New York Rangers Need Reverse Anger Management

Killer instinct can be developed, they say, but can the New York Rangers create it by game time today?

"I think it's a kind of mental toughness," Rangers coach John Tortorella said in Pittsburgh yesterday, according to Andrew Gross, on his blog called Ranger Rants.

"I think you need for good things to happen to you to understand exactly what it is. It's confidence. We go up and down with our confidence from game to game. Sometimes, period to period. That's something we're trying to work on."

After drills at the Penguins' practice rink in suburban Canonsburg on Friday, Rangers coach John Tortorella had cooled down considerably since storming away after just two questions during his postgame news conference.

The Rangers had just coughed up a 4-1 lead over the Thrashers and lost 5-4 in a shootout.

Tortorella did not say why he didn't use Nik Zherdev in the shootout or why Zherdev, Sean Avery, and Markus Naslund played so little in the final period, according to Steve Zipay of newsday.com.

Zherdev had scored four goals in the past five games.

After the New York Rangers lost to the Ottawa Senators, a few nights earlier, fiery coach Tortorella said, "You can't win them all."

He was furious about their loss to Carolina, before that.

The Rangers have been in two fights in their last twelve games, since Tortorella took over. Avery fought Cal Clutterbuck in the Rangers win over the Minnesota Wild and then Carlton Orr got into a scrap, too.

Avery said, after that game, that he should have fought in the Rangers game against the Senators, to give the team a spark.

In the new NHL, without big goons, hockey players tend to get hit by guys who aren't enforces if they hit anyone on the ice. But when Avery gets hit, repeatedly, game after game, the Rangers resist retaliating.

Maybe they are hoping he will draw even more penalties.

When he is left in a heap on the ice and the referee makes no call,or calls a brutal cross-check "interference", nobody argues the call except Avery.

When he gets a penalty for goaltender interference when, clearly, he wasn't involved with the goalie, no-one is surprised.

I think the Rangers need to get angry for Avery and play with a lot more emotion. Hockey is an emotional game, after all, as well as a fast, hard-hitting, skilled, and violent game.

The Rangers have the speed and skill, a few hitters, not much violence, and little emotion, apparently. They are happy to score and win. But what about the other emotions coming into play?

Channelled anger can create a lot of energy, which can be used for constructive purposes. That's something they teach you in Anger Management 101.

The Rangers need to get mad, first, then channel their anger into energy, fast, in time for their game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If the Rangers lose too many more games and find themselves out of the playoffs, they'll have nobody to be angry at except themselves.

Hitting golf balls can be a good way to get rid of angry energy, but hitting Penguins, Devils, Bruins, and Sharks must be much more satisfying and would be more productive.