The Eastern Conference Final was not Peter Laviolette's finest moment as a coach.
Peter Laviolette was signed by the Rangers to do what his predecessor Gerard Gallant could not do – win a Stanley Cup.
In that sense, Lavvy was a failure and here are four key reasons why:
1. MIS-USING LAFRENIERE: While The Big Three were collectively failing, Big Al had emerged as the best, most productive forward. Therefore, he should have been on the powerless power play. Lavvy made a grievous error in not taking advantage of his hottest producer.
2. MIS-USING REMPE: The Cats iced the biggest, toughest team in the playoffs. New York needed a big, young tough forward and Matt was the perfect foil. But Lavvy treated the eager rookie as if The Remper had the measles. Why even dress the guy if you will give him no more than a couple of minutes of ice time? It was a ridiculous waste of a player who could have been more useful.
3. MIS-USING CHYTIL: Since Fil's recuperation was long and – as it happened – uncertain, playing him at all was a gamble and a bad gamble at that. Proof positive is that he did next to nothing to help the cause. Ditto, by the way, for the other recuperating patient, Blake Wheeler. Use him, or lose him.
4. MIS-USING THE BLACK ACES: When it became apparent that Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, Jack Roslovic and Alex Wennberg were skating in mud, the coach should have added energetic youth. For example Zac Jones on defense and Brennan Othmann up front, to name just a couple of possibilities.
Then there was the coach's failure to get better efforts out of his Fat Cat stars; as well as his deceased power play.
Who's to say Gerard Gallant couldn't have done better?
On the other bench, Paul Maurice out-coached Lavvy in every which way; strategy, emotion, and about a half-dozen intangibles including comments to the media.Maurice was a cool, calm, collected and funny-as-heck character.
Laviolette is the same coach who couldn't get Washington into the playoffs last year. Pistol Pete won't get fired for this Cup debacle; but who's to say he'll do any better next year?