In the first of 301 eight games against the Devils, the Rangers recovered from a slow start and took care of the the Devils, 3-2, in Newark. John Tortorella called a timeout 1:24 into the game -- the Devils struck first on a Rob Niedermayer goal 1:10 in -- and the Rangers apparently got the message. more ›

While the Rangers have a chance to beat the Washington Capitals this afternoon and advance in the playoffs, they'll be doing it without coach John Tortorella. During the third period of the Blue Shirts' 4-0 loss to the Caps on Friday night, Tortorella got into an altercation with a fan right behind the bench that culminated in the coach squirting water on a fan and throwing a water bottle into the stands, which hit a bystander. Tortorella was suspended; Newsday reports, the NHL "probe found that Tortorella squirted a fan before he himself was doused with a beverage." The Post notes that Tortorella "was intercepted and eventually calmed down by assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld... the only other head coach in NHL history to have been suspended for a playoff game." (Schoenfeld, when coaching the Devils, was accused of pushing a referee after a 1988 Stanley Cup playoff game; Schoenfeld yelled—video— "Good, 'cause you fell, you fat pig! Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!.") Tortorella told reporters that he was asked by his bosses not to comment about the matter. more ›

Can the retooled Rangers take out the Washington Capitals? The Rangers lost three of the four games between the two teams, but that was before John Tortorella took over as coach. It was also before Nik Antropov, Derek Morris and Sean Avery joined the team. more ›

The Rangers have brought in the antithesis of Tom Renney as their next coach and that may be a very good thing. Technically, the hiring of John Tortorella is a re-hiring since Tortorella stood behind the Blueshirt bench for four games at the end of the 1999-2000 season, but Tortorella comes back to the organization with a much better resume than when he left. He took the Tampa Bay Lightning from the cellar to the penthouse, winning the Stanley Cup in 2004. He is a hard-ass coach, demanding accountability from his players and does not put up with excuses. It will be very interesting to see how Tortorella mixes with some of the disappointing veterans on this club and if he can help Nikolai Zherdev to finally become a complete player. more ›