This is what it's about, boys. Doesn't matter that we trailed this series 1-2 or 2-3. Doesn't matter that we won the last game or scored 7 goals. What matters is winning one hockey game tonight. That's it. Win one game and give ourselves another shot at taking care of what we couldn't last year.
I don't need to pump anyone up for this shit. If you love this team, your heart has been racing since the second you woke up. You know what's at stake, you know how unbelievably huge this game is. You know what's on the line.
If you're looking for a good omen, today's date is May 29th. On May 29th, 2014, the Rangers defeated the Canadiens at MSG to punch their ticket to the SCF. It was exactly a year to the day. Same venue. Let's get the same result.
Let's fucking do this.
He and Hagelin were the only ones you even noticed moving. Everyone else looked like they were skating in mud
I hope all is well with you, bud.
Same to you - and congrats on the daughter! At least you have an extra weekend between Memorial Day and the test (we had it last year too). L2 sucked, but the test was a lot easier than I anticipated. I failed every single mock I took (often by a wide margin) but completely nailed the test. Let me know how it goes!
I could give a flying fuck what other people in the city like or care about. Other people getting behind it doesn't make it any more enjoyable for me. I don't know why you give a flying fuck.
Unless someone really wants Talbot and is willing to pay for it, he's not going anywhere this off-season
17 goals in 3 games at Amalie versus 4 goals in 4 games here... its not coincidence. We were only half joking about playing this game in Tampa. This group sucks at home and I don't understand why.
Is it poor ice conditions? We cant handle simple passes on the tape here.
I could give a flying fuck what other people in the city like or care about. Other people getting behind it doesn't make it any more enjoyable for me. I don't know why you give a flying fuck.
I just want hockey to get it's rightful due in NY, it's been shafted and suffered worse than any US O6 city.
Just pisses me off knowing with a shitty Knicks team we could have ruled and now...WFAN is back to talking all baseball...Phil Jackson....until next April for a few weeks if the Rangers are fortunate to advance again.
We don't.
There is NOTHING as long as a hockey off season because October hockey is just not the same....not even close.
Talbot will have suitors but, Idk what we could get in return really especially with being so close to the cap. DG is going to be one tough contract to move in general throw in the NTC and looks like were stuck.
He was the Rangers 2nd best defenseman in the playoffs last year. It's ridiculous he walked for Boyle, who played miserably in the San Jose playoffs, and then traded for Yandle which cost Duclair and a #1.
Should have just resigned Stralman.
Moving forward, Skjei and Graves aren't too far away. No idea what they do with McIlrath.
Looked great for a month.... but it was... a month.
We should have a little room to work with cap wise with it going up to $71.5 million and losing MSL's albatross deal at least.
FUCK... I cannot believe we are talking about this already while a bunch of 23-24 year olds play for a Cup.
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about having the "chance to rule"
I could give a flying fuck what other people in the city like or care about. Other people getting behind it doesn't make it any more enjoyable for me. I don't know why you give a flying fuck.
I just want hockey to get it's rightful due in NY, it's been shafted and suffered worse than any US O6 city.
Just pisses me off knowing with a shitty Knicks team we could have ruled and now...WFAN is back to talking all baseball...Phil Jackson....until next April for a few weeks if the Rangers are fortunate to advance again.
And diehard hockey fans everywhere think you're a schmuck for liking two teams, especially two rival teams, yet you still do.
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and i'd part ways with Girardi before his wheels fall off and, as usual, i wouldn't have an issue parting ways with Staal.
Talbot will have suitors but, Idk what we could get in return really especially with being so close to the cap. DG is going to be one tough contract to move in general throw in the NTC and looks like were stuck.
One of these defensemen has to be moved though and you never know about Nash. Hopeful Edmonton would should interest and part ways with Taylor Hall which would only cost Edmonton approx ( i did this the other day) 1.7 million while saving the Rangers $1.7 million. Include Talbot, and they need a goalie, and they save $2.7 million.
Feels much worse. As empty a feeling as I've had as a sports fan. I was more pissed after 49ers-Giants in 2002, but realistically where the fuck were we going?
I'm just sad right now. Empty as a fan.
I feel like Chris Russo in his epic giants ran on WFAN. Just one time! That's all I want, one fucking time.
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this was my one night of "relaxation" prior to L2. Last year at this time I was on my honeymoon with a nascently conceived daughter and ready to stroll through L1. Let's hope 2015 brings the same luck.
I hope all is well with you, bud.
Same to you - and congrats on the daughter! At least you have an extra weekend between Memorial Day and the test (we had it last year too). L2 sucked, but the test was a lot easier than I anticipated. I failed every single mock I took (often by a wide margin) but completely nailed the test. Let me know how it goes!
Thanks, dude. I think I'm solid but the prospect of waiting a full year for a retake just puts a ton of pressure on me.
The daughter development is working out well...Eli literally just moved into the house right behind mine (about 5x times the size) and he has a newborn daughter so as you can imagine I've got my wife parading our daughter outside to hopefully make a friend.
But otherwise, the Rangers are clearly in better shape than they were when we all debated last year and in years past. They kids are fucking good. Are they good enough? I still dont think so but we have a legit shot for another 2-3 years like MAB says, IMO.
There is NOTHING as long as a hockey off season because October hockey is just not the same....not even close.
Well, we should all be focussed on the Giants in October anyway (and WFAN will focus on the Mets offseason).
One of these defensemen has to be moved though and you never know about Nash. Hopeful Edmonton would should interest and part ways with Taylor Hall which would only cost Edmonton approx ( i did this the other day) 1.7 million while saving the Rangers $1.7 million. Include Talbot, and they need a goalie, and they save $2.7 million.
I don't want to continue arguing with you, especially on a devastating night like tonight. I'm hurting here.
But we're really going to compete for a Cup with Hall, Kreider, Miller, Hayes, Stepan, a couple of D and Hank?
No Nash?
I'm not sure what the winning ingredient is... but the way this team is built, we have to find a way to win with Nash not without him. It's not like Stamkos is coming here in free agency, so we need to find a way to get the most out of our best player.
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Played better then any Ranger defender this series. He was only outplayed by his teammate. It is difficult to understand why the Rangers let him go. Stralman was really good in our playoff run last year. Arguably,he was our best defenseman in the playoffs a year ago. The replaced him with a 40 year old and then traded for a soft defender who supposedly excels on the power play. Very bad decisions by Slats.
He was the Rangers 2nd best defenseman in the playoffs last year. It's ridiculous he walked for Boyle, who played miserably in the San Jose playoffs, and then traded for Yandle which cost Duclair and a #1.
Should have just resigned Stralman.
Moving forward, Skjei and Graves aren't too far away. No idea what they do with McIlrath.
As much as I'd love to destroy the Boyle signing, especially within the context of Stralman, he was very good against Tampa.
Against Braden Holtby, MAF, and Bishop.
We needed to be mediocre offensively at home and we probably win the cup. We didn't need to be a fucking juggernaut offensively at home, just mediocre. With last change and the faceoff advantage, that's truly amazing to score that few goals at home in 11 playoff games.
I need a tranquilizer so i can just go to sleep. Hopefully wake up in a few days, this weekend is just going to be fucking miserable.
I dont know, I can't say they gave it their all when they barely had any scoring chances in games 5 and 7 at home. It's weird, they literally had no energy. I dont think guys were dogging it but that was not their best effort in either one of those games by any means. Tampa, who doesn't have more than 2 good defensemen, completely shut us down with a goaltender who couldn't move.
Eh, i think that was Sather too. They had a ton of defenseman and claimed they wanted a banger. Some felt and sadly still think Staal is a banger which he isn't.
Skjei might take a year or less. He's apparently very skilled. Yeah, Graves is a t least two years away but had a cannon of a shot. Calle Anderson is ppssible too
I thought this was the Rangers year. I thought last year was the West's to lose, but there was no elite team this year.I think they have next year and then the window starts slowly closing for another two.
Lundqvist will be 34 by the time the next playoffs start. He will start declining. And the value of having the best goaltender (or top three goaltender) is diminished in a league where goaltending is increasingly commoditized.
And I think having an old fuck like Sather hurts us. Other teams are using analytics to uncover gems (Stralman). I don't know the Rangers analytics department, but Slats seems like a guy to say 'fuck it, let's go with the eye test'. And of course, some teams go too far. But the Stralman vs. Girardi decision was an easy one, even just watching both. Frustrating.
But pathetic doesn't begin to describe it regardless.
It's a 39-36 playoff team over the past 4 years in win-now mode with a ton of game 7 magic. There's been zero alpha with this group.
Not saying its easy - everybody from Sather down has given it their best shot. But I'm not convinced you can win Cups without top 5 lottery talent like in the NBA anymore. We keep beating our heads every April and May in 7 game series against teams like the Flyers and Caps that frankly don't have that much talent on their teams.
Against Braden Holtby, MAF, and Bishop.
We needed to be mediocre offensively at home and we probably win the cup. We didn't need to be a fucking juggernaut offensively at home, just mediocre. With last change and the faceoff advantage, that's truly amazing to score that few goals at home in 11 playoff games.
I need a tranquilizer so i can just go to sleep. Hopefully wake up in a few days, this weekend is just going to be fucking miserable.
Mook, at some point do these results not at least make you wonder if you'd rather have that elite or "generational" talent on offense rather than in goal? I guess Ovi is the clear example of offense and he's yet to his the Conference Finals but I feel as if the circumstances of his team-building is especially poor.
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In comment 12307512 Marty866b said:
As much as I'd love to destroy the Boyle signing, especially within the context of Stralman, he was very good against Tampa.
Tampa didn't really bang so he was able to skate a bit. Still didn't perform like Stralman though. He was ok.
We laid eggs in both games. Never had any type of urgency in either one.
It sucks to say, but they could have given a much better effort in game 5 and 7. I rarely ever believe this, but outside of Henrik their guys played like they wanted it more in those 2 games.
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in 11 playoff games at home this year.
Against Braden Holtby, MAF, and Bishop.
We needed to be mediocre offensively at home and we probably win the cup. We didn't need to be a fucking juggernaut offensively at home, just mediocre. With last change and the faceoff advantage, that's truly amazing to score that few goals at home in 11 playoff games.
I need a tranquilizer so i can just go to sleep. Hopefully wake up in a few days, this weekend is just going to be fucking miserable.
Mook, at some point do these results not at least make you wonder if you'd rather have that elite or "generational" talent on offense rather than in goal? I guess Ovi is the clear example of offense and he's yet to his the Conference Finals but I feel as if the circumstances of his team-building is especially poor.
Well, based on the last decade or so, I think the answer is very clear, I'd rather the generational talent on offense. Better chance of winning a cup.
But we have Henrik, and I want no one in sports to win a title more than him. But chances are we're going to look back on his career and always regret not winning a cup. I just want one, im not greedy, dont need 3 or 4 to be satisfied, I just want one for Henrik. Sadly it just doesn't seem like its meant to be i guess.
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In comment 12307542 MookGiants said:
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in 11 playoff games at home this year.
Against Braden Holtby, MAF, and Bishop.
We needed to be mediocre offensively at home and we probably win the cup. We didn't need to be a fucking juggernaut offensively at home, just mediocre. With last change and the faceoff advantage, that's truly amazing to score that few goals at home in 11 playoff games.
I need a tranquilizer so i can just go to sleep. Hopefully wake up in a few days, this weekend is just going to be fucking miserable.
Mook, at some point do these results not at least make you wonder if you'd rather have that elite or "generational" talent on offense rather than in goal? I guess Ovi is the clear example of offense and he's yet to his the Conference Finals but I feel as if the circumstances of his team-building is especially poor.
Well, based on the last decade or so, I think the answer is very clear, I'd rather the generational talent on offense. Better chance of winning a cup.
But we have Henrik, and I want no one in sports to win a title more than him. But chances are we're going to look back on his career and always regret not winning a cup. I just want one, im not greedy, dont need 3 or 4 to be satisfied, I just want one for Henrik. Sadly it just doesn't seem like its meant to be i guess.
Mook, at some point do these results not at least make you wonder if you'd rather have that elite or "generational" talent on offense rather than in goal? I guess Ovi is the clear example of offense and he's yet to his the Conference Finals but I feel as if the circumstances of his team-building is especially poor.
There isn't just one way to win. You can win with either one - you just need to be smart in how you build your team around that player.
What Lundqvist gets paid annually over a mediocre goalie is like $3 million - on $71 million cap next year... cmon... you can make that up... its Tanner Glass over a kid and MSL versus a kid.
Letting 29 year olds go that were your best defender in the prior 2-3 postseasons (and a big reason Boston pushed our shit in 2 years ago was because Stralman got hurt in game 3) - any analytical study could have told you this, or any puck possession metric -- still hurts. When your team is in the Window you can't make errors like this. Just can't.
The issue isn't Lundqvist versus Ovechkin - I'm personally glad we have one of them -- its about surrounding these cornerstones with the best players you can.
I really hope Sather hands over the reigns soon. We need young, analytical blood in the chair.
Crawford is a worse contract than anyone the Rangers have, too.
It's the toughest sport to win out there, I get that... but man... Cooper had his team respond every time this series to a Rangers surge. We came out flat every time this series was there for the taking. I don't know.
I think if they had buried Pittsburgh like they should have i'd feel differently but man did this team frankly suck this postseason. It wasn't fun at all - we won 2 games by more than a goal. Came a whisker from losing in 5 to the Caps, who I'm guessing wont make the playoffs next year as they're just not very good.
It was a lost year. If they try to hang a stupid Presidents Cup banner in the Garden next year I'll walk out during the ceremony. Zero fucks given.
It's the toughest sport to win out there, I get that... but man... Cooper had his team respond every time this series to a Rangers surge. We came out flat every time this series was there for the taking. I don't know.
I still don't think Price getting hurt cost Montreal a cup appearance. That's not fair to that Rangers team last year, either. Game 2 is the one game that maybe Price would have won for them that Tokarski didn't, every other game he was absolutely phenomenal. Rangers scored a few off of Price early in game 1 before he ever got hurt.
AV deserves a bit of criticism for how the team played in games 5 and 7, but this team was far from the most talented in the league, so he deserves a ton of praise for getting this team to win the presidents trophy esp without Hank for a huge chunk of the season. Because we lost this year in game 7 of ECF people somehow turn the presidents trophy into a negative when discussing AV.
We need better offensive players. It's very, very clear. That's the problem, not really anything else. Yes we could have made better decisions to help improve our chances. But every team can look back on decisions that would have significantly helped them that they screwed up on.
I hate to go all Anak on this one, but hard not to think about Tarasenko potentially being the difference between winning a cup and not winning one with Hank
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maybe its bad luck and I really like him as a person... but 3 Presidents Trophies in 5 years and ..... nothing? 2 Finals appearances ... one, let's be honest, because Price got hurt?
It's the toughest sport to win out there, I get that... but man... Cooper had his team respond every time this series to a Rangers surge. We came out flat every time this series was there for the taking. I don't know.
I still don't think Price getting hurt cost Montreal a cup appearance. That's not fair to that Rangers team last year, either. Game 2 is the one game that maybe Price would have won for them that Tokarski didn't, every other game he was absolutely phenomenal. Rangers scored a few off of Price early in game 1 before he ever got hurt.
AV deserves a bit of criticism for how the team played in games 5 and 7, but this team was far from the most talented in the league, so he deserves a ton of praise for getting this team to win the presidents trophy esp without Hank for a huge chunk of the season. Because we lost this year in game 7 of ECF people somehow turn the presidents trophy into a negative when discussing AV.
We need better offensive players. It's very, very clear. That's the problem, not really anything else. Yes we could have made better decisions to help improve our chances. But every team can look back on decisions that would have significantly helped them that they screwed up on.
I hate to go all Anak on this one, but hard not to think about Tarasenko potentially being the difference between winning a cup and not winning one with Hank
Maybe, but what's Price in his career against us? It's ridiculous, right? Tokarski... Mason... MAF... Holtby... Bishop holds us to 4 goals in 4 games at MSG... when guys like this ... shut you down... every postseason.... guess what, its YOU not them.
I still just can't believe Detroit went into Tampa in game 7 and kicked their ass up and down the ice despite losing (2-0 but one was an empty net). Detroit had zero puck luck in that game, if they get even one ounce of it they win the game. I just can't fathom that Detroit, the worst eastern conference team, could dominate them like that in a game 7 and we couldn't generate any type of chances against them in a game 7 in our building.