Quote(s) Of Day: Joe Thornton/John Tortorella

Our quote of the day belongs to Joe Thornton. Apparently, losing 5-2 to the Rangers Monday was too much for the former No.1 overall pick ('97) who's won exactly no Cups to bare.

"They were probably the softest team we played on the trip. We should have had these two points."

Ah. Perhaps frustration is building for the superstar center who watched former club Boston win its first Stanley Cup since 1972- defeating the same Canucks who ousted Jumbo Joe's team in the Western Conference Final. Whatever the motivation behind such a statement, it comes off as sour grapes and reflects poorly on one of the great playmakers our sport has. Thornton recently eclipsed 1,000 career points. This won't win him any fans. A day after a one word reply of "Wonderful," to Thornton's assessment, John Tortorella didn't mince words following the Blueshirts' morning skate:

"It surprised me, and I've never heard a player say that. Joe's a heck of a player, but here's a player popping off about our team, and Joe hasn't won a god d___ thing in this league. He could go down as a player, being one of the better players in our league never to win anything. So what he should do is just shut up. It was uncalled for, it was classless, and I've never had it happen like that before."

Are the Rangers soft? When they aren't proactive, yes. Last night was the first complete effort of the season. Somewhat taking advantage of San Jose's third in four of a grueling road trip. Albeit all three in the metro area with the teal getting the better of the Devs and Isles prior to the Rangers' three unanswered that broke open a 2-2 game in the second. There's little doubt that this club isn't as physical and lacks enough D minus Marc Staal, which explains why they were outshot in the first nine prior to Monday. The Blueshirts had gotten away from their blue collar, aggressive forechecking style that this city identifies with. It took onto Game 10 for the club to put together a 60 minute effort led by captain Ryan Callahan (2-1-3), Brandon Dubinsky (2 assists) and Dan Girardi (2 assists). Artem Anisimov also scored his first and Martin Biron was stellar in net for the team's first win at the renovated MSG. Even Erik Christensen had two sweet dishes.



The Rangers next host the Ducks Thursday with the Habs visiting Saturday as part of the six-game homestand. It'll be interesting to see how the club responds to the rude criticism from Thornton. Honestly, they shouldn't need any extra incentive.
 
Avery Returns: After predictably going unclaimed on re-entry waivers, Sean Avery returns Thursday. With Tortorella finally icing a lineup that worked, don't expect him to play. May as well go with what worked. It still should be interesting to watch how this plays out. Especially with Andre Deveaux having a solid debut, fulfilling a dream by playing alongside childhood pal Dan Girardi. Pretty cool story.

Quote Of Day: Hal Gill

Today's comes courtesy of vet Habs' defenseman Hal Gill, who assisted on Dominic Moore's series clincher and blocked half a dozen of his team's preposterous 41 shots in their upset of Alex Ovechkin's Caps last night. Gill finished with 36 blocks doing an outstanding job along with committed teammates of disrupting the league's No.1 offense. He had quite an interesting take on the series. One R.J. Umberger probably agrees with:

"I imagine it’s tough for them. They had their eyes set on bigger things, I’m sure. I think they thought we were kind of a bump in the road. That’s hockey, that’s playoffs. I think we played better as a team then they did.”

He's right. In the postseason, regular season stats are meaningless. Playoff games are a different animal. Unless you're willing to go all out with every teammate pushing in the same direction, you won't succeed. It's about T-E-A-M. The Canadiens outexecuted the Capitals, functioning as one unit. Something Billy Jaffe alluded to while calling out the dreadful Washington power play for improvising too much. Such overthinking isn't a great recipe. Everyone needs to be on the same page. As was pointed out on NHL Network's postgame, watch the way Detroit runs their man-advantage compared to the Caps' organized chaos. It's much more simplified with every player knowing their roles. They know when to pass, shoot and make it difficult on the goalie.

Time for a philosophy change in D.C.

Preview: Mtl-NYR + Dubinsky Quote Of Day

Today's comes from Brandon Dubinsky, who's really turned it up lately. He's playing his best hockey of his young career. It's not just about goals and assists but how hard the third-year Alaskan native is competing. Not long ago, I wondered along with many other Ranger tweeps if it would be better to trade him. But since he was shifted to wing, we're starting to see what Dubi's capable of. The win over Mike Richards in one of the better games the club has played Sunday was the icing on the cake, pulling the team within a point of the Bruins.

The Habs visit town tonight having been red hot- winners of five straight. They've played so well that they're now tied for sixth with the Flyers at 76 points. However, Les Habitants have also played two more games. So, they're actually seventh. Meanwhile, Philly takes on Nashville and Boston attempts to bounce back with a visit to Raleigh.

For the Blueshirts, the formula is simple. Like Adrienne said to Rocky in Rocky II, "Win!" They'll need to be at their best against suddenly resurgent Scott Gomez, who's teamed up well with Brian Gionta minus Mike Cammalleri. A credit to Jacques Martin. Despite being hobbled, leading scorer Tomas Plekanec is expected to be in. Andrei Markov has played better lately, notching the winner in their last game. Jaroslav Halak has been tremendous, going five-for-five since his Olympic duty with Marian Gaborik and Team Slovakia. However, he's not had much success at MSG bringing a 1-3-0 mark along with a sub-4.00 GAA. In fact, the Rangers have won six of seven at home against their Original Six rival.

As for Dubinsky's quote, it's one which really applies down this critical stretch:

“We’re not going to back down.  We’re going to continue to fight, scratch and claw each and every game to find a way to get into the playoffs.”

We'll see how they do tonight from our Sec.411 seats.

Quote Of Day II

This comes from Pens' coach Dan Bylsma on his team's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes, who remarkably are three within new NHL .500 and just three behind the Rangers. Think about that folks. This was a team that lost every way possible and was buried. They probably won't make the playoffs but Paul Maurice's team has shown a lot more heart than our guys. What's echoed below is what I'd like to see from a franchise that's going the wrong way:

“I think that the team we played tonight has proven all year long that they are not going to stop playing. They are going to work regardless of the standings or what the score is.”

Quote Of Day

     

 Today's comes from the leader of the sinking ship:

"Our defense is what our defense is."

Any questions?

Quote Of Day: Jordan Schroeder

So, what did Jordan Schroeder think about how close USA came to pulling off the upset of Canada? He basically said what we thought:

"I think we showed tonight we were the better team. We had a lot more chances and we were up 4-2. I think we should have won, but it's part of hockey. Hats off to them. They won in a shootout."

Here's hoping there's a rematch with a lot more on the line.