What an overrated piece of garbage...said it earlier in the year. I am also done talking about how the Rangers need to use their speed. The Canadiens are a faster team than they are. Also, Vigneault doesn't have this team forecheck at all. They are so passive...they basically let Montreal come out of their zone aND won't touch them until center ice. This series is over.
But I guarantee he's telling these guys to get the puck in deep and establish a forecheck. At some point it's on these guys to have the desire and effort level to go do it. Saw the fourth line do it a few times, once drawing a penalty. Maybe Nash and Zucc too. And that was it. Pathetic
I also feel like we probably overrate a bunch of our players.
The NHL is not the NBA where one LeBron James/Sidney Crosby puts you in the Finals each year.. but the teams that are winning Cups usually have at least one 70 pt player. We didn't even have a 60 pt player this year. We didn't have one 30 goal scorer. Same thing last year... not one 30 goal scorer. Zuccarello just barely hit 60 (61) last season.. and the season before, we also failed to have any player register 60 points.
We haven't had a 70 point player since Gaborik in 2011-12.
We do have a lot of good players. But we don't seem to have any guy who truly elevates in the playoffs.. a true star. Instead, guys like Kreider seem to vanish. Zibinejad.. Hayes.. we're just not getting enough from these guys.
I know Vesey had a solid game 1.. but is this really all we should expect?
Maybe I'm just picking things apart - I don't know. I just feel like you need that player or two that really know how to elevate in these spots and we just don't seem to have it. Henrik has certainly risen to the occasion many times over... but the goalie can't score and when you can barely even score one time on home ice.. there's not much else the guy can do.
while he is streaky, he's pretty consistently shown up in the playoffs and played well. I don't know what the issue is, he doesn't look like the same player.
I also feel like we probably overrate a bunch of our players.
The NHL is not the NBA where one LeBron James/Sidney Crosby puts you in the Finals each year.. but the teams that are winning Cups usually have at least one 70 pt player. We didn't even have a 60 pt player this year. We didn't have one 30 goal scorer. Same thing last year... not one 30 goal scorer. Zuccarello just barely hit 60 (61) last season.. and the season before, we also failed to have any player register 60 points.
We haven't had a 70 point player since Gaborik in 2011-12.
We do have a lot of good players. But we don't seem to have any guy who truly elevates in the playoffs.. a true star. Instead, guys like Kreider seem to vanish. Zibinejad.. Hayes.. we're just not getting enough from these guys.
I know Vesey had a solid game 1.. but is this really all we should expect?
Maybe I'm just picking things apart - I don't know. I just feel like you need that player or two that really know how to elevate in these spots and we just don't seem to have it. Henrik has certainly risen to the occasion many times over... but the goalie can't score and when you can barely even score one time on home ice.. there's not much else the guy can do.
Having a superstar goalie is much worse than having a superstar scorer. I love Hank but it's just not even close.
Jake Guentzel had a hat trick for Pittsburgh tonight and the GWG in OT. Having Crosby or Ovechkin raises the play of the entire team. Having Lundqvist steals you a game in a series, keeps you in games longer... but at some point you need to put the puck in the net.
And God forbid you can get in the fucking building for less than $250 on Easter Sunday. Maybe the place wouldn't sound like a morgue once in a while
They need to overhaul this D. They can't get the puck out of the zone - the forwards keep collapsing, making it harder for them to transition up the ice. Feels like we're consistently seeing four or five guys below the hash marks. No pairing was good tonight. The Canadiens aren't good enough that they should make the Rangers look this silly.
To arc's point above, how often has this team won in the playoffs when Lundqvist wasn't the best player on the ice? The amount of pressure on him each game is enormous.
Also, Julien didn't shell like AV did. Rangers outshot them by 2 in the third.
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It might be a confirmation bias on my behalf.. I just feel like such an enormous percentage of the Rangers' playoff wins are always such a grind. It seems so rare that we give Henrik any breathing room. It feels like he's constantly in a situation where he simply cannot allow a goal and that the entire balance of a game hangs on him having to hold serve or protect a 1 goal lead.
Obviously the playoffs are tight and a lot of games are close, a lot of games are going to be that way - I just can barely recall many games at all where we just jumped out to something like a 3 goal lead early on. That game 7 in Washington in 2013 was like that.. Game 1 in MTL in 2014 was like that (mostly because Price was injured).. but outside of those, I really can't think of many.
It seems like a lot of good teams have a few games here and there throughout a playoff run where they really just take command. Meanwhile, 9 out of every 10 Ranger wins end with a 1 goal lead and the other team putting massive 6 on 5 pressure on and just barely running out of time.
'The French Canadians should give the refs oral after this game'....
yep. Zebras were absolutely horrendous and directly influenced the result. So yeah exactly the opposite of what their job description is. Sadly it's no surprise.
That's the way it is. Maybe a few of those road games where we blew out Tamps before shitting the bed at home in 2015, in addition to the ones you mentioned. But other than that, we sweat out nearly every playoff win.
5 of his 6 Game 7 victories have been by a score of 2-1. He's shouldered an unbelievable burden. He deserves better. But as soon as he has a bad stretch next season some fans will be booing him and questioning him again.
RE: 'The French Canadians should give the refs oral after this game'....
yep. Zebras were absolutely horrendous and directly influenced the result. So yeah exactly the opposite of what their job description is. Sadly it's no surprise.
Disagree Rangers got outplayed, and have been the last 2 games. Hank has kept this a series. Rangers haven't elevated their game to a playoff level yet. They are playing regular season hockey, and they are getting out worked.
I wonder if Kreider's hurt.
BrettNYG10 : 10:43 pm
He's been atrocious.
He's played soft all year. Quitest big man I've ever seen. It's almost as if he fears being labeled an is fighting the perception he's a mean SOB. Which is exactly how he should be playing. Instead we've gotten a big marshmallow powder puff wimp.
That's crap. They've outhit the Habs the last two nights. The problem is our defense blows and the refs are almost as bad as our defense. Which is difficult to fathom. Frankly AV needs to be fired and Gorton too probably. Now I hope we go on a huge run and I have to eat crow as we raise The Cup. But don't hold your breath for it.
That's the way it is. Maybe a few of those road games where we blew out Tamps before shitting the bed at home in 2015, in addition to the ones you mentioned. But other than that, we sweat out nearly every playoff win.
5 of his 6 Game 7 victories have been by a score of 2-1. He's shouldered an unbelievable burden. He deserves better. But as soon as he has a bad stretch next season some fans will be booing him and questioning him again.
Yup. And that's what pisses me off the most. NYR fans who blame him or fans of other teams who minimize his entire career into "well, he can't win a Cup."
It's true that perhaps our cap allocation is structured in a way where paying #30 the big boy money has prevented us from icing the offensive firepower necessary to get all the way to the promised land, but it sure as hell isn't his fault and he's not the reason we keep falling short.
I really don't know what the alternative would be. I don't know how the Rangers could have just decided to move on from Hank at the point where he was due a new deal. Maybe a more unconventional GM would have chosen to take all emotion out of it and use those cap dollars elsewhere... but being realistic, it would have been an incredibly risky move that much of the fan base would have been ready to riot over. And if Hank had gone on to win a Cup elsewhere, it would have turned into bedlam.
It's a shitty double-edged sword, I guess. This team just seems to be what they are. Which isn't good enough to win a Cup.
He has actually played fairly well in this series and he basically won game 1. But the days when the Rangers can just grind it our and have Henrik win it for them are over.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
He has actually played fairly well in this series and he basically won game 1. But the days when the Rangers can just grind it our and have Henrik win it for them are over.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
No longer elite? They would have lost 7-1 if not for Henrik standing on his head.
AV has them playing decent offensive hockey? Did you even watch the last three games?
I'm not sure what's worse. The Rangers last two games. Or your posts.
That's the way it is. Maybe a few of those road games where we blew out Tamps before shitting the bed at home in 2015, in addition to the ones you mentioned. But other than that, we sweat out nearly every playoff win.
5 of his 6 Game 7 victories have been by a score of 2-1. He's shouldered an unbelievable burden. He deserves better. But as soon as he has a bad stretch next season some fans will be booing him and questioning him again.
Yup. And that's what pisses me off the most. NYR fans who blame him or fans of other teams who minimize his entire career into "well, he can't win a Cup."
It's true that perhaps our cap allocation is structured in a way where paying #30 the big boy money has prevented us from icing the offensive firepower necessary to get all the way to the promised land, but it sure as hell isn't his fault and he's not the reason we keep falling short.
I really don't know what the alternative would be. I don't know how the Rangers could have just decided to move on from Hank at the point where he was due a new deal. Maybe a more unconventional GM would have chosen to take all emotion out of it and use those cap dollars elsewhere... but being realistic, it would have been an incredibly risky move that much of the fan base would have been ready to riot over. And if Hank had gone on to win a Cup elsewhere, it would have turned into bedlam.
It's a shitty double-edged sword, I guess. This team just seems to be what they are. Which isn't good enough to win a Cup.
I think the bigger issue is that the Rangers have mismanaged the defense going back to the Stralman decision, and I think Lundqvist has led to flawed analysis back there.
Neither Girardi or Staal get those contracts playing in front of an average goaltender. They're paying $11+ million for guys who are barely NHL'ers at this stage. Outside of 13/14, I don't think the defense was ever as good as its reputation.
Rangers have won 26 playoff games since 2014 and Lundqvist had a +.930 SV% in 23 of those games.
I agree. The Stralman flub was major and the cap dollars being spent on G and Staal could have been much better spent elsewhere.
Those two felt like "loyalty" signings more than anything else which can (and did) turn into cap anchors. Poor management.
Brendan Smith is the type of defenseman that smart GM's will recognize and look to acquire. It's not a 1st pairing player but it's a guy you get quality minutes from and doesn't break the bank. There are some guys like that out there so I'm encouraged that he was the type of guy Gorton targeted. That's how you wind up with guys like Stralman.
I knew what happened on Friday night was going to turn into this.
What a fucking gutless performance tonight at home. This team sucks @ MSG. We might not win another game in this series.
Fucking nauseating. Could have had them 2-0 coming home tonight with all the pressure in the world.. instead we gave them life and all the confidence that they can beat us, and now they're going to.
Fucking infuriating.
That was my feeling exactly on Friday and now it's looking to be true.
He has actually played fairly well in this series and he basically won game 1. But the days when the Rangers can just grind it our and have Henrik win it for them are over.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
No longer elite? They would have lost 7-1 if not for Henrik standing on his head.
AV has them playing decent offensive hockey? Did you even watch the last three games?
I'm not sure what's worse. The Rangers last two games. Or your posts.
I'm leaning towards the latter.
The last 3 games the Rangers haven't been playing anything near their game all season. They are trying to match the Habs' physicality. While, the hitting has been great, they don't have the team for that and they aren't going to score like that.
He has actually played fairly well in this series and he basically won game 1. But the days when the Rangers can just grind it our and have Henrik win it for them are over.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
No longer elite? They would have lost 7-1 if not for Henrik standing on his head.
AV has them playing decent offensive hockey? Did you even watch the last three games?
I'm not sure what's worse. The Rangers last two games. Or your posts.
I'm leaning towards the latter.
Reread the post. Maybe word by word, so you can actually respond to what I wrote.
That's crap. They've outhit the Habs the last two nights. The problem is our defense blows and the refs are almost as bad as our defense. Which is difficult to fathom. Frankly AV needs to be fired and Gorton too probably. Now I hope we go on a huge run and I have to eat crow as we raise The Cup. But don't hold your breath for it.
I'm not talking about hits, I'm talking races to pucks, board battles, and positioning. MTL sends guys to the net, they forecheck, and have gotten many more quality scoring chances. Their defense is nothing special besides Weber yet we can't get quality looks. If the Rangers want to score they need to get bodies in front of Price and stop trying to make perfect passes and just fire the puck. I could care less about hits, I care about the score.
the series isn't 3 - 0 and should probably be 2 - 1 the other way. But the good news for Rangers fans is it's just 2 - 1, lots of hockey left this series.
For those who didn't know hockey players are probably the toughest athletes in the planet.
Zack werenski had a Phil Kessel shot roll up his stick and smash into his face. Stitches and back for the 3rd. His teammates busted his balls for wearing a full shield when he returned. Needs to work on his playoff beard though. LOL. He is only 19 though, pretty sure I would probably have the same amount of facial hair then too.
He has actually played fairly well in this series and he basically won game 1. But the days when the Rangers can just grind it our and have Henrik win it for them are over.
So, he basically won Game 1 for us, a game where we ground out a win. Then he stood on his head in Game 2 in a loss.
So, the days are over where we can grind it out, even though we just did it 5 days ago? LOL.
to the net. At the very least they need to get some net front presence before they keep taking these perimeter shots. Price is going to save the shots from last night 99 times out of 100.
Game 1 the Rangers kept Montreal outside and made things easy for Lundqvist. Now look at them.. They're driving the net and willing to pay the price to make a play.
That was an unbelievably poor and uninspired effort last night.
Unrelated... I hope this series illustrates to management what moves need to happen this offseason. Klein is cooked. Holden is a jag. Brendan Smith needs to be retained. A d-man to help the PP and generate some offense would go a long ways...
A bunch of us said three years ago what a mistake it was
to sign both Girardi and Staal to big contract extensions, and that's exactly what's killing them now. They're saddled with these two guys who are now pale shadows of the players they were 5 years ago. The defense is the worst of any playoff team.
And yeah, the Rangers' forwards are deep but lack a singular scoring talent......which is why it's mind-numbingly stupid to put anything but the best possible team on the ice. Fast is a fourth liner, period. Glass is not an NHL player. Holden is a 7th defenseman. Etc, etc.
I think the lack of elite talent would be fine if they had at least an average defense. It's a bit of a virtuous cycle - they get crushed in their zone and by the time they carry the puck up they have to change, so they rather dump it with no forecheck or carry it in with no support. Nash tried to go one on four multiple times because he had no choice.
Also, both Stepan and Zibanejad have played poorly.
Time & SPACE... I've noticed over the last 2 months
opposing coaches/teams are on us immediately when we get the puck. On the PP & 5 on 5... we just have ZERO Time to gather & pass or shoot & that comes from not scaring anyone with our O. I don't know how many times in the last 3 games MTL players we able to get their sticks on ours from behind knocking the puck away, or in front of incoming passes. Forget the F'in PP... not until the other team is tired by the 3rd period/OT do they "allow" us to set up and take shots on net. (or pass & pass & pass some more as is the case with this squad!!) Yet we sit back in a box and allow the shots & passes with impunity... The team gets fustrated & it only compounds as the minutes pass into periods played until it's too late.
Standouts on the positive side for the rangers, but Lindberg has been one of the more effective Rangers...and he played under 10 minutes last night.
AV's decisions with the lines simply do not compute. Even if Glass hasn't been abysmal viewed in isolation, clearly his presence is a drag on the ability to roll 4 lines.
Put Buch in the lineup in a top 9 spot to hopefully spark something esp on the PP, and make a 4th line of Vesey Lindberg Fast. That line can play minutes, take draws at either end of the ice, and be a pain in the ass to play against.
Nash Step Zucc
Buch Ziba Kreider (can we please see this line one fucking time again?)
Miller Hayes Grabner
Vesey Lindberg Fast
It seems like we've seen every set of combinations from AV except for the ones that make the most sense.
I hated the coaching even more. You want Glass out there to add some grit to the 4th line? I get it... I don't like it but I get it... But when things go south in the 3rd period and we're pushing for goals your solution is lets bump up Glass and Fast to scoring lines? Get the fuck out of here... I'm over AV and his loyalty to the grit and the TH'ers.
What they did in the first month or two of the season was working beautifully - why has Vigneault never gone back to that?
The rest of league eventually catches up with the offensive approach and I think it's safe to say the stretch passing and speed game are easily nullified especially in the playoffs where it's a much tighter game. Clog up the neutral zone and suddenly they have no answers. That, and losing faceoff after faceoff in the D zone where they'll collapse into their defensive structure and end up spending long periods of time chasing the puck.
we faced a lot of playoff teams from the prior year still hungover and out of shape. Our speed game caught teams off guard, but catch up was inevitable especially since our shooting percentages were off the charts. I liken it to the chip Kelly eagles teams which always looked great in September.
But we were overall a terrific team through 60 games and then based on one poor performance (interestingly, Montreal) in early March the coach (and by all accounts, GM) panics and takes away this team's best competitive strength - e.g., 4 scoring lines.
Interestingly we benched TG for a few games later in March and played pretty well in Minnesota, in LA, and others.
Not saying this is on #15 - he's been ok, had the goal in game 1, etc. This is only a discussion because guys like Stepan, Hayes, Kreider and Mika are no shows yet again.
We are supposed to just enjoy this "run" and discuss the coach and the players future after its over - in fairness, we are only down 2 games to 1 with game 4 at home tuesday. The nail isnt in the coffin quite yet.
But man does this feel a lot like last year's April so far.
got that entire sentence out without a grammatical error or blatant misuse of the English language. He's awful
But yes, the Rangers were terrible.
It looks like his head blew up like a balloon and he does struggle getting words out, Anson Carter looks like a mensa member next to Roenick but I really only leave the channel on for Kathryn Tappen.
did suggest that I'd consider at this point - at least it was creative, is the Rangers should consider having their team stay at a hotel the night before game 4. Just to change things up, get out of the home game routine.
They're so solid on the road, and have a home-game losing streak.
I thought it made sense to try, home ice failures get so scrutinized like this players start pressing and their games usually suffer when that happens and stuff snowballs.
Montreal is playing a simple game and executing it perfectly.
Nothing says composure like trotting out lines at the beginning of the 3rd period that consisted of Glass-Zib-Grabner combination.
Nice fuckin thread.
I might need to take the puck Tuesday night to get us back on track. Should be 2-1 good guys.
The NHL is not the NBA where one LeBron James/Sidney Crosby puts you in the Finals each year.. but the teams that are winning Cups usually have at least one 70 pt player. We didn't even have a 60 pt player this year. We didn't have one 30 goal scorer. Same thing last year... not one 30 goal scorer. Zuccarello just barely hit 60 (61) last season.. and the season before, we also failed to have any player register 60 points.
We haven't had a 70 point player since Gaborik in 2011-12.
We do have a lot of good players. But we don't seem to have any guy who truly elevates in the playoffs.. a true star. Instead, guys like Kreider seem to vanish. Zibinejad.. Hayes.. we're just not getting enough from these guys.
I know Vesey had a solid game 1.. but is this really all we should expect?
Maybe I'm just picking things apart - I don't know. I just feel like you need that player or two that really know how to elevate in these spots and we just don't seem to have it. Henrik has certainly risen to the occasion many times over... but the goalie can't score and when you can barely even score one time on home ice.. there's not much else the guy can do.
The NHL is not the NBA where one LeBron James/Sidney Crosby puts you in the Finals each year.. but the teams that are winning Cups usually have at least one 70 pt player. We didn't even have a 60 pt player this year. We didn't have one 30 goal scorer. Same thing last year... not one 30 goal scorer. Zuccarello just barely hit 60 (61) last season.. and the season before, we also failed to have any player register 60 points.
We haven't had a 70 point player since Gaborik in 2011-12.
We do have a lot of good players. But we don't seem to have any guy who truly elevates in the playoffs.. a true star. Instead, guys like Kreider seem to vanish. Zibinejad.. Hayes.. we're just not getting enough from these guys.
I know Vesey had a solid game 1.. but is this really all we should expect?
Maybe I'm just picking things apart - I don't know. I just feel like you need that player or two that really know how to elevate in these spots and we just don't seem to have it. Henrik has certainly risen to the occasion many times over... but the goalie can't score and when you can barely even score one time on home ice.. there's not much else the guy can do.
Having a superstar goalie is much worse than having a superstar scorer. I love Hank but it's just not even close.
Jake Guentzel had a hat trick for Pittsburgh tonight and the GWG in OT. Having Crosby or Ovechkin raises the play of the entire team. Having Lundqvist steals you a game in a series, keeps you in games longer... but at some point you need to put the puck in the net.
And God forbid you can get in the fucking building for less than $250 on Easter Sunday. Maybe the place wouldn't sound like a morgue once in a while
They need to overhaul this D. They can't get the puck out of the zone - the forwards keep collapsing, making it harder for them to transition up the ice. Feels like we're consistently seeing four or five guys below the hash marks. No pairing was good tonight. The Canadiens aren't good enough that they should make the Rangers look this silly.
To arc's point above, how often has this team won in the playoffs when Lundqvist wasn't the best player on the ice? The amount of pressure on him each game is enormous.
Also, Julien didn't shell like AV did. Rangers outshot them by 2 in the third.
If i sell 5000 copies of #IceCapades by Tue i will sit behind @CanadiensMTL bench and get the entire team off their game. #SixthManAward
Obviously the playoffs are tight and a lot of games are close, a lot of games are going to be that way - I just can barely recall many games at all where we just jumped out to something like a 3 goal lead early on. That game 7 in Washington in 2013 was like that.. Game 1 in MTL in 2014 was like that (mostly because Price was injured).. but outside of those, I really can't think of many.
It seems like a lot of good teams have a few games here and there throughout a playoff run where they really just take command. Meanwhile, 9 out of every 10 Ranger wins end with a 1 goal lead and the other team putting massive 6 on 5 pressure on and just barely running out of time.
5 of his 6 Game 7 victories have been by a score of 2-1. He's shouldered an unbelievable burden. He deserves better. But as soon as he has a bad stretch next season some fans will be booing him and questioning him again.
Disagree Rangers got outplayed, and have been the last 2 games. Hank has kept this a series. Rangers haven't elevated their game to a playoff level yet. They are playing regular season hockey, and they are getting out worked.
BrettNYG10 : 10:43 pm
He's been atrocious.
He's played soft all year. Quitest big man I've ever seen. It's almost as if he fears being labeled an is fighting the perception he's a mean SOB. Which is exactly how he should be playing. Instead we've gotten a big marshmallow powder puff wimp.
5 of his 6 Game 7 victories have been by a score of 2-1. He's shouldered an unbelievable burden. He deserves better. But as soon as he has a bad stretch next season some fans will be booing him and questioning him again.
Yup. And that's what pisses me off the most. NYR fans who blame him or fans of other teams who minimize his entire career into "well, he can't win a Cup."
It's true that perhaps our cap allocation is structured in a way where paying #30 the big boy money has prevented us from icing the offensive firepower necessary to get all the way to the promised land, but it sure as hell isn't his fault and he's not the reason we keep falling short.
I really don't know what the alternative would be. I don't know how the Rangers could have just decided to move on from Hank at the point where he was due a new deal. Maybe a more unconventional GM would have chosen to take all emotion out of it and use those cap dollars elsewhere... but being realistic, it would have been an incredibly risky move that much of the fan base would have been ready to riot over. And if Hank had gone on to win a Cup elsewhere, it would have turned into bedlam.
It's a shitty double-edged sword, I guess. This team just seems to be what they are. Which isn't good enough to win a Cup.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
No longer elite? They would have lost 7-1 if not for Henrik standing on his head.
AV has them playing decent offensive hockey? Did you even watch the last three games?
I'm not sure what's worse. The Rangers last two games. Or your posts.
I'm leaning towards the latter.
Quote:
That's the way it is. Maybe a few of those road games where we blew out Tamps before shitting the bed at home in 2015, in addition to the ones you mentioned. But other than that, we sweat out nearly every playoff win.
5 of his 6 Game 7 victories have been by a score of 2-1. He's shouldered an unbelievable burden. He deserves better. But as soon as he has a bad stretch next season some fans will be booing him and questioning him again.
Yup. And that's what pisses me off the most. NYR fans who blame him or fans of other teams who minimize his entire career into "well, he can't win a Cup."
It's true that perhaps our cap allocation is structured in a way where paying #30 the big boy money has prevented us from icing the offensive firepower necessary to get all the way to the promised land, but it sure as hell isn't his fault and he's not the reason we keep falling short.
I really don't know what the alternative would be. I don't know how the Rangers could have just decided to move on from Hank at the point where he was due a new deal. Maybe a more unconventional GM would have chosen to take all emotion out of it and use those cap dollars elsewhere... but being realistic, it would have been an incredibly risky move that much of the fan base would have been ready to riot over. And if Hank had gone on to win a Cup elsewhere, it would have turned into bedlam.
It's a shitty double-edged sword, I guess. This team just seems to be what they are. Which isn't good enough to win a Cup.
I think the bigger issue is that the Rangers have mismanaged the defense going back to the Stralman decision, and I think Lundqvist has led to flawed analysis back there.
Neither Girardi or Staal get those contracts playing in front of an average goaltender. They're paying $11+ million for guys who are barely NHL'ers at this stage. Outside of 13/14, I don't think the defense was ever as good as its reputation.
Rangers have won 26 playoff games since 2014 and Lundqvist had a +.930 SV% in 23 of those games.
Those two felt like "loyalty" signings more than anything else which can (and did) turn into cap anchors. Poor management.
Brendan Smith is the type of defenseman that smart GM's will recognize and look to acquire. It's not a 1st pairing player but it's a guy you get quality minutes from and doesn't break the bank. There are some guys like that out there so I'm encouraged that he was the type of guy Gorton targeted. That's how you wind up with guys like Stralman.
People who blame Lundqvist for his lack of Cup are idiots.
What a fucking gutless performance tonight at home. This team sucks @ MSG. We might not win another game in this series.
Fucking nauseating. Could have had them 2-0 coming home tonight with all the pressure in the world.. instead we gave them life and all the confidence that they can beat us, and now they're going to.
Fucking infuriating.
People who blame Lundqvist for his lack of Cup are idiots.
Quote:
He has actually played fairly well in this series and he basically won game 1. But the days when the Rangers can just grind it our and have Henrik win it for them are over.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
No longer elite? They would have lost 7-1 if not for Henrik standing on his head.
AV has them playing decent offensive hockey? Did you even watch the last three games?
I'm not sure what's worse. The Rangers last two games. Or your posts.
I'm leaning towards the latter.
Quote:
He has actually played fairly well in this series and he basically won game 1. But the days when the Rangers can just grind it our and have Henrik win it for them are over.
Hiring AV was a great move. He actually got the guys playing a decent offensive game instead of the dump and chase of Tortarella. But extending him was a terrible move--one of the few bad moves Gorton has made.
Gorton is saddled with three bad contracts. I don't know if he can overcome that. But the Rangers have a nice young core. They lack an elite forward like McDavid but they should be competitive for the next several years with the young guys they have.
No longer elite? They would have lost 7-1 if not for Henrik standing on his head.
AV has them playing decent offensive hockey? Did you even watch the last three games?
I'm not sure what's worse. The Rangers last two games. Or your posts.
I'm leaning towards the latter.
Reread the post. Maybe word by word, so you can actually respond to what I wrote.
I'm not talking about hits, I'm talking races to pucks, board battles, and positioning. MTL sends guys to the net, they forecheck, and have gotten many more quality scoring chances. Their defense is nothing special besides Weber yet we can't get quality looks. If the Rangers want to score they need to get bodies in front of Price and stop trying to make perfect passes and just fire the puck. I could care less about hits, I care about the score.
For those who didn't know hockey players are probably the toughest athletes in the planet.
Zack werenski had a Phil Kessel shot roll up his stick and smash into his face. Stitches and back for the 3rd. His teammates busted his balls for wearing a full shield when he returned. Needs to work on his playoff beard though. LOL. He is only 19 though, pretty sure I would probably have the same amount of facial hair then too.
So, he basically won Game 1 for us, a game where we ground out a win. Then he stood on his head in Game 2 in a loss.
So, the days are over where we can grind it out, even though we just did it 5 days ago? LOL.
Game 1 the Rangers kept Montreal outside and made things easy for Lundqvist. Now look at them.. They're driving the net and willing to pay the price to make a play.
That was an unbelievably poor and uninspired effort last night.
Unrelated... I hope this series illustrates to management what moves need to happen this offseason. Klein is cooked. Holden is a jag. Brendan Smith needs to be retained. A d-man to help the PP and generate some offense would go a long ways...
And yeah, the Rangers' forwards are deep but lack a singular scoring talent......which is why it's mind-numbingly stupid to put anything but the best possible team on the ice. Fast is a fourth liner, period. Glass is not an NHL player. Holden is a 7th defenseman. Etc, etc.
Also, both Stepan and Zibanejad have played poorly.
AV's decisions with the lines simply do not compute. Even if Glass hasn't been abysmal viewed in isolation, clearly his presence is a drag on the ability to roll 4 lines.
Put Buch in the lineup in a top 9 spot to hopefully spark something esp on the PP, and make a 4th line of Vesey Lindberg Fast. That line can play minutes, take draws at either end of the ice, and be a pain in the ass to play against.
Nash Step Zucc
Buch Ziba Kreider (can we please see this line one fucking time again?)
Miller Hayes Grabner
Vesey Lindberg Fast
It seems like we've seen every set of combinations from AV except for the ones that make the most sense.
The rest of league eventually catches up with the offensive approach and I think it's safe to say the stretch passing and speed game are easily nullified especially in the playoffs where it's a much tighter game. Clog up the neutral zone and suddenly they have no answers. That, and losing faceoff after faceoff in the D zone where they'll collapse into their defensive structure and end up spending long periods of time chasing the puck.
But we were overall a terrific team through 60 games and then based on one poor performance (interestingly, Montreal) in early March the coach (and by all accounts, GM) panics and takes away this team's best competitive strength - e.g., 4 scoring lines.
Interestingly we benched TG for a few games later in March and played pretty well in Minnesota, in LA, and others.
Not saying this is on #15 - he's been ok, had the goal in game 1, etc. This is only a discussion because guys like Stepan, Hayes, Kreider and Mika are no shows yet again.
We are supposed to just enjoy this "run" and discuss the coach and the players future after its over - in fairness, we are only down 2 games to 1 with game 4 at home tuesday. The nail isnt in the coffin quite yet.
But man does this feel a lot like last year's April so far.
But yes, the Rangers were terrible.
But yes, the Rangers were terrible.
It looks like his head blew up like a balloon and he does struggle getting words out, Anson Carter looks like a mensa member next to Roenick but I really only leave the channel on for Kathryn Tappen.
They're so solid on the road, and have a home-game losing streak.
I thought it made sense to try, home ice failures get so scrutinized like this players start pressing and their games usually suffer when that happens and stuff snowballs.