For additional insight into the Stanley Cup Playoff series between the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens, NHL.com has enlisted the help of former NHL coach Craig Ramsay to break down the action. Ramsay will be checking in throughout the series.
Ramsay played in more than 1,000 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres before going on to coach the Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers. In the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he led the Flyers to the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Final. Ramsay most recently was an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers.
Two games in six days have afforded the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens ample time to engage in the art of mind games while they wait for the Eastern Conference Final to resume.
The Canadiens and Rangers, particularly coaches Michel Therrien and Alain Vigneault, have used the media to deliver messages to each other, the referees and the NHL about players, tactics, hits, injuries and really whatever else they felt like talking about regardless of the question they were asked.
Longtime NHL coach and player Craig Ramsay wasn't surprised to hear that the coaches were using the media as their conduit when he was informed about the background noise in the series on Saturday.
Ramsay said this type of message sending and these mind games typically have a purpose that extends beyond simply attempting to air some grievances in the press.