NFT: Carolina Hurricanes @ New York Rangers Game Thread

of Boyle and Yandle on the PP

Girardi losing a battle along the boards leading to a goal? Yup.

Kreider with an elite goal scorers goal there.

.

feels like we light him up pretty routinely.

Who the hell is Chris Terry?? Christ.

The last 20 or so minutes Carolina has outplayed them, easily.

How bad this team has been past few weeks. Wake up!!

Definitely concerning. Defense just feels so shaky at the moment.

Find a way to escape this one.

But they need to figure something out. Give McIlrath more starts, call up Skjei, try to deal for a defenseman, something.

Great skating team that we all watched last year?

They're being outskated by a bunch of Ham n eggers out there tonight.

so McIlrath may get that extended look now. Though they did say it was just a muscle strain.

In comment 12654172 B in ALB said:

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Great skating team that we all watched last year? They're being outskated by a bunch of Ham n eggers out there tonight.

I think their transition game and the speed that comes with it has been stifled a bit by the defensemen struggling to move the puck out of their zone more often this season.

Trying to catch a puck popped up right over the glass into his bread basket? How can a man be so unathletic? That was pathetic.

and they're clearly not out of the woods but boy did they need that!

.

Thank you again Hank.

Dom Moore close to 20 minutes. I thought Etem played well with them.

Etem wins board battles, keeps the puck in the offensive zone through cycling and utilizes the D appropriately. I like him a lot.

just wish it was under different circumstances.

for Kyle Okposo? I had this discussion with an Islander fan co-worker of mine today who was saying it's looking less and less likely that he re-signs with them. I just think this Ranger team needs to add another goal scorer befire the deadline to play on the 2nd line with Step and Kreider.

lets see what the kid has. Klein with the abdominal strain

He has a hard shot but is not accurate. Trouble lifting the puck and putting it where he wants to. Not a natural goal scorer.

But he has the size/speed package that plays better in the postseason. He will be a Claude Lemieux type player. A guy who can win you cups.

without Hank and Raanta playing as they are this is an 8-17 team, not 17-8. With that said, this same group has been league average or better in all the metrics the past two years and we see how shitty the other deep playoff run teams are playing too. It's starting to get dicey for Tampa specifically, Stamkos could be in play in another month or two.

Hopefully as Hank has alluded to its a "structure" issue defensively and it can be fixed. Let's hope so because YTD what we've seen is not a team that can make a deep run. Still another 50+ games to get their shit together.

Differential when he was on the ice (5 on 5, of course).

They had such a solid first ten minutes and died.

I think the Rangers will make a move at the deadline for a defenseman somehow.

my concern is AV seems so reluctant to let young kids try and maybe fail relative to other coaches

We already have so much damn cap tied into this defensive corps and the frustrating part is they do have value but those fucking NMCs. Edmonton wouldnt want Staal? Of course they would.

?

#6 to me looks just as good as any defender we could get at the deadline without paying a king's ransom or allocating yet more cap against the D-line. Why AV wont play this kid - every night - your guess is as good as mine.

But the usage by AV sort of suggests he isn't going to shake up Staal/Girardi who have been the biggest issues in terms of puck movement on D (the forwards were fucking terrible on the backcheck last night too).

I don't think AV is any more wary of younger players than other coaches. Torts was much worse IMO. He does seem to not trust Lindberg/Miller yet, though.

I think they're going to go after Byfuglien for a rental. Who would be a great rental if he wasn't going to cost an arm and a leg.

I'm with you on McIlrath/Skjei - but do you think AV is going to sit Staal/Girardi for them? I'm doubtful - I'm also doubtful they continue playing this poorly, though.

I got the stats from War-On-Ice (below).
War-On-Ice - ( New Window )

I do wonder how much of the lack of speed is just that we're tired. Look at TB and Chicago. We've been making so many deep playoff runs. It doesnt have to take its toll, but it can.

I sort of doubt Gorton is going to trade picks/prospects this year. If we could get someone like Buff for Etem or Fast he'd probably look at it. But unlike Sather who had a lifetime employment relationship, Gorton cant really afford a crash and burn in 4 years plan. And he said a few weeks ago that you cant keep trading #1s.

I could absolutely see a Miller/Rath/2nd deal, though... I'd be surprised to see Buch/Skjei go.

I'm curious how the organization thinks - have they made the tradeoff for the short-term so much already that they might as well continue doing it for an increased shot at the Cup before the core is cooked? Or do they now take a step back and regroup a little? Gorton's comments seem to favor the latter.

It's time to move Etem up he has offensive instincts Fast(who I love as a checking forward)will never have. That's a couple games in a row he's been arguably our best forward. He has the requisite size, speed and hands to have an impact.

Not surprised by tampa's struggles. A coach with cooper's ego plays much better with a young up and coming lineup than one with a few pelts on the wall. Throw in Stamko's contract squabble and that's a shit stew rife with potential sedition in the locker room.

but i'm more inclined to think Tampa's struggles have to do with a shitload of injuries (T Johnson, Palat, Callahan have all missed significant time and others likely have too) and general fatigue from playing into June last year.

Its why it annoys me Washington was scheduled 3 times in 18 days with them (they also get Montreal twice with Price out too). Never understood why the NHL clusters games against the same opponents so often, i guess they dont have high pecking order with many arenas or something.

Tomorrow night could get ugly - i'd be lying if i said i was looking forward. Islanders are quietly playing much better hockey now after a slow start (probably due to Tavares sickness and other reasons)

Dan Rosen ‏@drosennhl 1m1 minute ago
NYR D Kevin Klein out 2-3 weeks with strained oblique muscle. They had only 4 man games lost before Stepan (4-6 weeks) was injured Friday.



Time to step up, McI

Price out at least 6 weeks, and Gallagher too.

they'll need to make up for the loss with offense.

in other Habs news you will all be interested in they called up Zach Fucale (maybe their #1 prospect) to backup Condon. It would be good to see him have some success, I've heard mixed reviews. I like Condon, being the American goalie on the Canadiens, but he's not very good.

What does the size of the circles represent in that chart?

In comment 12655264 bigbluehoya said:

Quote:

What does the size of the circles represent in that chart?

Minutes together - bigger bubble, bigger sample size. They've played so much together that the 'with Girardi' bubble is always bigger.

I didn't make the chart by the way.

pj - I think you'll weather the storm without them... Your division sort of sucks this year. Stamkos on MTL would be terrifying, though.

Or did he follow through on his promise and defect?

rafi bomb is on the shelf for a couple of weeks with an injury

Wraths time to shine

Or staal too as one / both is clearly injured. Sucks about Rafi - he would finally get an opportunity but he's hurt.

But, damn, that guy would be hard to cheer for. Then again, I cheered for Carcillo, so it's hard to sink lower than that.

Drew the line at Billy Tibbetts, of course.

I remember people making a very big deal about him at some point.

wish nothing against Klein or Stepan, but Im really happy that McIlrath and Etem are going to get force fed minutes. I think this was the plan all along -- assume there would be an injury so sit these guys early to avoid pissing off a vet.

Agree with whoever said swap Etem and Fast. Play to each guy's strength.

I think those cups of coffee can do a lot of good, especially when it is clear that short of playing like a 1st pair guy, it is really a limited term learning experience. A lot of guys can use those short visits to the NHL to get a sense of what they need to focus on.

You're gonna let FEKker or P-nut start this shit?

Weak.

In comment 12656362 MetsAreBack said:

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You're gonna let FEKker or P-nut start this shit? Weak.

I'd normally make one right now after reading this, but pganut is the starter. I'm hoping for a Redbeard Ranger thread. He gets rattled pretty easily. We'll just need to get some pucks on net and we've got this.