New York Rangers coach John Tortorella has gained a reputation for extremely short press conferences with curt answers, many times like last night one syllable replies, but with some time to reflect on the first day of two-days off, he seemed to be more receptive to answering questions than he has been this postseason.

“We certainly don’t want to be disrespectful,” Tortorella said about his dealing with the media. “We are concerned about our locker room and close things down there.”

The stunning news came across all media channels: Carl Beane, 59, died after his SUV crashed against a stone wall and a tree in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

A local announcer in the Boston area for many years, the affable Beane drove a Suzuki whose rear tire cover showcased his name. Police determined that it was a single-car accident and that his vehicle, heading north, crossed the double solid lines, left the road and hit a tree and a wall. No passengers were in Beane’s vehicle. No other automobiles were involved in the crash.

The only time the New York Rangers met the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Finals was 1994. Stephane Matteu turned out to be the Game 7, Double OT star, which was one of his six goals that he had in the playoffs that season. To pick out who will be the star of this series we might look once again in the direction of Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur (now 40) who played in that game or Henrik Lundqvist, Vezina nominee who was 12 when the Rangers last won a Stanley Cup.

Raise your hand if you had Phoenix and Los Angeles in the Conference Finals this year. Anyone? If you didn’t, that’s completely understandable. Not like the former had an extensive history of playoff success since moving from Winnipeg, but if you want to use the old “sun shines on a underdog once in a while” reference, it makes perfect sense.

In the 1984 NHL Entry Draft Craig Billington was drafted in the second round by the New Jersey Devils. There was no combine but the former NHL goalie said that he ran until he couldn’t on the treadmill like a “comic book character” and then he was asked to lift some weights.

“I couldn’t move the bar when it came to bench pressing 145 pounds,” which was his approximate body weight at the time. He may have weighed a bit more but his point was if he had been judged by those standards today his quote was “they wouldn’t have invited me to join a men’s league”.