Tortorella puts end to morning skate on game day
Photo credit: Getty Images | Head Coach John Tortorella of the New York Rangers.
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Rangers coach John Tortorella put an end to the game-day morning skate.
"It's one of the most overrated things in hockey, and we felt we were a much better club last year when we started [not skating in January], and I have stats on it," Tortorella said.
"The guys from the city, it's really a three-hour ordeal for maybe a 15-minute meeting that we can do in the evening, and really [why] skate for no reason other than routine? We felt we were a much fresher team, we feel it will pay dividends in the big picture of a long season."
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Gilroy gets start
Matt Gilroy, a North Bellmore native in his second year with the club, made his first start of the season, but is not guaranteed a spot on the third d-pair, which is a rotation.
"I'm looking for him to defend as hard as he can," Tortorella said. "Not allowing people to come out of the corner and mirror them versus when he has an opportunity to close out. We're always looking for that with Gilly, and we want him up the ice when we have the puck. I think he has a different mindset but it has to translate on the ice consistently."
Blue notes
In addition to the injuries to Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury, defenseman Dan Girardi was banged up and left the ice limping at one point in the third, and Michal Rozsival, who scored the goal that gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead, was having his neck massaged on the bench in the third after a collision . . . Brandon Prust decisioned Mike Brown at 12:44 of the first . . . Erik Christensen, who tweaked his groin in the third period against the Islanders on Monday, was scratched. "He skated [Friday], but it's still sore," Tortorella said.
