John Tortorella

The NHL Winter Classic is an event that has captivated the attention of millions of hockey fans around the world for the past four years. This year’s event however seems to have more at stake as the New York Rangers look to continue their dominance over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Of all the the things that went right for the New York Rangers a season ago, and there were many, there was one component of the team that went indisputably wrong.

In the midst of a five-game winning streak, the New York Rangers sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with their stock rising.

When I first read that Erik Christensen was skating on the top line in place of Brad Richards tomorrow, I had to do a double take. I pinched myself, checked my breath and senses to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, drunk, or a combination of the two.

In this space, just yesterday, the point was made that, due to the potentially extended loss of defenseman Marc Staal, it would be incumbent upon the second line of Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky and Captain Ryan Callahan to compensate by producing offensively. The thinking was that with more overall offensive production the Rangers' depleted defense corps would not be expected to carry as much of a load.

Less than 24 hours after the New York Rangers' season came to an end at the hands of the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the New York Post broke news today that the Rangers have given a three-year contract extension to head coach John Tortorella that will keep him

John Tortorella doesn't quite know what to say to his players to inspire them. He said in a postgame press conference, "You can’t play game 77, I think this is, you can’t play it like it’s game 25 for 40 minutes [...] They were the more desperate team that we were. It’s not so much losing, it’s how we played.”

New York Rangers bench boss John Tortorella is an interesting man to say the least. He is a very vocal and expressive coach who expects a lot from his players. He is a Stanley Cup winner and is also currently the leader in wins for American-born coaches in NHL history.

Ask any New York Islander about their matchup against the hated Rangers tonight at MSG and they will tell you that this isn't just about a rivalry, it's about two points in the standings. 

They will use the "we are still not eliminated from the playoff race" line, but on the inside, they would like nothing more than to deal their neighbors from the west a very big blow to their playoff chances.

The New York Rangers are in a battle to make the NHL playoffs and their coach John Tortorella just started another battle with the NHL and its on-ice officials.  

Following his team's 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Madison Square Garden yesterday, Tortorella used the postgame press conference to blast the officials that he believes cost his team a chance to win the hockey game.