If the Rangers are to win Game Two at The Garden tonight against an aroused Cane's club, then it's on Laviolette. He has to do his job BETTER.
Peter Laviolette.
If the Rangers are to win Game Two at The Garden tonight against an aroused Canes club, then it's on the guy above. He has to do his job BETTER.
That's right, the coach.
After Game One, Lavvy hit the nail right on the head when he said, "We've got to be better."
That tells me that it's on the headmaster to teach them where they have to be better to get a two-games-to-none stranglehold on the series.
And if Lavvy hasn't figured it out, The Maven will tell him quite candidly right here and now the areas that HE must improve upon -- or else it become a one-one series.
1. POOR FINISH: Your Rangers almost blew the game near the end. And the way the ice was tilting in the Visitors' favor, the Blueshirts sure as heck would have blown it. Correct these blunders, Blueshirts, or the series will be tied tonight at 10 p.m
2. FOOT OFF THE PEDAL: Lavvy's lads were not nearly as aggressive as they should have been as the game's curtain began falling. If they thought the game was in the bag, they should have checked the bag. It had a hole in the bottom.
3. PASSIVITY FAILS: The Blueshirts were too passive near the end.
They allowed the coming-on-strong Canes time and space to find the open teammates. And they darn well almost found the fella with the tying goal on his stick
Whether the coach has since fixed the flaws or not, the point here is that he has had sufficient time to do so. Tonight's performance will tell us whether the coach and players have wised up.
The Hurricanes are hot and bothered over their first game loss. They feel that they can take the Rangers five-on-five any night of the week.
And if Rod Brind'Amour is any kind of coach, he's wise, and he knows how to pump his players to a froth.
Furthermore, he knows that had Andrei Svechnikov not won "The Dumb Play Of The Month" award when his team looked like it was about to tie the contest, Brindy would have exited to 33rd Street smiling.
"We are right there," says Irrepressible Roddy. "We did good things in the first game that can't be overlooked."
Then, a reporter chirped in with a sage comment: "Learning to lose is a big part of winning."
Brind'Amour smiled.
He could be smiling again tonight if Lavvy fails to learn his lesson.