Kitchener Rangers 2022-23 Season Thread (Part 3)

[EON]

Continued from: Kitchener Rangers 2022-23 Season Thread (Part 2)

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[Rangers True Blue]

Hey!.....fresh new thread for the last half of the season. Rangers need to play every game like it's last and push up into the 4th or 5th spot. They have 5 games in hand to pass Guelph. 3 games in hand to gain on everyone else below London and Windsor. Let's get the party started.

 

[bobber]

Fri, Jan 13	OSH	0	KIT	0	7:30 PM	Tickets	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
390	Sun, Jan 15	KIT	0	SAG	0	5:30 PM	Tickets	Dow Event Center
393	Tue, Jan 17	LDN	0	KIT	0	7:00 PM	Tickets	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
403	Fri, Jan 20	OTT	0	KIT	0	7:30 PM	Tickets	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
414	Sat, Jan 21	KIT	0	SAR	0	7:05 PM	Tickets	Progressive Auto Sales Arena
417	Sun, Jan 22	KIT	0	LDN	0	2:00 PM	Tickets	Budweiser Gardens
428	Fri, Jan 27	BAR	0	KIT	0	7:30 PM	Tickets	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
433	Sat, Jan 28	KIT	0	ER	0	7:00 PM	Tickets	Erie Insurance Arena
447	Tue, Jan 31	SAR	0	KIT	0	7:00 PM	Tickets	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium
457	Fri, Feb 3	GUE	0	KIT	0	7:30 PM	Tickets	Kitchener Memorial Auditorium

Rangers are in for a real test going forward here. This is totally up to MM and his coaches now to turn this into a season. Dennis is the one with the "big resume" that MM bought into. Lets see if he is for real. Calling Cinderella. Worse to first starting tomorrow.

 

[bobber]

Point on the Ranger's goaltending. Constantini listed at 12th in stats. GAA 3.41, Sav% 0.895. Vandenberg hasn't played enough minutes to list on the stat sheet. He has a GAA 2.85 and a Sav% 0.913. Constantini is the number one. Our defense has to do a better job in front of him to bump his numbers up. If this team has any hope of moving up the standings they have to tighten up the defense. Looking at the teams at the top of the standings they all mostly have the top ranked goaltending with the exception of Kingston. Defense wins championships. Rangers aren't going to out gun a lot of these top squads.

 

[bobber]

Brown : Forwards Francesco Pinelli and Mitchell Martin both practicing at full speed Thursday. Only D Simon Motew absent from ice.

 

[beastintheeast]

What is the over-under on the rangers making the playoffs?

With all the trades and everything that they got and gave up a first round series and out a satisfying year?

 

[Tim Wallach]

What is the over-under on the rangers making the playoffs?

With all the trades and everything that they got and gave up a first round series and out a satisfying year?

Making the playoffs? I'd say nearly 100%. I'll give it 98.

Making it beyond the first round? 50/50. They have to start playing with a whole lot more jam and cohesion.

 

[Jives]

The will make the playoffs but if they finish 6, 7 or 8 they will almost for sure play Windsor, London or Sarnia. And imo the advantage is in their favour in a series. Need to get to the 4th of 5th spot to have an easier 1st round. Really with what MM gave away making it to the semis is bare minimum for what you would call a successful season. But 3 teams are all in…..Windsor, Sarnia and Kitchener. So 1 of those teams (maybe 2 if London gets in) isn’t making the semis. London make a tweak but didn’t go all in. They are looking solid next year. I think if they lose in the quarters you can’t call that a failure with what the 3 other teams traded away.

 

[bobber]

Rangers have played 34 games. They have some games in hand on teams above them. They have to start putting wins together. Tonight its the battle of the two teams with the lowest PIMs in the league. Rangers are number one in that category. Bright spot. Rangers have 32 points. Almost a point a game. Just joshing

 

[rangersblues]

The will make the playoffs but if they finish 6, 7 or 8 they will almost for sure play Windsor, London or Sarnia. And imo the advantage is in their favour in a series. Need to get to the 4th of 5th spot to have an easier 1st round. Really with what MM gave away making it to the semis is bare minimum for what you would call a successful season. But 3 teams are all in…..Windsor, Sarnia and Kitchener. So 1 of those teams (maybe 2 if London gets in) isn’t making the semis. London make a tweak but didn’t go all in. They are looking solid next year. I think if they lose in the quarters you can’t call that a failure with what the 3 other teams traded away.

By " making it to the semis" do you mean Conference Finals or Conference semis? My bar for minimum success is Conference Finals. No less than that!

 

[rangersblues]

The will make the playoffs but if they finish 6, 7 or 8 they will almost for sure play Windsor, London or Sarnia. And imo the advantage is in their favour in a series. Need to get to the 4th of 5th spot to have an easier 1st round. Really with what MM gave away making it to the semis is bare minimum for what you would call a successful season. But 3 teams are all in…..Windsor, Sarnia and Kitchener. So 1 of those teams (maybe 2 if London gets in) isn’t making the semis. London make a tweak but didn’t go all in. They are looking solid next year. I think if they lose in the quarters you can’t call that a failure with what the 3 other teams traded away.

On one hand if London would lose in the quarter finals it may not reflect badly on their chances going forward. As you said it didn't come at a big cost trade wise. However it would pose questions on how good this team really is going forward. They are expecting a lot more than quarter finals.

 

[Ward Cornell]

What is the over-under on the rangers making the playoffs?



With all the trades and everything that they got and gave up a first round series and out a satisfying year?

By " making it to the semis" do you mean Conference Finals or Conference semis? My bar for minimum success is Conference Finals. No less than that!

IMHO....reaching the Conference Finals with what was paid out followed by probably 3 yrs of mediocre hockey wasnt really worth it if that was MM's end goal.

 

[bobber]

IMHO....reaching the Conference Finals with what was paid out followed by probably 3 yrs of mediocre hockey wasnt really worth it if that was MM's end goal.

I think the Rangers have to start with a win over Oshawa tonight. A team that sold off. Do this first. The conference finals are a pipe dream when a team is in 9th place. I am going to temper any prognostications until the Rangers can string a bunch of wins together. I just don't see a lot of teams above them falling apart in the second half. The Storm are looking at making the play offs and Erie got rid of their coach and are what 5 points behind the Rangers. They are hoping to squeak into a play off spot also.

 

[rangersblues]

IMHO....reaching the Conference Finals with what was paid out followed by probably 3 yrs of mediocre hockey wasnt really worth it if that was MM's end goal.

I don't think we're going to see mediocre hockey again for 3 years. It's like this year's draft didn't even happen. No first rounder, doubtful 2nd rounder. AND only one 2006 and four 2005 players on the roster. And our best 05, Rehkopf will be getting used to recover draft picks.

 

[GeoBlue]

I think the Rangers have to start with a win over Oshawa tonight. A team that sold off. Do this first. The conference finals are a pipe dream when a team is in 9th place. I am going to temper any prognostications until the Rangers can string a bunch of wins together. I just don't see a lot of teams above them falling apart in the second half. The Storm are looking at making the play offs and Erie got rid of their coach and are what 5 points behind the Rangers. They are hoping to squeak into a play off spot also.

Oshawa AND Saginaw. If you cannot get it going with these 2 then there is no hope. After these 2, there are a series of games that are against teams that made the big trades. These will truly mark where we stand compared to the rest of the league. To be fair, I am hoping for 20 wins from now to the beginning of the playoffs. That would mean beating the teams that are "rebuilding" if we drop ALL the games against the teams that made the big trades. I'm including Saginaw as a rebuilding team although they are doing quite well. That should be good for 4th or 5th place which would be a great place to land if we make the playoffs.

 

[EvenSteven]

The will make the playoffs but if they finish 6, 7 or 8 they will almost for sure play Windsor, London or Sarnia. And imo the advantage is in their favour in a series. Need to get to the 4th of 5th spot to have an easier 1st round. Really with what MM gave away making it to the semis is bare minimum for what you would call a successful season. But 3 teams are all in…..Windsor, Sarnia and Kitchener. So 1 of those teams (maybe 2 if London gets in) isn’t making the semis. London make a tweak but didn’t go all in. They are looking solid next year. I think if they lose in the quarters you can’t call that a failure with what the 3 other teams traded away.

For me, I’m torn about this climb up the standings. Sure, it would be great to finish fourth or fifth and not see one of the big three teams in the first round. But, a first round series against Saginaw or Owen Sound, the likely opponent if we do get into the fourth or fifth spot, should be a long series. Six or seven games I would bank on.

I don’t know if I want to go into round two versus one of the big three teams coming off a long arduous seven game series when you know that our second round opponent will likely have dispatched their first round opponent in four or five quick and easy games.

Something tells me that we really may be better off seeing one of those first teams in the first round. Going into an opening series on even ground, all things being considered, with the same amount of rest and health, may give us a better chance against that big three team.

Then, you play another one of those big three teams in the second round. I suppose then we could still be playing a rested team in the second round, but we would’ve dispatched a damn good team in round one and if nothing else, that’s a big feather in your cap.

Depending on how we play to finish out the regular season, if this team does get it together, and is able to be a force, you could see jockeying amongst the first three teams to avoid playing us in round one.

Sure, I don’t believe we are built as a playoff team. But we are what we are. There’s a ton of skill on this team, and if we get the goaltending and can stay away from the injury bug, we could do some damage in the postseason.

Oshawa AND Saginaw. If you cannot get it going with these 2 then there is no hope. After these 2, there are a series of games that are against teams that made the big trades. These will truly mark where we stand compared to the rest of the league. To be fair, I am hoping for 20 wins from now to the beginning of the playoffs. That would mean beating the teams that are "rebuilding" if we drop ALL the games against the teams that made the big trades. I'm including Saginaw as a rebuilding team although they are doing quite well. That should be good for 4th or 5th place which would be a great place to land if we make the playoffs.

Any less than seven out of 10 in the next 10 games is a huge failure. Oshawa, Saginaw, Erie, and Guelph. All four are must win games. And then if we go 500 against the remaining teams, that gets us to seven out of 10. Really though, you’d like to be better. 7 of 10 is good but you’d like to see 8 or 9 to really prove something.

 

[EvenSteven]

I’m going to raise this one last time. Of course, if this team flames out, I’ll be bringing it up again. Lol.

Going into the 2nd week of December, many on here would have accepted a “sell year” considering our spot in the standings and the state of the team.

Had we decided to sell, we could have set ourselves up for the next few years in a big way.

At that time, in the cupboard, we had 5x2nds and 8x3rds. Included in that was a 2nd’23(Bar) and 2x3rds’23(Sag, Osh)

Using deals from this year as comparables (looking at 2nds & 3rds for this exercise), we could have maybe done the following had we decided to sell:

Costantini-
Get back the 2nd we paid for him. Maybe to Windsor for that 2nd, another lower pick and Onuska? With a good OA tender, maybe Missy doesn’t sell?

Pinelli- (Arcuri/Zhilkin trade comparison)
To Ottawa for:
2nd 23 (Gue), 2nd. 3x3rds.

Mesar- no comparable but considering the Mintyukov return, as an NHL 1st rounder, this could have been fair:
2x2nds. 2x3rds.
London and Barrie still have open import spots.

Schmidt-(Holmes/Hache comparable)
To Barrie or Windsor for
2x2nds. 3rd.

Had we been able to accomplish all of that (each these hypothetical deals would be “give or take” a pick), today, we’d be sitting at somewhere in the neighborhood of 10x2nds and 14x3rds.

Included in that would have been 2x2nds (Guelph’s came over in the above hypothetical Pinelli deal) and 2x 3rds for the upcoming draft to go along with the 2x1sts. Six picks in the first three rounds would have been a hell of a start going forward for that draft class. Consider that both 1sts would likely be in the top 11.

Then, next year we’d only sell off Brzustewicz for, say, minimum Kyrou return (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, ++) and we’d be going into the 24-25 season sitting with 12x2nds and 15x3rds once you include 2027 and 2028 draft picks that would be in play.

We’d be looking to start two or three years of contention.

We’d have the picks to add pieces for runs starting in 24-25, repairing the ‘06 draft class in the process.

We’d be one of those teams who could buy at deadlines and still have picks to draft players.

Look at Ottawa and London. Teams who bought at the deadline and still have their ‘23 draft picks intact. (Each have a 2nd and two 3rds).

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Unlike some of you I have faith in this team. I believe and am confident in their abilities enough that, if they really put their minds together, they can still manage to miss the playoffs.

 

[RangerNation]

Tonight's lineup

Sop-Pinelli-Mešár
Arcuri-Zhilkin-Martin
Swick-Rehkopf-Valade
Misaljevic-Mercer-Pugliese

Moore-Schmidt
Hamara-Brzustewicz
Andonovski-Hollett

Costantini

Martin and Pinelli back, Motew still out. This is the closest to a perfect lineup, that should be winning 75-80% of their games. Blues at home the rest of the way. Buckle up!

 

[EvenSteven]

Tonight's lineup

Sop-Pinelli-Mešár
Arcuri-Zhilkin-Martin
Swick-Rehkopf-Valade
Misaljevic-Mercer-Pugliese

Moore-Schmidt
Hamara-Brzustewicz
Andonovski-Hollett

Costantini

Martin and Pinelli back, Motew still out. This is the closest to a perfect lineup, that should be winning 75-80% of their games. Blues at home the rest of the way. Buckle up!

Martin playing out of position. I suppose they have to experiment and find the right mix for the top nine.

 

[RangerNation]

The Chris Dennis "training camp" this past week has produced 10 shots through 30mins....against Oshawa.

 

[rangersblues]

The Chris Dennis "training camp" this past week has produced 10 shots through 30mins....against Oshawa.

You can tell they've been working on the pp. So far 0-3 and zero shots. It's tough to watch

 

[EvenSteven]

You can tell they've been working on the pp. So far 0-3 and zero shots. It's tough to watch

On an early delayed penalty, multiple times they tried to enter the zone but couldn’t.

Bad sign.

 

[Jives]

3-1 now…anyone else hoping the final is 7-1 so CD can maybe be canned? He probably won’t as we just need to be patient.

 

[EvenSteven]

I want Fishman, Serpa, Zidlicky, and all the picks back.

3-1 now…anyone else hoping the final is 7-1 so CD can maybe be canned? He probably won’t as we just need to be patient.

You may get your wish.