 edge with a postage stamp, reach-back one-hander against Jonathan Bernier. Mats Zuccarello gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. His goal stood as the shootout winner when Lundqvist foiled Anze Kopitar in the bottom of the third after Jarret Stoll scored for Los Angeles in its half of the second and Wojtek Wolski failed to clinch in his half of the third.
“I asked Hank about it right there before it started, and he wasn’t adamant about it either way,” said Tortorella, who took good-natured umbrage when asked about doing it, “his way.”
“If he was [adamant], I would have given it to him but he wasn’t,” the coach said. “So we did it, not my way, but we went first.”
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Zuccarello, who scored off a slow and slower move on which Bernier was helpless, has scored on five of his six tries in the shootout.
“Sometimes you don’t play that much, but you still have to be focused and be positive if you get the chance to take it,” said the winger, who played a team-low 8:24. “You keep wanting to be the guy, so you’re nervous, but what’s the worst thing that can happen — you miss a penalty shot?”
Each time Zuccarello has been successful it has been off that same move. He failed against the Penguins on Feb. 1 trying to switch it up because he thought he had become too predictable.
“Eventually, it will be [too predictable] and I will have to change, but for now I’m staying,” he said. “Maybe you shouldn’t put that in the newspapers. Maybe there shouldn’t be any video.”
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Christensen has gone Moses Malone (four-for-four) on his attempts this season, each one a work of art. The center who started on the fourth line but was bumped up to the first unit as the match evolved, got 4:52 of his 10:11 ice time in the third period.
“I have a lot of experience in [shootouts], starting with the minors,” said Christensen, a career 22-for-39 in the NHL. “I always know what I’m going to do when I pick up the puck. There’s less chance of screwing up that way.
“I’ve had times where I played five minutes in a game and scored, so that’s not an issue for me,” he said. “It’s not like your skill goes away.”
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Marian Gaborik
broke a seven-game drought with a right wing knuckler off a rush that gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 6:10 of the third. It was the silent sniper’s 17th goal in 45 games, but the 10th game in which he has scored. Gaborik, who scored in 34 of 76 games last year en route to 42 goals, had scored in one of every 2.25 games over the previous five years.
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The Rangers opened overtime with a 4:00 power play after Alexei Ponikarovsky
drew blood while high-sticking Marc Staal
as regulation time expired, but a Brandon Dubinsky offensive-zone high stick 1:48 into the power play ended that, and sent the teams into a two-minute 3-on-3. Tortorella went with two defensemen and a forward while the Kings’ Terry Murray used two forwards.
“You don’t do [3-on-3]. It isn’t a strategy,” Tortorella said. “I figured we had Hank [for the shootout], so we went with two defensemen.”
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In praising Ryan Callahan
and his penalty killing work, Tortorella made mention of Brandon Dubinsky
, who had also taken an offensive zone penalty in the first period after taking a couple of questionable ones on Sunday.
“Cally bailed out some players who took stupid penalties, notably his buddy Dubi,” Tortorella said. “Stupid penalties.”
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Brandon Prust
‘s fight against Thrashers’ fourth-line enforcer Eric Boulton
at 6:07 of the first period last Friday in Atlanta represented the winger’s 14th of the season, fourth most in the NHL.
It was also a bout that left a bitter taste in the mouth of Tortorella, who last night blamed himself for failing to tell Prust not to drop the gloves.
“Pruster takes on all comers, and it’s my fault in a couple of situations, like the one with Boulton, for me not telling him not to fight,” Tortorella said. “He shouldn’t be fighting Boulton. I kicked myself for not telling him to stay away.”
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Boulton, who has a considerable size advantage over the 5-11, 190-pound Prust, is essentially a designated puncher, getting 9:18 of ice on average. Prust, while recently shifted to the fourth line, is a top-four penalty killer and an integral part of his team, earning 14:12 per game.
Their fight was not prompted by a preceding incident, but rather by Boulton simply challenging Prust to drop his gloves at a faceoff.
“Not to disrespect Boulton, but we don’t need staged fights in this league,” said Tortorella, who has been consistent on this issue. “Staged fights are ridiculous.
“I don’t want the team to do it, especially Prust,” he said. “He needs to know when, but I also think I need to take responsibility.”