Steve Valiquette talks to Steve Zipay of Blue Notes about his performance last night specifically the first goal against... "We do two-on-ones all the time in practice. It's clear, the goalie has the shooter. That could have caused a snowball effect in a negative way for us. I understand that I have to make the big saves and keep the ball rolling when things are going well for us. On that particular goal, definitely, it didn't help us at all."
...no it didn't. In my opinion that was the turning point of the game.
On why he started Valiquette, John Tortorella told Zipay before last night's game...
"Henrik’s not gonna have the amount of work he’s had (about 70 games in previous seasons). It’s not like I have it all mapped out; my thinking is that Vally’s gonna play more this year and we’ve got to find him some games. He had a shutout last game, so I’m not hesitant to put him in. Hank has been a big part of our success the last couple of games, but it’s not like he’s tired or anything like that. This is a good start for Vally."
"It’s not like I’m racking my brain that we have to play Hank in all the conference games. It’s the way the schedule has lended itself to us: We have a few nonconference games early on...I think Vally has done his due diligence. It’'s not gonna be Vally plays a game, Hank plays a month and Vally plays again. I think Hank understands that."
...listen I understand Valiquette needs to get more work to lift the burden from Lundqvist, but I thought last night was a bad spot to do that. Especially when the Rangers are playing the Coyotes next Monday.
5 comments:
Who was that robotic goalie the Rangers had in pre-season...Johnson?
I know it'd be totally rude to give him a shot but...I'm just sayin'.
After winning 7 games, the team had become a little sloppy. Torts implored them to tighten up, and then he threw them out against a good team without their usual safety net (Lundquist). It was sink or swim with the Sharks. I think the boys learned a good, hard lesson and it didn't cost them a conference game. I don't disagree with Tort's choice to start Vally.
The Rangers only 2 losses have come from legitimate Stanley cup contenders. If this team is going to go deep into the playoffs we need to be able to beat teams like San Jose, Pittsburgh and Detroit. I agree that a loss to an out of conference team may be less significant at this point in the season but our good record to date may not be an indication of how well we can do when it really counts.
Also, if you're gonna play Vally, please play him the on the road. It's not cool for ticket holders to have the backup partially ruin a game you paid good money to see. I was at that game. Thought Torts should have pulled Vally after the 4th goal, which was that weak 2 on 1. With half a game to play, it could have given the Rangers a better shot at coming back. It would have at least ignited the crowd. On another note, Gaborik was set up by Dubinsky at least twice; had his opportunities, and should have scored.
to be fair, San Jose is a very good team when they come to play. after a slow start, they definitely looked like a Cup contender, as Chris said
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