New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella was furious following the Rangers 5-4 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers Thursday night. The Rangers gave up a 4-1 lead late in the second and a 4-2 lead in the third and then didn’t score in six tries in the shootout.
Today John Tortorella put his players through a very hard practice at Southpointe as the Rangers prepare to faceoff against the Penguins Saturday afternoon. The Penguins went through a practice that resembled a morning skate under Michel Therrien.

Quotes from Tortorella
Tortorella on Thursday’s game
“I thought we sucked right on through the game,” Tortorella said. “I think we’re fortunate to get a point, very fortunate to get that.”
I spoke to Steve Zipay from newsday during today’s practice and he said yesterday was the first time Tortorella blew up following a game. Zipay claims the Rangers are playing a much more uptempo style but the new system is not resulting in more goals which remains a mystery considering the personnel the Rangers have.
“So far Tortorella and Avery are getting along.” according to Zipay
Tortorella was bypassing questions this afternooon from the New York media about why he didn’t use Nikolai Zherdev in Thursday’s shootout. Zherdev leads the team in goals and points.
New York trails Pittsburgh by one point.