BRUINSatRANGERSTonight7:30 – FSN
WFAN (660 AM)
Theo Fleury was stunned. Perhaps not as much as Ron Low was while watching the winger take an unnecessary offensive zone slashing penalty with just under three minutes to go and the Rangers trying to somehow come back from two down against the Penguins Friday night, but stunned nevertheless to learn that the coach had torched and threatened to bench him while addressing the media in the post-defeat press conference.
“I’m very surprised and very disappointed,” Fleury, who avoided the press Friday, told The Post at Rye before meeting with Low yesterday afternoon. “I don’t want to talk to the coach through the media and I don’t expect the coach to talk to me through the media. That doesn’t do anybody any good.
“If Ronnie wants to bench me for taking that penalty, if that’s what he thinks will make the team better, then, fine, that’s what he should do. He’s the coach. But I don’t agree that that’s the right approach, or that that’s what it’s going to take to get a message across to me. There are things we all need to work on to make us a better team rather than focusing just on a 13-year veteran taking penalties. I’m not dumb; I’m not stupid.
“You know, I went into the corner with a guy, there’s play after play that doesn’t get called, and that one did. All right; my mistake. But in order for me to play my game, I have to be aggressive, I have to move my feet. Do I go back to playing the way I did last year? No. I’m not, and I won’t.
“People last year kept asking, ‘Where’s the old Theo?’
“Well, I think the way I’m playing now is the old Theo,” said Fleury, whose five goals lead the Rangers and whose 11 points have him in a tie with Brian Leetch for the team lead. “It’s risk and reward; it can’t be in between.
“For me to play well, and I think I have been playing well, there is no in between.”
Low, an emotional coach obviously frustrated by the 3-6 record and four-game losing streak his team takes into tonight’s Garden match against Mike Keenan’s Bruins, told he Post yesterday that he’d been wrong to publicly slice up Fleury.
“It was probably really stupid to bring it up the way I did,” Low said while a handful of players skated in an optional practice. “It’s just that I had talked to Theo about 10 times about stupid penalties and penalties in the offensive zone, which are almost always stupid, so I said something I shouldn’t have.
“As far as taking Theo out of the lineup or sitting him on a fourth line, I imagine he’ll play. It’s pretty hard to take 11 points out of our lineup.”
Fleury, who has a no-trade clause but who can obviously be sent away in a waiver-deal, said that he had no concern that this incident would create larger and lingering problems between him and the coach.
“What am I, five years old? This is not the first time I’ve had my [hand] slapped by a coach in this league,” he said. “I can take it.”
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Low said that Dale Purinton could make his first appearance of the season tonight.
“I’m certainly not ruling it out,” the coach said of the defenseman, who took advantage of remaining time on his conditioning assignment to play last night for the AHL Wolf Pack. If Purinton does get in, it might be at the expense of Sylvain Lefebvre, moved on Friday from Brian Leetch’s right, where he had struggled, to Kim Johnsson’s left. Lefebvre was also cited by Low Friday for having taken a bad penalty.
The coach also said that he’s thinking of increasing Rich Pilon’s ice-time and responsibility. Pilon, who fought Jaromir Jagr and Matthew Barnaby Friday, has been a pleasant surprise, using his 9:14 per game to play with passion, heart and toughness.
“Rich lost about 20 pounds over the summer and has gotten himself into such great condition that he’s playing younger; he’s the Rich Pilon of six years ago,” said Low. “I know Doug Weight always said that Richie was the toughest defenseman he ever had to play against.
“Rich has done everything we’ve asked of him, with a vengeance.”
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Rangers have been outscored 11-3 at even-strength during their four-game skid, 24-12 on the season. They need a victory tonight to avoid their worst 10-game start since the 1981-82 team opened 3-7.
“There’s a whole bunch of soul-searching going on with this hockey club,” said Low. “Right now we have a bunch of guys who are operating on the flip side of a positive note, and that’s too bad.”