Rangers coach Gerard Gallant looks on during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021, at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Corey Sipkin
TAMPA — As he prepared his team to play its final game in calendar year 2021 Friday in Amalie Arena against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, Rangers coach Gerard Gallant took a minute to reflect on how the year was for him personally.
He started the year unemployed, having been fired by the Vegas Golden Knights halfway through the 2019-20 season. But he ended it as the coach of a Rangers team that, with a 19-8-4 record entering Friday, was solidly in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference in 2021-22.