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New York Rangers coach John Tortorella has been fined for his comments following Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. (AP Photo)The Associated Press

New York Rangers coach John Tortorella was, by his standards, positively verbose on Sunday's off day, answering 19 questions in the lead-in to the Eastern Conference finals.

No such luck for media covering Monday's morning skate.

Tortorella's press conference lasted all of 1 minute, 35 seconds prior to Game 1 against the New Jersey Devils, most of which was consumed with reporters' trying to come up with questions the coach would respond to.

Here is a full transcript of what was said:

Reporter: "I don't know which series you said it in before, but you were asked if you looked for something in particular in your team and you wouldn't say what it was, but you had seen it there. Is that still the case?"

Tortorella interrupts as some construction goes on in the background: "I can't even hear you. With our team?"

Reporter: "Yeah. Now that you're two rounds in, are you still looking for the same things as the earlier rounds in how your players are interacting an have you seen what you've needed to see?"

Tortorella: "We're fine."

Another reporter: "Is there a challenge emotionally to turn around from one series to the next?"

Tortorella: "No. None."

A third reporter: "You alluded yesterday that you're glad the team had the experience of two Game 7s. When other people are suggesting maybe 14 games isn't the best way to start out..."

Tortorella: "It's a bunch of crap."

Another reporter: "Whether it's Ovechkin or Kovalchuk or the Capitals or the Devils, does it really come down to what your team does? Is what where your preparation and focus is?"

Tortorella: "We don't spend too much time on the other team. We worry about our team."

One last reporter: "You said home ice doesn't matter until you get to a Game 7. Why is it different in Game 7 as opposed to any other home game?"

Tortorella: "I just feel that way."

And that was it. Under 40 words in all.

This has been a theme for the Rangers coach all playoffs, but with media interest intensifying, it's sure to get more attention. My sense is it all comes back to Tortorella being hammered with a $20,000 fine by the league at the tail end of the regular season.

The fan base doesn't seem particularly concerned with the short press conferences, however, and it's made for some entertaining YouTube videos, such as this one unearthed by Yahoo!'s Greg Wyshynski:



<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UPGtxTL-0X4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


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