On Wednesday John Tortorella said that he had no idea why the Rangers came up with their no-show against the Flyers, on Saturday Tortorella said he had no idea why the Rangers are unable to score, and though it is most certainly refreshing to hear an NHL head coach admit that he does not have all the answers, having one or two would seem to be part of the job description.
The Rangers’ personnel are deficient. Because of that, it is even more critical that the coach coax the most out of his players by putting them in positions where they are most likely to succeed. That generally means assigning roles to players and constructing lines with unique attributes and job descriptions.
None of this has yet developed for the 19-17-5 Rangers, who begin the second half of their season tonight at the Garden against the Bruins as one of up to eight clubs in the Eastern Conference teetering between a low playoff seed and 29th overall.
This hasn’t happened because Tortorella, who achieved the ultimate success in Tampa by doubling down on elite talents Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, believes in his heart that games are won by the most talented athletes, not necessarily through a collaborative effort in which plumbers might have an equally significant impact on a match’s outcome.
Which brings us to No. 16 on the Rangers’ roster, the player who was once Sean Avery.
Avery has looked lost lately. It isn’t that his hands have turned to stone around the net, or that he hasn’t been able to contribute to the breakout without first going backward with the puck, or that he hasn’t been able to cleanly receive passes.
It’s that Avery is not fulfilling the role he was born to play, the one in which he forechecks, grinds and cycles like crazy and antagonizes like he’s certifiable.
The prevailing wisdom was that Avery would become a better player if he left the extra-curricular activities behind. But that wisdom was actually ignorance in disguise. Avery needs to play with bravado, he needs to stoke emotions and he needs to skate on the edge.
In order to do that, however, Avery needs to know that he will have a safety net if he goes over the cliff, and that safety net is woven with the support of a head coach who will recognize that the occasional goaltender interference call or unsportsmanlike conduct penalty are an acceptable price to pay when measured against the investment.
Tortorella still hasn’t found a place for Avery. That place is on a line of grinders, ideally with Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan. His place is in the opposition’s face. And putting him in that place — as opposed to in his place — is the responsibility of the coach.
Once in that place, it is all on No. 16 to fulfill his obligations, to get the puck in deep, to wear down defensemen and to agitate in front.
Once that is in place, it is on him to provide the unique element he brought to New York the first time and then again last spring — to infuse the team with emotion, to wear the target on his back with the understanding that his coach isn’t part of the posse taking aim at the bull’s-eye.
If you can’t be a little bit pregnant, you can’t be a little bit Sean Avery, either.