Rangers try to rest up for Bruins
Brandon Dubinsky of the New York Rangers and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins fight for the puck in the second period. (Feb. 14, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The Rangers may not have had time to notice, but at some point during their recent road trip, the calendar flipped to March. In other words, hockey's final five-week regular-season grind is beginning.
The effects were fairly evident Saturday . Four Rangers (Ryan Callahan, Michael Del Zotto, Dan Girardi and Ruslan Fedotenko) did not take part in practice, and those who did considered the short ice time more like a freshener than anything else.
John Tortorella said Girardi and Fedotenko were given rest days; the status of Del Zotto (bruised right hip) and Callahan (bruised right foot) remains uncertain for Sunday's game against Boston. It will be the Rangers' fourth game in seven days.
Callahan, who has missed the last two games, skated alone before practice Saturday, presumably to test the foot.
"Every time you can get rest, you need to get rest right now," center Brad Richards said. "You need to shut everything off. It's that time of the year for us. This is when hockey players start living in a bubble and everything else around them doesn't matter."
Friday night's 4-3 overtime loss at Tampa Bay wasn't as crisp as Tortorella would like to see -- "No one was there yesterday," he said -- and he reiterated, as he has done all season, how important mental focus is at this point.
"Success is measured on consistency," Tortorella said. "We have a ton of hockey to play, a number of things as far as details to work on in our game. We're just going to go on about our business and try to get better."
There also is a battle of attrition. The Rangers play an aggressive style, with lots of shot-blocking, so minor injuries such as those to Callahan and Del Zotto can easily pile up. Team depth will be tested.
Tortorella praised new acquisition John Scott, who in two games has logged 12:29 at left wing on the fourth line, and the play of young defenseman Stu Bickel as examples of why the team can afford to have a few players missing games.
Of course, with the Big East Tournament confiscating Madison Square Garden this week, the Rangers are back on the road for three games until next Sunday. It will be a trying stretch but one they simply will have to withstand at this point in the season.
"Team concept comes into big play," defenseman Marc Staal said. "If you're a little tired, the sharper you are as a group, the easier it makes it individually. That's key."
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