Post-Game Talk: Capital Punishment

[TheDirtyH]

Was traveling today . Is there any reason to watch this game on the replay?

Not unless you feel like your day was going too well to this point.

 

[egelband]

I agree with a lot of what’s been said. I agree the team D needs to be better. Specifically the D issues are stemming from the forwards not back checking hard enough.

That said, we have reverted back to the beginning of the season. We are getting owned in front of both netfronts. Absolutely owned. On D even when we are in the right spot there’s no one taking the body. No one is getting position. It’s a little bit that we always seemed to be outnumbered or scrambling, but it’s also a lack of physicality.


As for the offense: our desire to stop in front, screen a goalie, hunt rebounds, and just take the puck to the net is really lacking. The lack of a consistent cycle is a whole other thing.

But we are not winning the either netfronts. It’s not just a lack of hustle getting back, it’s just a softness.

I fear the team once again lacks an identity. Lacks a sense of spine to play a style that works in the playoffs. If it’s that bad… I mean Kane’s only going to make matters worse. Way worse. Because Drury has also signaled to the roster that the identity is far more offensive.

That you can bring in Tarasenko and see his lack of commitment to a team game and your solution is Kane…. I think this deadline has made me question if Drury actually has a plan.

Say what you want about ancient Lou but at least you know the style of team he wants the Isles to be. I can’t say the same for Dru. It’s bipolar btw this year and last.

I feel the same way. Seems both management and the players have no plan.

And yet, I still hope it comes together miraculously.

 

[Machinehead]

I think my point was less affirming vallys model and more suggesting (once again) the limits of all models, especially when it comes to evaluating how players play the game rather than what happens in the games they played.

I'll always go back to game one of the season, or the first couple games we played against the Islanders this year: this team is capable of playing very fast and being extremely hard to contain on offense. That they don't do it consistently (generous wording here) is not indicative to me that they can't, but I'm certainly not optimistic they will.

I also think we're really focused on being low-event this year which has helped the corsi game tremendously but we may have over adjusted. We don't do anything creative.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Was traveling today . Is there any reason to watch this game on the replay?

The 1st and 3rd were ok. Fast forward past the 2nd. Worst period of the year.

 

[TopShelfSnipes]

The biggest issue I have with the offensive system as a whole is the movement of players without the puck.

They don't go to scoring areas. They don't fight to get open. They don't try to create a passing lane and a shooting lane at the same time. They don't go to support the puck carrier and try to help clear a lane.

Other teams routinely do these things. Drop pass and drive the net to clear a lane for the trailer. Dump off pass to a forward at the half wall then immediately tee up in a shooting position skating backwards towards the middle of the ice where the defense has to consider you as a threat. Opportunistic cherry picking to try and get a breakaway. Going to the side of the net and staying there to maybe bang home a centering pass, and alternating between there and behind the net depending on if you expect the cycle to lead to a hard-around or you think a teammate might be able to create a passing lane for a centering pass. Playing on the edge and setting high picks in the offensive zone to get around puck pressure and maybe create an odd-man situation down low.

Other teams do these things, the Rangers do not.

 

[TheDirtyH]

I also think we're really focused on being low-event this year which has helped the corsi game tremendously but we may have over adjusted. We don't do anything creative.

It's because we never give ourselves enough time to do so. I'd love us to be MORE low event at this point lol.

The rangers want to slow things down in the neutral zone and the offensive zone, but want to speed it all up in the dzone. We look like AV took the HC job again. We should be doing things opposite this. Make the first pass that's open in the NZ, look for tipins and dump ins, chase, and immediately attack the net. On d, get in everybody's f***ing way and stop chasing every player around the zone.

 

[Machinehead]

It's because we never give ourselves enough time to do so. I'd love us to be MORE low event at this point lol.

The rangers want to slow things down in the neutral zone and the offensive zone, but want to speed it all up in the dzone. We look like AV took the HC job again. We should be doing things opposite this. Make the first pass that's open in the NZ, look for tipins and dump ins, chase, and immediately attack the net. On d, get in everybody's f***ing way and stop chasing every player around the zone.

Our last two coaches aren't enough of an AV departure for my liking.

At the very least, they haven't fostered a different clear identity.

I don't get what we are or what we want to be.

We talk about grit and targeted a bunch of that last year. Now we're targeting skill, which I think is good and needed, but we don't play skilled or foster skill.

If we had very clear standards and knew what we wanted to be good at, I think it would help our player development.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

They are catching us

We’re 10 points up on the Penguins, you have to chill.

 

[egelband]

Whats annoying the Fing hell out of me is how many times on breakouts they complete the D to F outlet pass and the F is skating back towards the Rangers zone.

This is a great point. And when they’re going good this isn’t an issue. But when they get into this backtracking mode it’s infuriating to watch.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

A big issue right now is the schedule. We’ve added new players and barely had any practice time and we went from 4 games in 6 nights with cross country travel into two sets of back to backs in 3 days with travel. It’s a dogshit schedule and we have a team that’s gassed and has new players in the lineup and it’s clearly causing a disconnect.

Need more from Shesterkin to be the stabilizing force while this is going on and not being the sieve he’s been lately. I still have hope he’ll find his game but it’s getting a bit late already.

 

[AlaBlueShirt]

It's rough out here. Gonna be an interesting one tomorrow. Hope they tighten it up.
I hate the way our D moves in the ozone. Guy like Mikkola shouldn't have any business under the dots. Make a pinch if it's 100% there.
Gallant's whole system seems to be based on instincts and giving players the freedom to be creative in the ozone. Eight times out of 10 our zone entry is that the winger carries the puck over the blueline and stops looking for a cross ice pass or cycle down low.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

This board is as toxic as it's been since the helmet toss. Amazing what a few losses will do after playing .800 hockey for over 2 months. We can't pass, stick handle, defend, are too soft, suck 5V5, coach sucks, GM has no clue or plan, etc. It's like f***ing Chernobyl in here. How about maybe it's just a combination of things going wrong at the same time? Some normal regression in play after a 22-4-4 run, 6 of 7 on road with lot's of travel, new guys added to roster, minimal urgency because of playoff position, distractions with upcoming TDL. I mean the only really bad games were the last 2 FFS.

 

[will1066]

Was traveling today . Is there any reason to watch this game on the replay?

No, resoundingly

 

[Deleted member 23124]

Yep. Basically locked into third. The priority needs to be staying healthy and integrating new pieces, whatever they end up being.

This is a problem because we don't have any "spare" players to give anyone a rest.

 

[mike14]

This board is as toxic as it's been since the helmet toss. Amazing what a few losses will do after playing .800 hockey for over 2 months. We can't pass, stick handle, defend, are too soft, suck 5V5, coach sucks, GM has no clue or plan, etc. It's like f***ing Chernobyl in here. How about maybe it's just a combination of things going wrong at the same time? Some normal regression in play after a 22-4-4 run, 6 of 7 on road with lot's of travel, new guys added to roster, minimal urgency because of playoff position, distractions with upcoming TDL. I mean the only really bad games were the last 2 FFS.

I mean some of that existed during the big winning streak, the pucks were just going in for us a lot more (and Halak was really good). Our defensive positioning and breakouts have pissed me off for ages and while I dont harp on i do feel I mention it at least once per GDT .
And I know people on here have been pissed at our 5v5 play for most of the season...

 

[Deleted member 23124]

I don't understand why they have to wait until his third season here. We all know it's going to happen.

Agreed. He lost his previous jobs halfway thru his second season (and he even had a winning record).

 

[bl02]

Was traveling today . Is there any reason to watch this game on the replay?

noooooooooo!!!

 

[Kaapo di tutti capi]

Was traveling today . Is there any reason to watch this game on the replay?

I can't think of a single reason

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I mean some of that existed during the big winning streak, the pucks were just going in for us a lot more (and Halak was really good). Our defensive positioning and breakouts have pissed me off for ages and while I dont harp on i do feel I mention it at least once per GDT .
And I know people on here have been pissed at our 5v5 play for most of the season...

No team and game is perfect. They are playing other professionals that get paid too. They do some things really well and create problems for other teams also even if the last few games have sucked ass. The team is top 1/3 in GF and GA and are 6th in points in the entire league. It's really not that bad.

 

[mike14]

No team and game is perfect. They are playing other professionals that get paid too. They do things really well and create problems for other teams also even if the last few games have sucked ass. The team is top 1/3 in GF and GA and are 6th in points in the entire league. It's really not that bad.

I don't think anyone is crying out for 'perfect', but as much as it can be over the top at times, if we didn't discuss the flaws, real or perceived, of his team the this place would be a ghost town and we'd all be far more productive members of society.
We are good team with some pretty obvious issues. The fact that some of those issues seem to occur repeatedly rules some people up. That's sports fandom for the most part...

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I don't think anyone is crying out for 'perfect', but as much as it can be over the top at times, if we didn't discuss the flaws, real or perceived, of his team the this place would be a ghost town and we'd all be far more productive members of society.
We are good team with some pretty obvious issues. The fact that some of those issues seem to occur repeatedly rules some people up. That's sports fandom for the most part...

Actually I think there are plenty of people expecting perfection. Reading this board today you would think we were in the running for Bedard. It's a joke.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Was traveling today . Is there any reason to watch this game on the replay?

If you feel like punishing yourself and ruining your night, go ahead.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

The biggest issue I have with the offensive system as a whole is the movement of players without the puck.

They don't go to scoring areas. They don't fight to get open. They don't try to create a passing lane and a shooting lane at the same time. They don't go to support the puck carrier and try to help clear a lane.

Other teams routinely do these things. Drop pass and drive the net to clear a lane for the trailer. Dump off pass to a forward at the half wall then immediately tee up in a shooting position skating backwards towards the middle of the ice where the defense has to consider you as a threat. Opportunistic cherry picking to try and get a breakaway. Going to the side of the net and staying there to maybe bang home a centering pass, and alternating between there and behind the net depending on if you expect the cycle to lead to a hard-around or you think a teammate might be able to create a passing lane for a centering pass. Playing on the edge and setting high picks in the offensive zone to get around puck pressure and maybe create an odd-man situation down low.

Other teams do these things, the Rangers do not.

Well said, very much agree with all of this. Goes back to @Machinehead 's point about us just not being creative enough. It's too much low event time in the offensive zone, far too often a good cycle is derailed by nobody ever trying to get into a scoring area so they eventually just cycle until they lose the puck.

When you watch other teams around the league, good teams and bad teams, you constantly see them doing the things you mention, but with the Rangers they're too stubborn to really do anything. It's a lot of nothing and throwing the puck around but not enough slashing through the zone by guys off the puck to disrupt the defense and open lanes. It happens from time to time, usually led by Fox, but not enough by a long shot. I think it's even more exacerbated by the rut the whole team seems to be in and having a new top 6 player added who clearly isn't anywhere near acclimated at this point.

 

[FUZfan]

After the caps went up 4-1, I turned off the television, left the room and had to give myself a 10 minute time out.

I'm 51 years old for crying out loud.

I hate the effing Caps.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Was traveling today . Is there any reason to watch this game on the replay?

Less than zero reasons. Watch MadMen reruns instead.