It was the most relaxed I've been with a 1 goal lead late in a playoff game in some time.. if ever, really.
Nothing compares to Game 6 ECF last year. I'm not sure the Habs spent more than 2 minutes the entire 3rd period in our zone that night. It was surreal.
It was the most relaxed I've been with a 1 goal lead late in a playoff game in some time.. if ever, really.
Nothing compares to Game 6 ECF last year. I'm not sure the Habs spent more than 2 minutes the entire 3rd period in our zone that night. It was surreal.
Yeah, that was the most visibly gassed I've seen a team on the ice in a long time. They were just wiped out. No one could skate.
played well, McDonagh had a great game, and as an objective observer I'd say the Rangers got a few breaks on Pens penalties and no-calls against the Rangers.
One Rangers defenseman tackled a Penguins player going around the net in the 3rd period, it was borderline, but based on what they called on the Penguins it could have easily been called.
couldn't get the 3rd goal to put it away, but our boys are no strangers to playing a tight one-goal game
As posted yesterday, I was the lucky recipient of a last minute ticket, sat up behind the goal the Penguins shot at in the 3rd.
I'm no hockey expert, but I make 2-3 games a year, seeing hockey live is such a different experience than seeing it on TV. You could really see how the Rangers switched to a more defensive posture in the 3rd, everyone was very disciplined and I don't think we gave up a single odd man rush
The Penguins were trying to slip a guy deep to get open for a breakaway pass several times, and the Rangers always had a guy back marking him to make sure nothing got through
Looked like the kind of game a purist would love, like a 2-1 pitchers duel in baseball.
Oh, and someone ask Rick Tochett how their plan to take runs at our big players worked out for them...fuckin bitches
On to game 2, Let's Go Rangers
thought all the Pens calls were legit, but we did get away with a few
Greg, Brassard's general whining to the refs - Sam Rosen commented on it last night when he was basically doing it for an entire shift apparently. He does it quite often (and is also a bit of a diver).
And you're right on Callahan - he had some skill. Not $6M worth of skill, though.
Power Play , *****FaceOffs*****, & Nash...
I give the group a C-
Must do Better to get a Ring...
Great observation on faceoffs. Crosby was awesome winning 15 of 20 faceoffs and appeared to win every one in his end.
Lost my voice, great energy in the Garden and a lot of missed penalty calls behind the play. A lot of Pens were trying to agitate and/or slow down Rangers trying to get back on defense. IMO, it was counter productive as the Pens didn't join the offense.
Which just goes to show how minor the importance of faceoffs is
The guy can't fart without fans analyzing his offensive output. Nash is doing fine. His line is playing good hockey typically winning the + - battle. That's all that matters. The goals will come. I hear fans proclaim over and over the Rangers can't win the cup without NAsh scoring a bunch of goals. They came within 3 games last year and Nash didn't score a bunch of goals. And those 3 were close games that saw so many close calls.
If he forces that 3rd period turnover a little earlier in his shift, he probably gets further out ahead, generates a higher quality shot and maybe even scores. He just didn't have enough juice.
What's good about this Ranger team is that they're not going to be completely reliant on Nash for scoring output like they were 2 years ago especially. We can get goals from other places. I think he's going to have a really good spring but even if the goal scoring is still less than what we expect, we should be ok.
Crosby was indeed matched primarily against the Hagelin-Hayes-MSL line. At even strength, he faced Hagelin for 8:08, Hayes for 6:23 and MSL for 5:55. Link - ( New Window )
which of our lines was matched up most often with Crosby. He was smothered all night.
Hayes was on him quite a bit, IIRC.
That was what I thought. He's a stud. At one point he made a blind backhand pass from the half boards to the other side of the ice that went through like three defenders to create a scoring chance. I think he'll continue to break out in these playoffs.
He's almost Jagr-esque in the way he can dominate control of the puck without being pushed off it. He looks like a man amongst boys at times. There was a sequence last night where he had about 3 Penguin players on his back and still carried the puck through all of them.
of Rangers - BlackHawks would be outstanding. Hayes against the team that basically cut him in the preseason, and our replacement for Brad Richards, who now plays for the Hawks.
Make it happen.
On a side note - the fact that Chicago is still considered maybe the West favorite is incredible considering what a bad offseason they had (Leddy, Hayes), not to mention a pretty (apparently) lousy deadline deal for Vermette considering they healthy scratch him these days.
Goes to show how well their core - Kane, Toews, Keith - play this time of year.
but chose not to. Instead they signed Brad Richards.
Say what you want about Sather (most of us have warmed up to him, but still...) -- he would never lose an asset like Hayes for absolutely nothing in an offseason.
A trade for a vet or a pick, would make room on the roster, whatever. It would never happen.
2011: Lost at Washington (fell behind 0-2)
2012: Lost vs Ottawa (tied 1-1), Lost vs Washington (tied 1-1), Lost vs New Jersey (tied 1-1)
2013: Lost at Boston (fell behind 0-2)
2014: Lost vs Philly (tied 1-1), Lost at Pittsburgh (tied 1-1), WIN at Montreal (up 2-0), Lost at LA (fell behind 0-2)
So its game 2 AND the ability to go up by two games in a series. I think the Montreal series last year was the first time in 12 or so tries (I recall it was a NHL record) of being up a game in a series where we actually won.
In a way, winning a tight game 2-1 last night where we played ok, but all know we can play better... is probably better than blowing them out 5-1. Keeps the team on its toes.
We've had blowout wins in recent years (Ottawa 2011, Philly last year), only to blow the following game (at home)
That's ridiculous. Its only for the top pick at least right? I thought i read Buffalo is guaranteed a top 2 pick.
In other news... what a shocker! Even though its the playoffs, the Islanders may get a backup goalie yet again!!
Quote:
Capitals promote goaltender Philipp Grubauer
Philipp Grubauer has been called up by the Washington Capitals.
Braden Holtby is apparently feeling under the weather, so Grubauer joined the Capitals as a precautionary measure. It's still possible that Holtby will play and if it becomes apparent that that's the case then Grubauer will likely be returned to the minors so that he can help AHL Hershey as it finishes off its regular season schedule this weekend.
teams can't win the top pick but any team in the lottery can. It used to be you could only move up a max of 5 spots if you won (see NJD winning the lottery and going from #9 to #4 and taking Larson, if they had won the lottery this year, they would've gotten #1 overall).
Eichel and McDavid are both game changers IMO, I don't want to see either on a rival of mine.
But I think Auston Matthews could be better than both in next year's draft if he continues on the same trajectory.
In this draft if I miss out on Eichel and McDavid I'd hope Noah Hanifin falls to me.
Only draft event in any sport I ever attended was the NHL Draft in 1994 at the Hartford Civic Center. It was boring as hell, but I got my picture with the Stanley Cup.
RE Nash ... while I would be disappointed if Nash's scoring
disappeared in the playoffs, esp after the great regular season he had ... I just don't think this team is as dependent upon Nash as in the past ... in fact, right now I think the Stepan line has been the top line over the last 10 games or so ... and the Hayes line has been #2. And the great thing is that even when the Nash line isn't scoring it is contributing in other ways - this season Nash has contributed in every aspect of the game for the Rangers. The bottom line is that this team has four solid lines and when Klein gets back, a great defense. I'm really pumped.
Nothing compares to Game 6 ECF last year. I'm not sure the Habs spent more than 2 minutes the entire 3rd period in our zone that night. It was surreal.
If we're going to get out of a series in 4-5 games for once, this is it.
Quote:
It was the most relaxed I've been with a 1 goal lead late in a playoff game in some time.. if ever, really.
Nothing compares to Game 6 ECF last year. I'm not sure the Habs spent more than 2 minutes the entire 3rd period in our zone that night. It was surreal.
Yeah, that was the most visibly gassed I've seen a team on the ice in a long time. They were just wiped out. No one could skate.
I give the group a C-
Must do Better to get a Ring...
Does that mean Brett's going to hate him, too?
One Rangers defenseman tackled a Penguins player going around the net in the 3rd period, it was borderline, but based on what they called on the Penguins it could have easily been called.
Good game, great playoff intensity.
Does that mean Brett's going to hate him, too?
No, Miller has skill and doesn't whine like a bitch. Love TRJT.
Speaking of which, I wish Brassard would shut the fuck up.
Why is Comeau a King slayer, btw?
As posted yesterday, I was the lucky recipient of a last minute ticket, sat up behind the goal the Penguins shot at in the 3rd.
I'm no hockey expert, but I make 2-3 games a year, seeing hockey live is such a different experience than seeing it on TV. You could really see how the Rangers switched to a more defensive posture in the 3rd, everyone was very disciplined and I don't think we gave up a single odd man rush
The Penguins were trying to slip a guy deep to get open for a breakaway pass several times, and the Rangers always had a guy back marking him to make sure nothing got through
Looked like the kind of game a purist would love, like a 2-1 pitchers duel in baseball.
Oh, and someone ask Rick Tochett how their plan to take runs at our big players worked out for them...fuckin bitches
On to game 2, Let's Go Rangers
What did Brass say, Brett? And cmon - even if you didn't like him, Callahan has skill.
And you're right on Callahan - he had some skill. Not $6M worth of skill, though.
I give the group a C-
Must do Better to get a Ring...
Great observation on faceoffs. Crosby was awesome winning 15 of 20 faceoffs and appeared to win every one in his end.
Lost my voice, great energy in the Garden and a lot of missed penalty calls behind the play. A lot of Pens were trying to agitate and/or slow down Rangers trying to get back on defense. IMO, it was counter productive as the Pens didn't join the offense.
The guy can't fart without fans analyzing his offensive output. Nash is doing fine. His line is playing good hockey typically winning the + - battle. That's all that matters. The goals will come. I hear fans proclaim over and over the Rangers can't win the cup without NAsh scoring a bunch of goals. They came within 3 games last year and Nash didn't score a bunch of goals. And those 3 were close games that saw so many close calls.
What's good about this Ranger team is that they're not going to be completely reliant on Nash for scoring output like they were 2 years ago especially. We can get goals from other places. I think he's going to have a really good spring but even if the goal scoring is still less than what we expect, we should be ok.
Link - ( New Window )
Quote:
which of our lines was matched up most often with Crosby. He was smothered all night.
Hayes was on him quite a bit, IIRC.
That was what I thought. He's a stud. At one point he made a blind backhand pass from the half boards to the other side of the ice that went through like three defenders to create a scoring chance. I think he'll continue to break out in these playoffs.
Make it happen.
On a side note - the fact that Chicago is still considered maybe the West favorite is incredible considering what a bad offseason they had (Leddy, Hayes), not to mention a pretty (apparently) lousy deadline deal for Vermette considering they healthy scratch him these days.
Goes to show how well their core - Kane, Toews, Keith - play this time of year.
I wouldn't say Chicago "basically cut" Hayes. He didn't want to play for them because he didn't think he'd have the opportunity to crack their lineup.
Say what you want about Sather (most of us have warmed up to him, but still...) -- he would never lose an asset like Hayes for absolutely nothing in an offseason.
A trade for a vet or a pick, would make room on the roster, whatever. It would never happen.
2011: Lost at Washington (fell behind 0-2)
2012: Lost vs Ottawa (tied 1-1), Lost vs Washington (tied 1-1), Lost vs New Jersey (tied 1-1)
2013: Lost at Boston (fell behind 0-2)
2014: Lost vs Philly (tied 1-1), Lost at Pittsburgh (tied 1-1), WIN at Montreal (up 2-0), Lost at LA (fell behind 0-2)
So its game 2 AND the ability to go up by two games in a series. I think the Montreal series last year was the first time in 12 or so tries (I recall it was a NHL record) of being up a game in a series where we actually won.
In a way, winning a tight game 2-1 last night where we played ok, but all know we can play better... is probably better than blowing them out 5-1. Keeps the team on its toes.
We've had blowout wins in recent years (Ottawa 2011, Philly last year), only to blow the following game (at home)
No doubt in my mind LA or Boston wins.
In other news... what a shocker! Even though its the playoffs, the Islanders may get a backup goalie yet again!!
Philipp Grubauer has been called up by the Washington Capitals.
Braden Holtby is apparently feeling under the weather, so Grubauer joined the Capitals as a precautionary measure. It's still possible that Holtby will play and if it becomes apparent that that's the case then Grubauer will likely be returned to the minors so that he can help AHL Hershey as it finishes off its regular season schedule this weekend.
Hoping one of Arizona or Edmonton wins please.
Columbus would be the worst team to win it IMO. Would be a disaster for the other Metro teams. Wouldn't be great if Philly or NJD won either.
Flyers would still have a lot of holes - man would their fortunes be a lot different if Nashville hadn't matched that Weber offer.
THN - ( New Window )
I guess it's a lottery for the #1 pick followed by #3 as Buffalo can only drop one spot.
Eichel and McDavid are both game changers IMO, I don't want to see either on a rival of mine.
But I think Auston Matthews could be better than both in next year's draft if he continues on the same trajectory.
In this draft if I miss out on Eichel and McDavid I'd hope Noah Hanifin falls to me.
Only draft event in any sport I ever attended was the NHL Draft in 1994 at the Hartford Civic Center. It was boring as hell, but I got my picture with the Stanley Cup.
Quote:
Looks like he can be a bigger version of Callahan.
Does that mean Brett's going to hate him, too?
No, Miller has skill and doesn't whine like a bitch. Love TRJT.
Speaking of which, I wish Brassard would shut the fuck up.
Miller is a Yinzer.