Vladimir Tarasenko didn’t seem to hustle back on defense during a Red Wings goal that put the Rangers behind 3-1 in Thursday night’s loss, and Boomer was not happy at all with the All-Star’s effort.
“It just drives me crazy,” Boomer said. “I understand guys like him are scorers…but this is what drives coaches crazy. When you’re coming to a team that has legitimate Stanley Cup contenders and belief in itself, you can’t do stuff like this. This is embarrassing.
“He’s gotta be able to put the uniform on, go out there, and play at a high level…that is flat-out lazy. That is not who those Rangers players are in that locker room.”
After Tarasenko played the puck along the boards in the attacking zone, the puck caromed out to Detroit, and while the Red Wings pushed the pass down the ice, Tarasenko slowly lagged behind, leading to a 3-on-2 for Detroit that led to a goal while Tarasenko followed the action from behind.
The deal for Tarasenko was celebrated by Boomer and several Rangers fans, but the winger has been a liability on the defensive end for much of the season, including with the Blues, but for Boomer, there simply has to be a better effort.
“You can’t just have goal scorers,” Boomer said. “You gotta protect your net and help your goalie out…it’s great to have goal scorers, but you gotta have grinders, man. You gotta have guys that are gonna go in the corner, fight for the puck, and aren’t gonna loaf coming back 200 feet. That’s unacceptable.”
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