The Rangers' season has been defined by one sad but simple fact: The winning streaks have quickly been followed by losing streaks.
Going into Tuesday night's game against the Buffalo Sabres, the Rangers were 6-3-1 in their last 10, and 5-0-1 in their last six games.
Rangers winning streaks have been built upon smart, strong defensive play which gradually dissipates as the streak continues.
And that recurring failure is on Rangers coach John Tortorella, who seems either unable or unwilling to coach defensively for extended periods of time.
It's almost as if as the wins pile up, Tortorella gets greedy and wants to win by greater margins by putting an emphasis on offense.
Either that, or Tortorella lets the Rangers get sloppy and allows them to forget the style of play that brought them the wins.
Tortorella's coaching can often seem based more on emotion than on logic or strategy.
You can look at huge things, like Tortorella's freak out during last year's playoffs, where he wound up suspended a game for throwing a water bottle at a Washington fan.
But you can look at smaller events, too, li ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steven Ovadia
New York Rangers: Playoff Hopes Grow Dim as Coaching Once Again Fails Team
April 6th, 2010 by Steven Ovadia Leave a reply »
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