Torts speaks up when officiating is uneven
Rangers coach John Tortorella spoke to league officials about what he felt was lopsided officiating the last time his team faced the Penguins. (Nov. 15, 2010) Credit: AP
The statistic that angered the Rangers and their coach in the previous Penguins-Rangers game was the 6-0 disparity in power plays, and John Tortorella let the NHL know about it.
After the Rangers' 3-2 overtime win in Pittsburgh on Nov. 15, Tortorella called Colin Campbell, the NHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, and Mike Murphy, vice president of hockey operations, to voice his displeasure with the officiating.
"I hope it's the last," Tortorella said Monday. "I don't like doing it. I don't think it's good, but you also have to protect your hockey club at certain times.
"I had major concerns. You don't want to whine in this league about it, but I had a conversation with Murph and Colie regarding that - not only some of the non-calls against us but some of the calls against us and some of the non-calls against them. But I don't want that to take on a life of its own. I think, as a coach and manager, you need to be aware of that as the year goes on, and if you have a gripe, you talk about it. But we certainly don't want to get into a situation where we're going to whine about it all the time."
After the Penguins erased a 1-0 deficit late in the third with two power-play goals, Henrik Lundqvist smashed and tossed his stick and screamed at the refs, drawing a misconduct. "I wanted to get their attention," he said.
Tortorella said his message to the team Monday was that "the players can't worry about that; they have to play," and that the coaches would be on top of the officiating.
Kyle Rehman and Dan O'Halloran were the refs Nov. 15; Brad Watson and Steve Kozark were on the ice last night.
Blue notes
Derek Boogaard (shoulder strain) missed his third straight. Tortorella said the winger couldn't shoot and hopes he will be available for the back-to-back against the Islanders on Thursday and Friday . . . With Marian Gaborik back in the lineup after a bout with the flu and Michal Rozsival feeling better after playing for the first time in 10 games, defenseman Matt Gilroy was a healthy scratch.
