Rangers: Losing a Game Is Not Cause for Alarm, Terror or Fright
Are timeouts a waste of time?
Posted on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 10:30 AMCan you believe this – the Rangers record is 10-3-1, tops in the NHL. So, they lose one game – ONE GAME! – and already Tom Renney is getting advice to cure the malaise; assuming that there is an ailment.
As the late, great Harry Ornest would say, "It strains credulity."
With the Islanders visiting The Garden Tuesday night, Tom's Renney-gades should find the right "trolley tracks," as the coach would say, and resume their eminently successful start-of-season. Yet, there are those in Rangerville who question Renney's rationale for, among other things, having Scott Gomez pivot for Ryan Callahan and Nigel Dawes.
The Post's Larry Brooks insists that "it doesn't make sense" and offers a few worthwhile explanations. To wit:
"Depriving Gomez of the opportunity to work with Markus Naslund and Nikolai Zherdev (at least Naslund) is counter-productive to all concerned."
Perhaps. But I counter that it would no less be counter-productive to disrupt an overall lineup that set a record for best start in the franchise's history. Besides, losing to Ron Wilson's rejuvenated Toronto Maple Leafs these nights is not exactly an NHL sin. And, furthermore, that 2-0 lead held up for more than two-and-half periods and no doubt would have withstood the home club's comeback had Steve Valiquette been up to his usually higher standard of goaltending.
The Dawes-Callahan-Gomez line has been united since Oct. 17 (vs. Toronto), and in that time the club owns a rather commendable 5-2-1 mark. That clearly tells me that Renney should keep them together for at least the game against the Isles.
One could say that Brooks is right in suggesting that top talent should be crammed on to one line, and that might be Renney's route in the near future. But, historically, teams have succeeded by spreading aces over three lines.
My favorite example is the Maple Leafs club of 1947-48. The first line of Syl Apps-Harry Watson-Bill Ezinicki boasted one star; Apps, who is a Hall-of-Famer. The second line was similar. Ted (Teeder) Kennedy was the Hall-of-Famer between Howie Meeker and Vic Lynn. And on the third line, coach Hap Day played Max Bentley – another Hall-of-Famer – at center between Joe (Duke of Paducah) Klukay and Nick Metz. Toronto led the league in the regular season and won the Stanley Cup. As a matter of fact, the Leafs were the first NHL club ever to win three straight Cups and managed four in five years.
If there's one Renney move I wonder about, it is the value of the coach calling a timeout when the score was tied, 2-2. The Leafs then went on to score three consecutive goals to win the game, 5-2.
Which reminds me that Scott Gordon did something similar – that is, calling a timeout – when his Islanders began blowing a three-goal lead in the third period Saturday night, and the stalling tactic did absolutely no good. Same with Brent Sutter, as his Devils blew a 2-0 lead and lost to Toronto last week at The Rock.
Why is a timeout a waste? Because it alerts the opposition that the foe is on the ropes. It actually encouraged Montreal to storm at the Isles, which they did to great advantage. Perhaps the same thing went through the heads of Ron Wilson's skaters.
I trust Renney's intelligence and so do some of the fans I questioned.
"Every team suffers a slide during the season," says Perry Miles of New Hyde Park. "My advice is for Renney to stick to his instincts."
Let's put it this way: If the Blueshirts lose to the Islanders at MSG, then I'll go with the Brooks plan. (Hey, it's free!) Til then, my point is that this is no time for fright, alarm, fear nor fear.
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