Tortorella upset after Rangers lose to Blackhawks in OT
Photo credit: MCT/Nuccio DiNuzzo | Chicago Blackhawks Kris Versteeg fights for possession of the puck with New York Rangers Wade Redden during first-period action. (December 9, 2009)
Galleries
Blackhawks 2, Rangers 1
CHICAGO - For the second consecutive game, the Rangers surrendered a tying goal late in the third period and had to settle for a point.
Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien's rushed the length of the ice to score with 1:17 left in overtime to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 win.
The Rangers defense came mainly between the pipes, where Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 36 of 37 shots in regulation and had allowed just three goals in the past two games, frustrated the Blackhawks, who owned the puck. The Rangers mustered just 16 shots in regulation.
Rangers coach John Tortorella was unhappy with the Rangers' effort.
"Forget about offense, that's not my concern tonight, it's just a level of competing, which was void as far as I'm concerned,'' Tortorella said.
"I've seen the effort in recent games. If guys thought they were trying tonight, they're in for a rude awakening. And that's the best team we've played all year long, and I understand that. I haven't been upset with the effort. It's funny, we get no points against Detroit and I thought we played well. I thought we stunk tonight and ended up getting a point.''
Chris Higgins' goal at 12:10 of the first period was the lone score by either team until Dan Girardi was called for tripping Patrick Kane at 13:03 of the third. Jonathan Toews jammed in the rebound of Marian Hossa's close-in try off a sprawling Lundqvist's glove at 14:05 to tie the score at 1.
At 9:43, Michal Rozsival inadvertently high-sticked Troy Brouwer and the Hawks had their fourth power play. Lundqvist made his 33rd save on a point shot from Cam Barker and got lucky when Brian Campell's shot from the left circle hit Byfuglien in front, ticked the crossbar and bounced away.
At 2:03 of the third, Campbell's shot from the right point was deflected by Patrick Sharp. Lundqvist kicked away his slapper on a delayed penalty when Artem Anisimov got his stick under Kane at 5:43, giving the Hawks their third power play, but the penalty killers, including Higgins, didn't allow a shot on Lundqvist.
Eight minutes into the second, Lundqvist sprawled to stop Toews, who had deked through Matt Gilroy in the right circle. On a turnover in the Rangers zone, Lundqvist flicked up his glove to deflect Andrew Ladd's rising shot in the middle period.
The Rangers had their first power play when Toews was whistled for hooking at 12:25, but managed just two shots on Cristobal Huet. The Blueshirts have one goal in the last 16 opportunities with the man advantage.
After Lundqvist turned away blasts from the point in killing off Marc Staal's penalty for hooking Hossa at 15:50, Sean Avery tested Huet in one of the few scoring chances in 40 minutes. With 36 seconds left, Hossa's close-in shot, and the Hawks' 30th, was cradled by Lundqvist.
As soon as the national anthem ended (with the entire crowd of 21,022 standing, clapping and cheering in waves during the rendition, a great tradition), the tone was set. The Hawks pressed, particularly with Sharp and Kane.
The Rangers survived a Ryan Callahan tripping penalty at 3:58, but were scrambling, generating very few attacks as the Hawks owned the puck. Marian Gaborik started a rush with a clearing pass to Rozsival, who got a pass through Duncan Keith to Gaborik, who slipped a cross-ice feed to Higgins. From the left dot, Higgins scored his second goal in three games and fourth of the year by roofing a shot to Huet's short side that provided the Rangers a lead at 12:10. It was Gaborik's 18th assist and Rozsival's sixth. Lundqvist reacted impeccably to shots, as the Hawks outshot the Rangers 16-5.
"He's about the only one who played,'' Tortorella said of Lundqvist. "Fourth line, Lundqvist, penalty killers . . . .It's unacceptable.''
Said Lundqvist: "We worked so hard to get the win and it hurts so much, especially when you give up the late goals and not being able to get the two points. It's painful.''
Notes & quotes: Brandon Dubinsky practiced with the team for the first time since suffering a broken right had blocking a shot in Calgary on Nov. 7. He still can't shoot effectively. "I want to give [the hand] a couple of more days before I put more pressure on it," he said. "Give it an opportunity to heal, get another X-ray, see that it's completely closed up, and not have to worry about damaging it."
