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Contrary to Tortorella, Hagelin says he ‘definitely’ doesn’t stink on power play

Carl Hagelin

Two days after his head coach said he “stinks” on the power play, Carl Hagelin defended himself.

“For me, I definitely don’t think I stink on the power play,” Hagelin told the Bergen Record. “That’s the only comment I have on the PP.”

All this stink talk comes from Saturday, when Tortorella explained why he doesn’t use Hagelin -- New York’s fifth-leading scorer during the regular season -- on the man advantage.

“Because he stinks on the power play,” Torts explained. “I don’t know why. I wish I could play him on the power play. Every time I put him on, he stinks.
“I think he’s too quick,. I think he’s a jitterbug and he screws it up. But I may use him — I’d love to. And I’m not trying to be a smart aleck. He stinks on the power play every time I put him on there.”

History is not on the side of the young Swede. Hagelin’s scored just one PPG in 112 career contests.

Though to be fair, he gets about as many PP opportunities during the regular season as he does during the playoffs.

The 24-year-old averaged just 1:02 of power play time per game this season -- 11th among Ranger forwards -- and got even less as a rookie, averaging a mere 22 seconds per night.

The bottom line might be that the Rangers’ power play is beyond what Hagelin and Tortorella think.

New York is now 2-for-36 with the man advantage this postseason, a woeful 5.6 conversion percentage.