“Fire this CLOWN. His players hate him and wont play for his BS…. @imseanavery is #winning.”
That disturbing tweet was posted by former Ranger Sean Avery after Saturday night's shut out loss in Montreal. Yesterday, Ranger captain Ryan Callahan came to the defense of his coach, John Tortorella:
"Sean Avery's comments solely represent his own thoughts and opinions,” Callahan’s statement said. “He did not. speak for us as a team when he was here and certainly does not now.”
Sure Avery has an ax to grind with Torts, but is he wrong?
Being a head coach or manager in major sports is basically a hired to be fired job. Results are the determining factor on weather a coach keeps his job. The coach doesn't play the game, but it's his game plan and communication of that plan to his players will lead to his success or failure.
We all know that John Totorella has an “in your face” style both behind the bench and off the ice. There comes a point when a good manager asks himself “am I getting through to everyone?” Sometimes the coach says “yes” and goes about do things the way he always has. Rex Ryan is a good example of this philosophy. Occasionally the coach says “no” and makes to changes to his approach, ala Tom Coughlin. Unfortunately, if things get really bad, the choice is taken out of the coach's hands and he finds himself unemployed.
The big questions facing Torts and Ranger management are: Has John Tortorella's act worn thin and if it has can someone else pull this team together? If it hasn't, what do we need to do in order to not only make the playoffs, but make a good run once we get there?
On to tonight's skirmish at the Garden against the Winnipeg Jets
Back-to-back shutout losses to Ottawa and Montreal have the Rangers only an overtime loss ahead of Carolina for the final playoff spot in the East. This game calls for an all out assault. The Rangers need to come out hard and fast; falling behind early is just not an option. Ideally, I'd like to see Michael Haley brought back, as well as Arron Asham reinserted into the lineup to form a hardcore crash line that sets a “we mean business” tone. It's not gonna happen, but I do expect them to be all over the Jets early. Lots of hitting and shot blocking. With no morning skate today, I think the Rangers will probably go with close to the same lines they used in Montreal.
Forwards:
Hagelin-Stepan-Nash
Gaborik-Richards-Zuccarello
Callahan-Boyle-Miller
Pyatt-Newberry-Kreider
Defense:
MDZ-Girardi
McDonagh-Eminger
Strallman-Hamrlik
Lundqvist will be back in goal, as he should be.
If there is a change, Darroll Powe would replace either Pyatt or Newberry.
The Jets enter the game as the Southeast division leaders. They hold a 4-point lead over Carolina and frankly if they weren't in first place, they would be part of the struggle for the bottom two playoff spots in the East. They are led on offense by the upstart Andrew Ladd (14-18-32) and Blake Wheeler (14-14-28). Puck moving defenseman Tobias Enstrom has scored two goals in the four games played since he returned to the Jets lineup March 24, after a five week stint on the IR. Goalie Ondrej Pavelec has been his mediocre self this season with a 15-15-2 record, 2.76 GAA and .905 Save%. He can be beat. Tonight is the first half of back-to-back games in New York with the team playing the Islanders tomorrow. I wouldn't be shocked to see backup, former Ranger, Al Montoya between the pipes, but he isn't any better Pavelec.
What to Watch For:
1) The Jets win less than half their faceoffs. Look for the Rangers to run more set plays off the draw in the offensive zone.
2) Earlier in this preview I said I expected the Rangers to play hard and take the game to Winnipeg. The Jets like to play physically as well. The game could get very chippy and discipline will be at a premium. The Rangers must keep their focus, frequent bad penalties will send them to a third straight loss.
3) As awful as the Rangers have been on special teams this season (25th PP & 21st PK), the Jets have been slightly worse (26th, 23rd). This is a game the Rangers can use tonight's game to right the ship.
Thanks to Jan, Ek and the staff at HockeyBuzz for allowing me to fill in today.
Ed Stein
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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