GDT: #49 - 01/23/18 | rangers @ ducks | 10:00 - MSG PLUS

[Mac n Gs]

Nailed it. I remember a game several years ago so vividly where, I believe we were trailing but working on the come back and either down 1 or tied, against the Pens and Dubi and Cally worked their tails off, broke out on the two on one and had a sweet five and go finished by Cally to either tie it up or take the lead. It was a regular season game but it was against the Pens, in the playoff race and the energy and passion and excitement was through the roof. The comraderie was through the roof. Torts May have gone stale and lost the team, but what he had done prior and instilled in that team was the glory days for post lockout Rangers. The Rangers of today are a sorry facsimile of that team. Miller puts up more points than Dubi, but as far as being that gritty, fired up guy he’s luke warm.

Hayes, Vesey, Kreider, Miller, Skjei, McDonagh... all these “blue collar” homegrown kids, not the most talented, but dammit they work hard... kinda like when it was Stepan, Dubi, Cally, Staal, Girardi, Anisimov, Hagelin... except those guys were 10x the TEAM that our current crew is. The Rangers still have this reputation of like “hard nosed” American kids like Kreider and Miller and they’re a team with “jam”. I don’t know how they still have that reputation. Those days are so long gone. This team has no jam.

 

[Bob Richards]

The dark ages were my first hockey memories. I couldn't rationalize it then as a little kid like I can now but I was just lucid enough to realize, "Man......these guys f***ing stink".

 

[Maliks PlusMinus]

Not answering the dark ages question anymore.

A blocked shot is admirable for the toughness, absolutely, but it's a stupid hockey play.

It makes it harder for your goaltender to stop easy shots, takes you out of the play, and causes injury.

You wanna help your team? Block passes across the royal road and stop shots from being taken in the first place.

The culture didn't change because Callahan started breaking his bones to stop shots that Hank has a .999 on. The culture changed because we stopped being an ass hockey team.

Maybe the OP won't disagree, but I will. Blocked shots are generally good, especially if you are a good shot blocker. Half assed shot blocking is bad and yes, sometimes it isn't beneficial even if you get it right.
The 99.9% that Vally brings up from time to time is an interesting point. Blocking those shots at the point mightn't seem too important, but if an opponent deflects it, suddenly Vally tells us it's got a huge chance of being a goal. Nothing to deflect if it's blocked at source. Even if there is just a screen set. I mean last game we needed some blocks on their goals.
I want my team to be good at blocking shots, not because it's brave, but because it helps.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Nailed it. I remember a game several years ago so vividly...

One of those regular season games that I'll remember for the rest of my life. 11-12 season, we're in PIT. 0-0 game, Henrik is playing out of our mind, PPs are something ludicrous like 7-0 in favor of PIT. Desperately holding on late in the third. Matt Cooke, of all f***ing people scores to make it 1-0 with 3 minutes left. Henrik flips a shit and throws his stick at the ref, gets a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Game is over...right? Nope. Dubinsky leads a short-handed rush up the ice with a minute left while Henrik is heading to the bench. Marc f***ing Staal of all people takes his drop pass and roofs is over MAF. Then Dubi and Cally have a 2-on-1 in OT to win it. Absolutely nuts.

That might have been the game afterwhich Torts called the Pens an "arrogant organization"?

 

[Samuel Culper III]

Bingo. How many plays that exciting have you seen from this team recently?

 

[mrhockey193195]

I get that, but nobody is ever going to look at a 31-51 team and say they gave a ****. Nobody is going to call a Cup winner soft. The point I was making is that those perceptions have everything to do with winning.

This team has been ****ed since the start of the 15-16 season but it's an issue now because they might actually miss the playoffs.

I liked Ortmeyer. He was good defensively.

Again...I don't really disagree with anything (I'm surprised you like Jed though!), except one thing. Those Rangers teams were far worse than any 31-51 team, despite the results. I might be making your point for you by saying "you needed to be there to believe it", but f*** it, I'll say it anyway.

When you have a guy like Pascale Rheaume get picked up off of waivers by STL (note: a great team) and tell head coach Joel Quenneville that he wants to be sent to the minors on a conditioning stint because (paraphrased) "The Rangers practiced so little that I'm out of shape", you know you have a historically bad team despite the results. We won games because of raw talent (old Messier, old and emotionally broken Leetch, Lindros, Fleury, Bure, Jagr, etc.). If you had a "regular" team with that level of coaching and work ethic, they would have challenged the 92-93 Ottawa Senators.

 

[Ori]

Bingo. How many plays that exciting have you seen from this team recently?

Kreider`s screen on Zucc`s OT goal was a classic - no wonders we are losing games without him. There are so many things Kreider do well on this team - he is a horse and have similar top speed as Grabner, and he has a great physical present. Any have our team stats without Kreider this season? It`s really really bad.

Kreider was injured December 28th. and we have played total of 11 games after his injury, and we have lost 8 games.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

You brought it up?

I did? I said "They overachieved" as an aside (at best) as a part of a post that focused on something completely different. You were the one who quoted me to question me and then you separately made a whole post about it. Which is fine, it's just odd you would do that and then act like I was the one trying to have a discussion about this.

 

[aufheben]

I did? I said "They overachieved" as an aside (at best) as a part of a post that focused on something completely different. You were the one who quoted me to question me and then you separately made a whole post about it.

Is this a joke?

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Is this a joke?

That's now what I'm wondering. You quote me to question me, make a separate post about it and when I tell you idc about this topic you act like you hadn't just made two different posts trying to talk about it. To live in your world..

 

[Ail]

I'm still not watching it.

Yes you are.

 

[Nopuckluck]

Not answering the dark ages question anymore.

A blocked shot is admirable for the toughness, absolutely, but it's a stupid hockey play.

It makes it harder for your goaltender to stop easy shots, takes you out of the play, and causes injury.

You wanna help your team? Block passes across the royal road and stop shots from being taken in the first place.

The culture didn't change because Callahan started breaking his bones to stop shots that Hank has a .999 on. The culture changed because we stopped being an ass hockey team.

For once I was going to agree with you, but then your last few sentences screwed the whole thing up. The culture changed with Cally, Dubinsky and Torts. Period.

 

[Mac n Gs]

Bingo. How many plays that exciting have you seen from this team recently?

I’ll be honest: I think AV’s time here is up and don’t believe he’s the right coach for this transition phase. However, I also won’t ignore just how fun this team is to watch when they’re clicking. None of us complained when we went on that winning streak after the shitty October.

 

[aufheben]

That's now what I'm wondering. You quote me to question me, make a separate post about it and when I tell you idc about this topic you act like you hadn't just made two different posts trying to talk about it. To live in your world..

This is a really roundabout way of saying you don't have any sort of counterpoint.

 

[mrhockey193195]

For once I was going to agree with you, but then your last few sentences screwed the whole thing up. The culture changed with Cally, Dubinsky and Torts. Period.

I think you're both right. Henrik has been an unquantifiable positive influence on this team since 05-06. At the same time, a culture shift happened. Guys were willing to go the extra mile for the team. Homegrown players started to graduate from juniors to the minors to the NHL and become big contributors to the team (Tyutin, Girardi, Callahan, Dubinsky, Anisimov, Sauer, Staal, Stepan, MDZ, etc.). And contributor doesn't just mean points, it means attitude and level of play in all three zone.

I don't think you can say it's one or the other. That being said, on a "per player" basis, obviously Hank has had the biggest impact of any one player. By a f***ing parsec.

 

[Nopuckluck]

Nailed it. I remember a game several years ago so vividly where, I believe we were trailing but working on the come back and either down 1 or tied, against the Pens and Dubi and Cally worked their tails off, broke out on the two on one and had a sweet five and go finished by Cally to either tie it up or take the lead. It was a regular season game but it was against the Pens, in the playoff race and the energy and passion and excitement was through the roof. The comraderie was through the roof. Torts May have gone stale and lost the team, but what he had done prior and instilled in that team was the glory days for post lockout Rangers. The Rangers of today are a sorry facsimile of that team. Miller puts up more points than Dubi, but as far as being that gritty, fired up guy he’s luke warm.

Hayes, Vesey, Kreider, Miller, Skjei, McDonagh... all these “blue collar” homegrown kids, not the most talented, but dammit they work hard... kinda like when it was Stepan, Dubi, Cally, Staal, Girardi, Anisimov, Hagelin... except those guys were 10x the TEAM that our current crew is. The Rangers still have this reputation of like “hard nosed” American kids like Kreider and Miller and they’re a team with “jam”. I don’t know how they still have that reputation. Those days are so long gone. This team has no jam.

You and shinchanyo are so dead on I’m getting emotional. Haven grown up with the team in the mid to late 70s it was awesome. Then the mid 1980s up until the Messier years horrific. Then after Messier and Gretzky retired it was BAD. I watched just to see who’d mess up next or what Fleury would do. Then after the lockout Lundqvist with Jagr was awesome, but Cally, Dubai, Girardi and Torts made me the proudest I’ve ever been to wear a Rangers Jersey. This season and this coach because of the way they play has me so discouraged (for me it came to a head after the Islandersgame) I can’t even begin to tell you. 40 years of watching. I know what needs to be done and what real Rangers hockey is.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

I’ll be honest: I think AV’s time here is up and don’t believe he’s the right coach for this transition phase. However, I also won’t ignore just how fun this team is to watch when they’re clicking. None of us complained when we went on that winning streak after the ****ty October.

The winning streak was somewhat bolstered by Hank even when we were playing better, but of course no one complains when we’re winning. I won’t say no one complained though. To the credit of many, there were a handful here who were content to be winning games but saw the writing on the wall and knew this team needed some changes regardless of the outcome of some games in the first quarter of the season.

But that wasn’t the point. Winning is always fun. I didn’t say when was the last time we enjoyed watching our team. I loved the winter classic this year. That was 3 weeks ago. I just meant that I haven’t felt THAT level of “connection” to my team. That passion and excitement and pride in a long time. Back then I felt like every Rangers fan wearing a blue jersey outside MSG on a game day was freaking family. Now you’re all maybe vague cousins I met at a wedding when I was young. We were like honorary members of the team back then, we were so emotionally invested. There is nothing better than that. That’s the best feeling in fandom. It’s better than winning, in my opinion. Just believing in and whole heartedly being 110% behind your team.

 

[mrhockey193195]

You and shinchanyo are so dead on I’m getting emotional. Haven grown up with the team in the mid to late 70s it was awesome. Then the mid 1980s up until the Messier years horrific. Then after Messier and Gretzky retired it was BAD. I watched just to see who’d mess up next or what Fleury would do. Then after the lockout Lundqvist with Jagr was awesome, but Cally, Dubai, Girardi and Torts made me the proudest I’ve ever been to wear a Rangers Jersey. This season and this coach because of the way they play has me so discouraged (for me it came to a head after the Islandersgame) I can’t even begin to tell you. 40 years of watching. I know what needs to be done and what real Rangers hockey is.

Emphasis is mine. I'm presumably a bit younger than you, but wow...you hit the nail on the head. 05-06 to 14-15, I was PROUD to be a Rangers fan. I was PROUD of this fricken team. Jags, Nylander, Straka, Shanahan, Prucha, Prust, Dubi, MacTruck, Boyler, Stralman, etc. But in particular, for me, Cally and Girardi, and of course, the top of the mountain, Hank.

I had never been proud to be a Rangers fan in my (albeit short) life prior to 05-06. I don't know how to describe what that feels like.

Imagine growing up being a Cleveland Browns fan?

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

This is a really roundabout way of saying you don't have any sort of counterpoint.

It's also a really direct way of saying idc.

I do have counter points. I just see it as immaterial to my point and idc about the topic you decided to zero in on. I cared about something completely different, which is why my post was about it.

 

[mrhockey193195]

The winning streak was somewhat bolstered by Hank even when we were playing better, but of course no one complains when we’re winning. I won’t say no one complained though. To the credit of many, there were a handful here who were content to be winning games but saw the writing on the wall and knew this team needed some changes regardless of the outcome of some games in the first quarter of the season.

But that wasn’t the point. Winning is always fun. I didn’t say when was the last time we enjoyed watching our team. I loved the winter classic this year. That was 3 weeks ago. I just meant that I haven’t felt THAT level of “connection” to my team. That passion and excitement and pride in a long time. Back then I felt like every Rangers fan wearing a blue jersey outside MSG on a game day was freaking family. Now you’re all maybe vague cousins I met at a wedding when I was young. We were like honorary members of the team back then, we were so emotionally invested. There is nothing better than that. That’s the best feeling in fandom. It’s better than winning, in my opinion. Just believing in and whole heartedly being 110% behind your team.

Hah! Awesome and funny post, and yet I can relate 100%. 11-12 was the season for me where I felt CONNECTED. 13-14 and 14-15 were the most fun I've ever had as a fan, but it still felt different. Now that we aren't getting the results, it feels even worse.

 

[Vinny DeAngelo]

You guys ready to get disappointed!!

 

[mrhockey193195]

Is it at the point in the night (night? just kidding, it's 4:50 pm here in Anaheim) where I can say, with every ounce of my alcohol-fueled heart, that I love all you Rangers fanatics and love that we can debate and commiserate together as disciples of the Rangers religion? This is awesome.

If anyone cares, I'll be the dumbass screaming profanities and throwing my jersey on the ice when we're down 8-0 in the third period.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Emphasis is mine. I'm presumably a bit younger than you, but wow...you hit the nail on the head. 05-06 to 14-15, I was PROUD to be a Rangers fan. I was PROUD of this fricken team. Jags, Nylander, Straka, Shanahan, Prucha, Prust, Dubi, MacTruck, Boyler, Stralman, etc. But in particular, for me, Cally and Girardi, and of course, the top of the mountain, Hank.

I had never been proud to be a Rangers fan in my (albeit short) life prior to 05-06. I don't know how to describe what that feels like.

Imagine growing up being a Cleveland Browns fan?

You could see something growing there slowly too. Sports can be so compelling because of the stories that get told and we got hooked on a wonderful story that went for basically a full decade. This story imo is dying an earlier death than it needed to. Like a show canceled too soon with a finale that promises so much more...it just leaves you frustrated, unfulfilled and disconnected

 

[Bob Richards]

You guys ready to get disappointed!!

I already expect nothing though!

 

[bl02]

I'll be watching like usual but one of those games very little confidence especially against another desperate hockey team that has lots of talent.