HBO permanently planted their cameras behind-the-scenes with the Rangers this past week to begin their taping for "24/7", which will follow the club from now until the Winter Classic in Philadelphia on January 2. They already have three games of coverage, as not only did they have cameras in place for this past week's match-ups with the Maple Leafs and Lightning, but they also were there last month when the Rangers defeated the Flyers, 2-0, at Madison Square Garden. The Blueshirts will play three more games -- vs. Buffalo, Florida and Dallas -- before this coming Wednesday's premier episode of the series.
Obviously the atmosphere in the locker room and at the practice facility changes a bit with the cameras constantly following the players and the coaches, and with a head coach that is very tight-lipped when it comes to his club behind closed doors, that could be a potential problem. However, the New York Post spoke with the producer of "24/7", and while he says John Tortorella has expressed concerns, he has not set any restrictions. At least not yet.
“The coach has made it clear that, yes, he is concerned about things that provide glimpses at their strategy and possibly with their injuries, but he has not given us restrictions on what we can do,” HBO’s coordinator producer Dave Harmon said.
“We are expecting the full cooperation of the Rangers. We are not expecting any less than we got from the Penguins, Capitals or what we are to get from the Flyers. Until I see otherwise, I’m not worried about it.”
You can't possibly blame Tortorella there, because as we know, he has some very distinct and original procedures with his team that were instilled when he took over as coach, and while it will be great to see some of those for the first time during this series, some others are not the business of anyone outside of the club.
“But we’ve found with ‘Hard Knocks’ and the NHL so far that that [setting areas off-limits] is incredibly rare,’’ Harmon said. “It’s more is in the training room with injuries than it is with anything else, where there’s doctor/patient privilege and things like that that teams simply don’t want the rest of the league finding out about.”
Whether he will readily admit it or not, Tortorella is excited about the experience, and certainly feels special for his team to be able to go through this process and have them shown as ambassadors of the sport of hockey. He understands the concept behind it all, and that is why he is willing to cope with the cameras and everything else. It's all worth it in the end.
I can't not point out, though, that the Rangers haven't won since the cameras came in on December 5. I don't think the two are connected in any way, but who wants the first episode to be full of losses on New York's end? Certainly not me, so hopefully the winning ways return tonight in Buffalo.
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