For
Derick Brassard and
John Moore, they didn’t have much tine to think. When you’re traded at the deadline to a team that plays the same day, there’s no moment to worry.
”I didn’t have time to be nervous,” Brassard said after a memorable Ranger debut in which he scored a goal and three assists highlighting a 6-1 blowout of the Pens. ”I was stressed out with everything and saying bye to my teammates.
”We got here like 15 minutes before, and everything was ready for us. It’s a great experience I am going to remember for the rest of my life.”
Taking a cue from his newest personnel, John Tortorella didn’t go over strategy. Rather referenced a classic part of Disney’s The Mighty Ducks.
”I shook their hands and said, ‘Go have fun,”’ he told reporters following his team’s biggest output of the season which moved them ahead of the Devils and Islanders into seventh. ”Everybody is coming up to introduce themselves, and they’re trying to get their (stuff) on.”
Maybe that should be the memo. Every game has significance. They have a dozen left. It won’t get any easier. For one night, the new look Blueshirts played with passion. They dictated the pace taking advantage of a depleted Pittsburgh roster. That’s what they’re supposed to do.
”I just wanted to have a good start and get into it early, not ease my way into it,” Ryane Clowe pointed out after registering his first two goals of the season along with a helper while tormenting the Pens. ”It went well.”
Sometimes, trades awaken a team. Big things were expected this year. Instead, the Rangers are fighting for their playoff lives. The only player who came off the roster was Marian Gaborik. He needed a change. Glen Sather and assistant GM Jeff Gorton did well adding depth and grit in Clowe, Brassard, Moore and injured forward Derek Dorsett, who might be back by the final week.
”We got the offense going,” explained Brian Boyle, who erupted for a goal and three assists after entering with only two points. ”The new guys gave us a spark – more than a spark. It was just cool to welcome them.”
It’s only one game. But such a start can only inspire them.
About Derek
Derek is a creative writer who enjoys taking photographs, working on poetry, and covering hockey.
A free spirit who loves the outdoors, a diverse selection of music, and writing, he's a former St. John's University alumni with a degree in Sports Management.
Derek covers the Rangers for Battle of Hudson and is a contributor to The Hockey Writers. His appreciation of art and nature are his true passions.
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