NEW YORK – The New York Rangers hit the ice tonight facing their third straight game five in a tied series. For head coach John Tortorella it is nothing new and nothing that will force him to act differently with his players.
“I have total confidence in our players. Again, this isn’t a new experience for us as we go into tonight’s game. So I have total confidence,” Tortorella explained in a press conference. “I know I used that word ‘pray’ yesterday. It was a joke. There are a lot more important things to pray about than a win or a goal. So can I clear that up, please? To answer your question, I have total confidence in our guys. Again, it’s a great opportunity for us and I’m looking forward to it.”
That confidence in his players extends to the need, or rather lack of need, to motivate his roster for this important game at Madison Square Garden.
“No. I read a couple articles about sending a message to a player,” he said. “This time of year, with Gaby (Marian Gaborik) or Brian Boyle, it’s not sending messages, it’s not going in there and giving your big speech. I have too much respect for the hockey club. They don’t need that.”
All season Tortorella has extolled the professionalism of his squad and their recognition of a particular situation. The post season has been no diffe3rent for him or the team.
“This team wouldn’t be where it’s at if they didn’t know how to handle these situations. This time of year, a coach needs to be with them, not at them. So, again, it goes right back to the last question. I have total confidence in how our team will present themselves tonight and try to find a way to win one hockey game.”
As for game five itself, Tortorella was clear on his team’s need to get a good start against the New Jersey Devils.
“We do need a good one. Again, when we start talking about a must game or a must start, I don’t like going there,” Tortorella explained. “What happens if something doesn’t happen right for you, we just throw the last 50 minutes away?
“There’s no question Jersey right on through the playoffs, not just our series, they have blitzed teams and gained momentum. Momentum is a big part of playoff hockey. There’s no question we like to get that on our side right away,” he added.
For the Rangers, they return to Garden ice after a tough loss in game four. Centerman Brian Boyle said he is looking forward to hitting home ice.
“Yeah. We need to feed off that and use it to our advantage with our start, like I talked about before. I think that’s going to be important,” Boyle said.
“I t can be to our advantage, if we take advantage of it,” Boyle added.
In the press conference this morning Carl Hagelin echoed his coach’s comments about the start of the contrst.
“It’s time for us to have a good start, get some forecheck going, gain some moment and get some confidence, realizing we can play in their zone, take some pressure off our D,” Hagelin said. “It’s not easy for our D to spend 15 out of the first 20 minutes in their own end. When that happens, it’s going to be a long night, they’ll get tired. For us, come off strong, get some shots, containing the puck down low.”
For Hagelin it is important to get a 60-minute effort for the entire match.
“Yeah, I would say so. We have a lot of strong character in this room, a lot of guys that are willing to pay the price to win games like this,” Hagelin said. “Whatever happened in the first four games doesn’t matter right now, it’s a best-out-of-three series. We’re going to start all over and hopefully have a strong 60-minute game.”
Contact LM.Davis@prohockeynews.com
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