NHL

Rangers coach says NHL changes encourage cheap shots

SAN JOSE, Calif. — John Tortorella has not seen the Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty that left the Montreal winger with a serious concussion and a fractured vertebra and sparked an uproar across Canada when the Boston defenseman escaped without a suspension, but the Rangers coach is resolute in his opinion that rule changes have created the environment in which such acts now seem commonplace.

“I think some rules changes have provided players with the chance to disrespect other players,” Tortorella said after yesterday’s brief but intense practice here in preparation for tomorrow night’s match with the Sharks. “It goes on, and I still think it needs to be addressed.

“No one wants to see players hurt,” he said. “There needs to be some sort of honor and honesty in our game and I think we’ve lost that with the rules changes.”

The coach made it clear that while he thinks other rules changes such as eliminating benign obstruction have contributed to the problem, the instigator rule is the root cause. Tortorella is not alone among the hockey community in that belief, but the instigator rule that mandates a two-minute minor plus a 10-minute misconduct penalty for those who start a fight in defense of a teammate, is hardly a recent change, having been adopted in 1992-93.

“It’s not just that, but I think it’s a lousy rule,” Tortorella said. “I think the game has gotten [this] way because we have not allowed the players to police themselves. To me, that’s the bottom line.

“Players need to police themselves on the ice, not the rules, not supplementary discipline and all that,” he said. “That’s where I think we’ve lost honesty. Call me [old school], if you want. It’s wrong. “The instigator creates a mindset for players for players who you wouldn’t even see them if the instigator was not there.”

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Erik Christensen
, a healthy scratch for the last two games, participated in every drill at center on the line with Marian Gaborik
on the right while Vinny Prospal
and Sean Avery
split time on the left. There is little doubt that Tortorella intends to scratch Avery for tomorrow night’s match.

In Wednesday’s 5-2 defeat in Anaheim in which no Ranger played up to par and many had disastrous games, Avery, who struggled in the first period but had a strong second and finished with an even rating, somehow was the only player who was benched, sitting for the final 11:12 while Tortorella cut down to 11 forwards.

Practice which featured end zone coverage and puck battles along the boards was intense and serious in the aftermath of the Anaheim defeat.

“We will discuss it for sure,” Prospal said. “We have to make sure we have a different work ethic and desire to play the next game.”

Rangers, who were 7-12-3 in games in which they trailed after two periods following their comeback 2-1 shootout victory in Washington on Jan. 24, are 0-9 in similar circumstances since then.

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Sabres’ 4-3 OT victory in Boston last night vaulted Buffalo past the Rangers into seventh place. Both clubs have 74 points, but Rangers have played 69 games to Sabres’ 67. If Hurricanes, who sit in ninth place with 72 points in 67 games, beat the Capitals tonight in Washington, Rangers will fall out of a playoff position for first time since Oct. 29.

Rangers return home following tomorrow night’s match for games at the Garden on Tuesday against the Islanders and Friday against the Canadiens before traveling to Pittsburgh for afternoon game a week from Sunday.