Series Talk: Rangers vs. Carolina (Game 1, Sunday May 5th @ 4pm ET, ESPN)

[Nickmo82]

They always generate chances. I've been waiting for Whoever-Whoever-Kakko to actually score for like six years.

I'm not diminishing anything. I'm saying that this is a huge mismatch for our bottom six. It objectively is.

We were +1 this season at 5v5. We scored one more goal than our opponents.

Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere were the best line in the league and Kreider-Zibanejad are +8745893447589758917439 at 5v5 since like 2017. Where did the minuses come from?

Do the math.

I've read all year on here that Kreider and Mika are garbage at 5v5 - at least this year.

So which is it? Genuine question.

 

[Machinehead]

I've read all year on here that Kreider and Mika are garbage at 5v5 - at least this year.

So which is it? Genuine question.

They're annoying to watch 5v5 and the other analytics say they shouldn't be good, but they just keep beating the other team at scoring goals over huge samples.

 

[Kupo]

Anderson is well rested after being out most of the year. He went 13-2 down the stretch allowing 1.84GAA with a .932 SV%. I wouldn't say we have much of a goaltending advantage this series.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

They always generate chances. I've been waiting for Whoever-Whoever-Kakko to actually score for like six years.

I'm not diminishing anything. I'm saying that this is a huge mismatch for our bottom six. It objectively is.

We were +1 this season at 5v5. We scored one more goal than our opponents.

Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere were the best line in the league and Kreider-Zibanejad are +8745893447589758917439 at 5v5 since like 2017. Where did the minuses come from?

Do the math.

Lets not forget that they also were playing Wheelchair in the bottom 6 as well as Brodzinski and the corpse of Bonino as the the 3rd line pivots for the entire year. Having Chytil return and pushing Wennberg down to the 4th line would be a huge plus. Plus the fact that Goodrow's game has improved. There would be no advantage for Carolina's bottom 6. Sorry.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

I don’t see the Chytil wildcard being mentioned much elsewhere but here.

I don’t think he’s a stone cold lock to come in and flip a series (who knows what we’re getting or how long he’s able to stay on the ice) but he’s certainly a player who can slant the balance in our favor, possibly significantly.

If he’s what he normally is and bumps Wennberg to the 4th, that probably curbs a ton of @Machinehead’s worries there.

If he goes on a Chytil heater? Carolina is f***ed.

But it’s also possible that he’s ultra passive and just not the same player? Probably best to just leave him out of the lineup and let Brodz play.

 

[SA16]

Anderson is well rested after being out most of the year. He went 13-2 down the stretch allowing 1.84GAA with a .932 SV%. I wouldn't say we have much of a goaltending advantage this series.

If you think Andersen is well rested after being out with a medical issue just wait until you see how well rested Chytil looks.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I don’t see the Chytil wildcard being mentioned much elsewhere but here.

I don’t think he’s a stone cold lock to come in and flip a series (who knows what we’re getting or how long he’s able to stay on the ice) but he’s certainly a player who can slant the balance in our favor, possibly significantly.

If he’s what he normally is and bumps Wennberg to the 4th, that probably curbs a ton of @Machinehead’s worries there.

If he goes on a Chytil heater? Carolina is f***ed.

But it’s also possible that he’s ultra passive and just not the same player? Probably best to just leave him out of the lineup and let Brodz play.

You almost had me but absolutely f***ing not to the bolded.

 

[Kupo]

Probably best to just leave him out of the lineup and let Brodz play.

 

[JimmyG89]

We were +1 this season at 5v5. We scored one more goal than our opponents.

Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere were the best line in the league and Kreider-Zibanejad are +8745893447589758917439 at 5v5 since like 2017. Where did the minuses come from?

Do the math.

They came primarily from Nick Bonino, Tyler Pitlick, Barclay Goodrow, and Jimmy Vesey. Most of them were -10 or worse 5v5 (Vesey was -9) Now, two of those guys are still in the lineup and are on the 4th line and the other two were sent to Narnia. Wheeler was +1 on the season for those wondering (-4 away from Mika-Kreider, +5 with that line). FWIW, Carolina "2nd line" center Jordan Staal was -11 and "3rd line" winger Martin Necas was -6.

If we're not including Rempe, which to me is fine because I don't see him suiting up for more than a game this series, those two were the least TOI per game against Washington at 5v5. You're also replacing him with Chytil, who was -1 on the season, but that an extremely small sample. Regardless of rust, he's the better player and a massive upgrade.

I understand going with the full scope of the season, but this team had countless changes to the bottom of their lineup. We went from guys that were outright minuses to guys that broke even (Wennberg, Roslovic) being added to the lineup.

In the end, the Canes have the better bottom 6 overall, but I do not believe it is a massive advantage. Their massive advantage is that they get to run Orlov, Skjei, and Slavin down the left side. Gus is solid, Miller has been outstanding, but Lindgren would be the one that doesn't belong if you're ranking this group. They also don't have a Trouba, although DeAngelo can do a killer impression on his side of the red line.

If Igor makes up the difference, we'll be cooking. If he and Andersen are on par with each other this probably goes the wrong way.

And we haven't heard anything about Chytil coming back because they've had the last two days off. I'd expect them to be on the ice tomorrow, we'll find out more then.

 

[GENESISPuck94]

Strongly disagree that Carolina has a better roster than the Rangers. That's bananas. Carolina has been and continues to be smoke and mirrors. Nothing has changed from years ago. They have one guy, Aho, and then a bunch of nothing. Guentzel i guess. They're a systems team. If the Rangers can't beat them they blew it. FLA is the equal. Carolina is a second/third tier team.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Guys I can get behind Rempe for a game to start this series so he can smash Aho and a few of their D but you don't want to leave him in there so long that you end up lighting yourself on fire.

I'd gladly re-insert him back into the lineup if it makes sense but the last thing I want to do is play him against a team that is going to cycle his face off. Thats how penalties are taken and/or goals against happen.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Strongly disagree that Carolina has a better roster than the Rangers. That's bananas. Carolina has been and continues to be smoke and mirrors. Nothing has changed from years ago. They have one guy, Aho, and then a bunch of nothing. Guentzel i guess. They're a systems team. If the Rangers can't beat them they blew it. FLA is the equal. Carolina is a second/third tier team.

Svechnikov is an elite talent.
They have a single line.
The rest is smoke and mirrors.
We have 2-3 lines.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Svechnikov is an elite talent.
They have a single line.
The rest is smoke and mirrors.
We have 2-3 lines.

No he is not unless we have lowered the bar for elite talent. He's a very good player but he has never exceeded 30 goals or 70 points in his career. Panarin, Fox, and Igor are elite talents.

 

[huerter]

The Islanders provide a series where Rempe may have a needed role and we keep everything the same. If it's the Canes, I prefer the idea of a healthy Chytil on line 3, with Wennberg anchoring Vesey and Goodrow on line 4.

Honestly I actually prefer Vesey sitting to keep the Rempe train going, but that will never happen.

Would you dress the long snapper or the 6th WR?

 

[Cuckoo4Kakko]

Would you dress the long snapper or the 6th WR?

What conversations would you like to have in the Islanders/Canes preview thread? Which uniforms have the better color scheme?

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Would you dress the long snapper or the 6th WR?

Who is the "long snapper" in this scenario?

A long snapper is a specialist position that generally can't be done by any random player.

 

[KevinFinnerty]

Let's go Rangers whoever the opponent is bring it on

 

[NikC]

Lets not forget that they also were playing Wheelchair in the bottom 6 as well as Brodzinski and the corpse of Bonino as the the 3rd line pivots for the entire year. Having Chytil return and pushing Wennberg down to the 4th line would be a huge plus. Plus the fact that Goodrow's game has improved. There would be no advantage for Carolina's bottom 6. Sorry.

i saw that movie the other night...
"The Corpse of Bonino"... with Christopher lee... horrifying

 

[Alluckks]

Chytil coming back on the 3rd line definitely adds some extended scoring to that line that is missed.

Wennberg going to the 3rd line with Goodrow on wing would work just fine.

 

[Alluckks]

Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko combined for 1 goal and it was a gift. That's the production I expect from them. We have a whole line incapable of scoring.

The Hurricanes have Martin Necas on their 3rd line and Evgeny Kuznetsov on their 4th line. While our 4th line had their moments, the bottom six is a huge mismatch and Goodrow is not going to keep up close to a PPG pace.

Elsewhere, Panarin has had three poor series in a row in terms of production and Lafreniere has 2 goals in 31 playoff games. If they step it up, my perception changes, but we can't assume that.

We have an advantage on D and in goal but these forward corps match up brutally for us.

They combined for 1 goal, yet none of them were negative +/-

I know it is a relatively bunk stat but it is still worth mentioning

If they negate Carolina's 3rd line, or even better if they get matched up against either of Carolina's top lines, then that is a win.

 

[huerter]

Who is the "long snapper" in this scenario?

A long snapper is a specialist position that generally can't be done by any random player.

Vesey kills penalties and is used in game clinching situations. He’s not coming out.

 

[eco's bones]

to respond to Tom in NC from a different thread. I don't look at Rempe as a deterrent to any particular player. I fully expect that players like Tom Wilson are going to do what they do. Rempe is a player that other teams are going to worry about now and into the future and Matthew can do his business a lot more cleanly when causing hurt and suffering than someone like Wilson. A hit on Oshie and TJ has a broken hand and no one even knew about it (apart from Oshie) until afterwards. As for Wilson going after Fox.....that works two ways too. Rempe if necessary can go after Ovie or Carlson but there wasn't a point the other night. In a closely fought game Wilson lost his cool and took a penalty for going after Fox after a power play goal. The Rangers didn't score on that one but they scored on 3 others. Sometimes keeping your head and not overreacting is the best thing you can do.

On Chytil it's a coaching staff's decision. What's most important is not who is in the lineup but whether we end up winning or not. If Chytil comes in and we continue to win then it's for sure a good move.

 

[IDvsEGO]

No he is not unless we have lowered the bar for elite talent. He's a very good player but he has never exceeded 30 goals or 70 points in his career. Panarin, Fox, and Igor are elite talents.

He also can't play an entire season, but I'd say that their first line balances well against our 1st.
Their 2nd line and 3rd line doesn't compare to our 2nd and third.
Their 4th is better than ours.

 

[KOVALEV022473]

Such BULLSHIT!

 

[noncents]

i'm not trying to single MH out, but his simultaneously honing in on Kakkos lack of production results as well in terms of +/- and the bottom 6's season-long analytical profile as a whole is curious.

Kakko grades out pretty well analytically in terms of shot share and xgf%, and the guys who were the worst offenders throughout the season in the bottom 6 - both in terms of analytics as well as production - have been replaced. The leftovers are Cuylle Goodrow and Vesey.

Cuylle is a rookie but i think we've seen him have success so far. balancing playing responsibly, imposing his will physically, and actually creating against such a staunch defense is a tall task for him. It could honestly be a big moment in his process to find some belief and confidence.

Goodrow, this year, we know was pure unfiltered detonate-the-Denny's-after-church-Grand-Slam Ass. But he has PK steez and has a postseason knack. we've seen it and we'll need to keep seeing it.

Vesey is a guy I would love to see really turn it on, but he had a bad g4 and might actually be the odd man out of Chytil returns. he had that hot streak and then fell off a cliff production wise. he has the size the grit the smarts and the pedigree.. but we haven't seen him be truly effective outside game 1.

I'm very curious to see what a Goodrow Wennberg Vesey line looks like. It could be toothless or it could totally slap. Wennberg rarely loses his minutes but he has no desire to create offense.

Chytil between Cuylle and Kakko i strongly feel would be successful