Rangers News and Notes: Torts on Dubi benching, "The Big Whistle" passes

Good Morning everyone, here are some of the headlines this morning:

Larry Brooks in the NY Post talks about Brandon Dubinsky being benched last night, and talked to John Tortorella on the subject:(click the link for full story)

"The game is going our way and then there's a turnover in the neutral zone by Dubi that just can't happen, especially when we stressed that after the last game," said Tortorella, whose team has lost three straight following its seven-game winning streak. "Higgy, we've been patient with him, but then he took that penalty and wasn't there on the back-check.

Steve Zipay at Blue Notes says John Tortorella means what he says, and says what he means. (click link for full story)

Accountability. Coach John Tortorella means it.  

Brandon Dubinsky, who held out for a week in training camp but played well early in the season on the first line, skated just 8:51 in the first two periods tonight and was benched in the third period. So was the homecoming boy, Christopher Higgins, a minus-2 in 12:44.             

Whether that was a wise short-term idea against a fleet Canadiens team can be debated. It may be good in the long run for the 7-3-1 Rangers, we'll see. But regardless, the breakdowns have to be eliminated.

More after the jump.....

Andrew Gross says the Rangers are now a team with issues. (click link for full story)

The Rangers, at 7-3-1, are now a team with issues, both in their play and with their personnel. It’s a legitimate question to ask what John Tortorella will do with Christopher Higgins and Brandon Dubinsky. Tortorella tends to be a "clean slate" guy so, my take is, those two are back Monday against the Coyotes where they started Saturday in the 5-4 overtime loss at Montreal.

The Rangers will practice this afternoon, if there is any news, we'll have it for you.

Finally, as I mentioned last night in the open game thread, Blueshirt Banter sends its condolences to the family of former NHL referee and New York Rangers color analyst Bill "The Big Whistle" Chadwick, who passed away last night at the age of 94. I got my first taste of Rangers hockey listening to Bill and Jim Gordon, and to say Bill was colorful would be putting it mildly.

Bill was a pioneer in NHL officiating. He invented the whole system of hand signals that the on ice officials use to this day. He was also the NHL's first U.S. born referee, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.