NEW YORK – “You need to improve as a hockey team, every game,” Rangers head coach John Tortorella said after night’s 3-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils.
That was the most Tortorella was willing to say about game two of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Rangers bench boss was peppered with questions about his club and specially Marian Gaborik who was seemingly benched for most of the third period. Despite the benching and being “fresh” late in the final stanza Gaborik was still ineffective on the ice.
For many of the questions asked during the post-game press conference his response was, ‘ I’ll keep it in the room’.
Clearly, the Ranger locker room was not the place to be following the loss that tied up the series at one game apiece.
The Devils Ilya Kovalchuk had given New Jersey the early 1-0 lead in the first when he lifted a shot over Henrik Lundqvist’s shoulder into the net.
That goal stood up until the Rangers put a pair behind Martin Brodeur in the second.
Devils head coach Peter DeBoer was more verbose in his press remarks.
“I don’t know anything specifically. Just our overall game was much better. I thought we established our forecheck right off the bat in the first period and we’re creating zone time and chances. I think in the second a couple of the penalties took us out of it and they regained some momentum with couple of power play goals,” DeBoer said. “But we felt that if we could play five-on-five and stick with it, that we were going to get rewarded, and that’s what happened.”
Marc Staal and Chris Kreider each scored in the second period on the power play to lift New York to a 2-1 lead.
Whereas that lead was safe in earlier matches, the Devils made sure it was not in this game.
Ryan Carter scored late in the second to tie the game and David Clarkson got the game winner just over three minutes into the third.
Whatever Tortorella ‘kept in the locker’ for the roster’s sake, will hopefully be left in the locker room. The stink in the room could not have been much worse than the one left on the ice Wednesday night.
Contact LM.Davis@prohockeynews.com
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