The routine changed for the Rangers’ morning skate. Instead of optional, it was mandatory. Instead of working on the game plan and breaking down tapes per usual in his office, John Tortorella was on the ice.
Meaning that the head coach regards tonight’s match at the Garden against the Blue Jackets as anything but a routine 23rd game of the season.
“I wanted to change it up; I wanted a little bit more structure,” Tortorella said after leaving the ice. “I’m not the kind of coach who tells the team, ‘If we don’t win tonight, we’re done,’ because then what do you do the next day if you lose; say, ‘Well, we’re done?’
“But this is an important game, no question.”
It’s an important game because, a) the Blueshirts have lost the first two of their three-game homestand and three straight at the Garden, overall; b) the Blueshirts have gone 1-4 in their last five, 3-7 in their last 10 and 4-9-1 in their last 14 to slide out of a playoff spot; c) the Blueshirts go on the road for three in Florida,
Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh after this one; d) all of the above.
“We have to find the way to win at home, especially with this tough trip coming up,” said Tortorella, whose team is just 6-5 on Broadway. “We need to stop the bleeding.
“No one likes this. We’re trying to figure it out. I want something good to happen for these guys because no one is enjoying what’s going on right now.”
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Christopher Higgins will skate at left wing with Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik while Ryan Callahan will shift from right wing to the vacant spot in the middle. Callahan, who has played a couple of games at center the last three seasons, will skate between Enver Lisin and Ales Kotalik.
Chris Drury practiced with the club for the second straight day, this time engaging in contact. Drury will be examined later today by a neurologist, with the expectation that the captain will return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Panthers if cleared.
“I think Chris is fairly close,” Tortorella said of the captain, who will miss his fifth game tonight since being concussed in Calgary on Nov. 7. “When he’s ready to go, he’s going to play.
“No matter what shape he’s in, he’s going to give 100-percent of what he has. It will be a boost for our team to have him in there.”
Blue Jackets, 6-1-3 in last 10, will enter game with a 12-6-3 record overall. Rangers are 11-10-1.
