Why Pre-season is important to Tortorella

The New York Rangers conclude their pre-season this afternoon against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center. All I can say is it’s about time. By the time September comes, I am, along with many other hockey fans, ready for the regular season. The summer is spent talking about the NHL Entry Draft, free agents, trades, line combinations, etc and to then go through the whole month of September talking about similar topics is repetitive. Obviously, management, the head coaches and players don’t mind the preparation time but something tells me they don’t like playing nine or ten pre-season games before the regular season even starts. However, I can see why Rangers’ head coach John Tortorella has looked at pre-season, along with this afternoon’s tilt, as somewhat important games. For Torts, it is the last time to shape the roster according to how he sees the team competing.