The Rangers’ new coach is faced with restoring discipline and accountability – two tenets of hockey that have been absent for the better part of the past five years. Bryan Trottier realized how full his plate was after Monday’s sloppy, self-destructive 4-2 home loss to Tampa Bay.
Ten penalties, five the result of obstruction, dug a hole from which the team ultimately couldn’t emerge.
“We need to have a much better effort from all the players,” said Trottier, whose team held a 2-1 lead before its second-period meltdown.
“We killed our own momentum,” he added. “We took penalty after penalty and never recovered.”
Mike Richter, who replaced an ineffective Dan Blackburn between the pipes during the game, said the penalties exacted a dramatic toll, adding: “The team started scrambling and our top killers started to get tired and it just snowballed.”
The 2-3-2-0 Rangers have failed to adapt to the league’s crackdown on the hooking-obstruction, and the result has produced an added workload for the penalty-box doorman. Forward Matthew Barnaby said the key is positioning.
“The refs aren’t looking for the big physical penalties; they’re looking for the lazy ones,” said Barnaby, who threw his body around as much as anyone, but did not land in the box. “You can’t be hooking and hauling guys down. The game has changed a bit.”
Trottier, who held his normal player meetings yesterday, added a memo. “Don’t get caught with your hands in the cookie jar,” Trottier said. “I told them not to give the refs the opportunity to call any penalties. Just stop it.”
And with the 3-2-0-0 Capitals coming into the Garden tonight, now would be a good time.