“I think we’ve got a couple of idiots that follow our team and they don’t really understand the game. Three or four years ago, our team didn’t play hard enough,” New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella said on Mike Francesa’s WFAN radio show on Wednesday. “I’m really proud of this club and how they’ve developed their identity, and they play hard. And shot-blocking is part of it.”
Four days removed from his team’s Game 6 loss to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference final and elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs, Tortorella appeared on a pair of American radio programs and vented his frustration with the sportswriters who criticized the Rangers’ shot-blocking.
The Blueshirts have three of the playoffs’ top four shot-blockers in defencemen Ryan McDonagh (62 blocked shots), Dan Girardi (54), and Marc Staal (39). No forward has blocked more shots than Rangers winger Ryan Callahan (31 blocks).
Some analysts found fault instead of accomplishment in New York’s willingness to get in front of pucks before they reached the net in the postseason, believing that shot-blocking drains the game of its entertainment value and can be too punishing on the defenders.
“Just to listen to the crap… The team ended up getting to the conference finals, one of three teams remaining out of 30. You can’t win,” Tortorella continued. “One way or another, there’s always gotta be something the matter, and I just don’t buy it.
“The thing that upsets me the most is, it disrespects the player. I really like this team, and I will protect this team because they do play hard.”
The Rangers blocked a league-high total of 365 shots in the playoffs; the club blocked 1,338 shots in the regular season, fourth-most in the NHL.
Fast-forward Tortorella’s interview to the 5:20 mark to hear his comments on shot-blocking:
Do you think the Rangers relied too heavily on shot-blocking in the playoffs?
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