Game Analysis: #1 - 10/3/13 | New York Rangers @ Phoenix Coyotes Analysis

[Fitzy]

Mike Smith is a way better goalie than people give him credit for.

He is a talented goaltender with frame and athleticism. But so is Marc Andre Fleury. What makes a good goaltender is consistency of performance, and that is something that Smith has yet to master.

 

[iamitter]

I don't know if Mike Smith really was that great at handling the puck that period. Yeah he bailed them out, but he also made a lot of fumbles that led to scoring chances for us.


Richards has looked really, really good. Like he just got 5 years younger.
Nash has been a little invisible.
Zuccarello has been getting out muscled a lot. He's tried going wide 4-5 times this period and always got crushed to the boards.
Staal has looked fine. I'm going to miss him a lot if he leaves for Carolina. He's been our best defenseman thus far.
Stralman and Moore have both been up and down.
Fast has looked scrappy on the boards. Bit held down by his line.
Miller's had some jump to his step and hasn't been making as many mistakes as last year.


I like that Richards is taking faceoffs on the first line.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

Mike Smith is a way better goalie than people give him credit for.

Pretty much. Just because he sucked a few years ago doesn't mean he sucks now.

 

[ecemleafs]

i thought it was a decent period. early on we were to quick to move up the ice without making the play to get out of the zone and we were left exposed. smith made big plays to keep us from scoring. we could have easily had 2 goals in that period if not for smith making some really nice saves. ice seems like its in **** condition which isnt surpising since its october in the desert.

 

[Tawnos]

The Rangers will win if they continue to play like this.

They played the better period and started off much better until Pouliot killed the momentum of the game.

You know, I'm not entirely sure that play wasn't an interference penalty on the Coyotes player.

 

[OverTheCap]

Some nice setups in that period, but the Rangers have to screen Smith and make life a little difficult for him.

 

[Maineice11]

I think also with 1 period under their belts, they'll all exhale relax a bit and I think passes will be crisper and more on the tape of the sticks coming up here in the 2nd period.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

Glad to see a one-timer! Forgot those existed.

Haha so much this.

5 shots on two power plays. That would have gotten us through a week last year.

 

[iamitter]

A few thoughts.

I'm already way more comfortable with our transition getting out of the d-zone than I was last year. We seem to be able to actually pass the puck.

That said, I'm not sure about the Pouliot-Brassard-Zucc line right now. They seem to do an awful lot of east-west movement. Hasn't really worked. Yet. Jury's out.

The powerplay looks pretty much the same to me.

Agreed. I just don't see that line working in the playoffs.

 

[mike14]

Only saw the last 8 minutes but I thought we looked ok. Generated a few good looks on the PP and the transition game looks ok.

As others have said, we seem to get a lot of shots that go straight to the logo of the goalie, but Smith's positioning has been very good. Keep playing like we have a few will go through

 

[Crease]

I'll be happy with a point. They're on the road, in a different time zone, in a home opener for a team that was on the brink of moving.

 

[HockeyStickHomicide]

Del Zotto has looked awesome, he's going to have a great year.

Makes me so nervous though. Everytime I see him in the zone before half our forewards im all

 

[Tawnos]

I like that Richards is taking faceoffs on the first line.

He takes faceoffs on the left side of the ice (his strong side). Stepan will take them on the other.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

Good so far:

Brassard and Zuccarello. Both look like they can handle the puck. Most of the team looks like they're handling bricks by comparison.

The Brass/Pouliot/Zucc line seems to have nice chemistry. I can see them being dangerous.

Girardi made some nice defensive stops one on one.

Del Zotto looks poised for an offensive breakout this season. Staal as well, to an obviously lesser extent. Staal also just looks like a beast.

Richards looks better at the wing and better overall than last season. Nice shot and puck movement on the PP. Not an amazing period, but nice progress from last year.

The breakout and transition game looks much improved.

Bad so far:

I don't think I noticed Rick Nash ONE time in that entire period. He looks like a floater; the kind I forget to flush sometimes.

Girardi, despite the aforementioned strong one on one plays, looks somewhat lost in his defensive zone coverage. Hopefully he just needs to adjust more.

Stepan looks rusty. It shows that he missed the pre-season.

Hank looks like he might have a signature slow start. Doesn't look comfy yet.

Boyle looks so soft on the puck and on his feet. Don't get how a guy so big goes down so easy.

Pyatt; waste of space.

Fast being stuck with Boyle and Pyatt. This makes NO sense to me. Dorsett is dragging down Moore and Miller. Boyle and Pyatt are dragging down Fast. Put Fast with Miller and Moore. Put Dorsett with Boyle and Pyatt. Seems like the most obvious thing in the world to me.

 

[Doctor King Schultz]

JT Miller does not look good out there. Like last year, he just doesn't look NHL ready to me. Way too many turn overs.

 

[Riverdale]

Stepan looks like he needed the pre-season to shake off some rust.

Staal had a good period. Can't wait to see what he can do this season.

I'm liking what I see so far. They don't look as lethargic as they did in first periods last year.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

I'll be happy with a point. They're on the road, in a different time zone, in a home opener for a team that was on the brink of moving.

PHX had some cool graphics in pre-game that said "Here to stay." Pretty cool.

I am not a fan of "forcing" hockey on non-traditional markets like Phoenix, but since they're there, they might as well stay. Losing a pro sports team is the worst thing that can happen to a fan.

 

[trilobyte]

I do agree that the Pouliot-Brassard-Zucc line has a ton of movement but not really getting the results we would hope for.
That would mean, in my way of thinking, to let that line stick for a while and see if they adjust and figure it out.

 

[Kwayry]

Can't watch the game. I appreciate the feedback.
Feels the GDT is the play by play thread and this is the color thread
A couple of questions: How DZ looked on the right, did Stepan look rusty and how did the kids look.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Even though he fumbled pucks, we failed to take advantage of it. Need to start taking advantage of everything

 

[Muh]

You know, I'm not entirely sure that play wasn't an interference penalty on the Coyotes player.

I saw nothing wrong with what Yotes player did, he was skating straight the whole way through, all he did was get lower. Pouliot tried to go over the top and took him down.

Fair call in my eyes.

 

[Krams]

I'll be happy with a point. They're on the road, in a different time zone, in a home opener for a team that was on the brink of moving.

Wouldn't be satisfied with a point. Take a look at the schedule going forward. This road trip is brutal, and the Coyotes are a team the Rangers need to beat in order to come out relatively unscathed.

 

[gary laser eyes]

It's weird to see the Rangers with an actual transition game.

Boyle and Pyatt need to go. Cally and Hags can't come back soon enough.

 

[Tawnos]

Can't watch the game. I appreciate the feedback.
Feels the GDT is the play by play thread and this is the color thread
A couple of questions: How DZ looked on the right, did Stepan look rusty and how did the kids look.

Stepan looked rusty, for sure.

Fast had some good plays. Mostly involved with hounding the puck. Miller looked fine to me. He's playing on the 4th line, but he had a good forecheck at one point. He doesn't have much help out there.

DZ looks okay on the right, but he spent some of the period rotating on and off of the pair with Girardi while McDonagh got his chin fixed.

 

[Machinehead]

I'll be happy with a point. They're on the road, in a different time zone, in a home opener for a team that was on the brink of moving.

Points? Don't talk about points