There’s no denying New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault goes to bat for his players.
So, a day after Boston Bruins bench boss Claude Julien and pesky forward Brad Marchand chirped Henrik Lundqvist and accused him of flopping, Vigneault defended his star goalie – and did so with vigour.
“Well, [Rangers PR staff] filled me in a little bit on what was said after the game,” Vigneault told reporters prior to his team’s 3-0 loss to the Flyers Saturday. “It’s a little disappointing. Obviously everybody saw the knee to the head. The comments on Hank were very inappropriate. The way Hank conducts himself, on the ice, away from the rink, off the ice, the example that he sets.”
This conflict stemmed from Marchand getting a goalie interference penalty midway through Friday’s game.
Julien and Marchand felt Lundqvist embellished and after the game Marchand said on the TV broadcast: “I thought it was a bit of a weak call. I mean, he’s out of the crease and lightly gets touched and it looks like he got shot out there.”
Vigneault responded to their comments Saturday by saying: “Who would you rather have as a son, Henrik [Lundqvist] or Brad Marchand? For him to say things like that about Hank, totally wrong, and probably Claude is getting a little older and needs to check his eyesight.”
Circle Jan. 11 on your calendar because that’s the next time these teams meet.