Derek Stepan and the Stepan line

[Ola]

Btw, I am getting pretty sick of the tremendous trashing of all players on this team. Stats is only stats. People should actually watch some games.

We have just made the Conference Finals for like only the 5th time in the last 40 years or whatever and still every player suck tremendously.

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

Lmao. What a stupid thread. Op should be embarrassed.

yeah not so much

I specifically said I'm talking about his offense, only...

nobody here is questioning his 2 way play.

 

[WVULax22]

Watch the games, Step has been fine. We've played tight checking, low scoring games. Offensive numbers are down, Goalie numbers are up. Welcome to playoff hockey.

Hahahahahaha

Awesome.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Like most Ranger players in a grueling 14 games Stepan has had some good games and some bad games. I think he has been skating better than in most the regular season games. The only real alarming issue is his faceoffs. Its so hard to have a good PP if you can not win a faceoff.

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

Btw, I am getting pretty sick of the tremendous trashing of all players on this team. Stats is only stats. People should actually watch some games.

We have just made the Conference Finals for like only the 5th time in the last 40 years or whatever and still every player suck tremendously.

Dude I've watched every game. Our first line production has been pathetic. Don't blame me... blame them.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

Lost in the numbers has been Stepan's tremendous defensive play. He has stolen many a puck in the neutral zone. His presence could be very important against Montreal.

Not disagreeing with you. But there are many more opportunities to steal pucks in the neutral zone and play good defensive hockey when you continuously lose faceoffs giving the puck to the opposition

 

[Miamipuck]

Btw, I am getting pretty sick of the tremendous trashing of all players on this team. Stats is only stats. People should actually watch some games.

We have just made the Conference Finals for like only the 5th time in the last 40 years or whatever and still every player suck tremendously.

I am with you there. Again, they're scoring less than 2.5 goals a game, the numbers for every player are lacking.

 

[Raspewtin]

Don't you know Jesper Fast and Oscar Lindberg are the next Crosby and Malkin?

One thing that really disappoints me about HFNYR is the blatant bias and overvaluing of our own prospects. I kind of get it, because we sucked at drafting for so long. But damn, do some here take it to an extreme

Well thank god no one has that opinion.

Who the **** does this fanbase overrate to the extremes you baselessly claim they do?

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

Not disagreeing with you. But there are many more opportunities to steal pucks in the neutral zone and play good defensive hockey when you continuously lose faceoffs giving the puck to the opposition

Exactly, he is horrendous on face offs, also.

I guess Stepan is immune to criticism, though.

 

[Raspewtin]

But you cannot hate a player we drafted ourselves, right? To some here Dubinksky, Anisimov, Callahan and Hagelin are HOFers.

Who the hell has said that?

Have you seen the way Hagelin and Callahan have been getting shredded by this fanbase?

 

[YoSoyLalo]

Exactly, he is horrendous on face offs, also.

I guess Stepan is immune to criticism, though.

No, he isn't, but saying he's been "terrible" is laughably incorrect.

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

No, he isn't, but saying he's been "terrible" is laughably incorrect.

on faceoffs? terrible

goal scoring? terrible

point production? not impressive

two-way play? excellent

 

[Raspewtin]

on faceoffs? terrible

goal scoring? terrible

point production? not impressive

two-way play? excellent

A largely pass-first player who's good for 15-20 goals a year shouldn't have to be excellent at goal scoring.

What do you expect? It's the playoffs. Only the elite of the elite are averaging high numbers. Tough for Stepan and co to consistently score when they're busy keeping Crosby and Giroux quiet.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

If Nash could score, Stepan would probably have closer to 10 points right now.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

on faceoffs? terrible

goal scoring? terrible

point production? not impressive

two-way play? excellent

Consider the O within the confines of the games themselves or against the rest of the team. Stop comparing them to the reg season production of Kopitar and you'll realize Step has had a solid postseason.

 

[Raspewtin]

Consider the O within the confines of the games themselves or against the rest of the team. Stop comparing them to the reg season production of Kopitar and you'll realize Step has had a solid postseason.

Stop using rational thinking. It doesn't work when someone's already got an agenda.

 

[TheTakedown]

yeah that's nice he has 6 points in 14 games and went 7 games without a point during the playoffs.

but yeah he's been real solid....

definitely a great first line center.....

SO sick of people giving this kid a pass

it's not just about points. Stepan is our best 2 way forward, as well as one of our top forcheckers.. He's also 23 years old, still maturing into a top-tier 2C player...

for someone making less than $3M, yes, he gets a pass.

Nash on the other hand is 28 years old, gets paid over twice as much as Stepan, and has 4 points in 2 playoff series

 

[McRanger]

Offensively, Stepan looks like he is playing with a hole in his stick.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

Well thank god no one has that opinion.

Who the **** does this fanbase overrate to the extremes you baselessly claim they do?

Clearly I was exaggerating, which went right over your head.

Stepan is the #1 offender
Kristo is probably the #2 offender
Fast
Lindberg


Just to name a few. Is it baseless? It's my opinion based on observations. There are no stats and facts to back it up. You don't have to agree with them, and I couldn't care less whether you do or not but if opinions and observations are baseless we might as well just shut down the boards

 

[Killem Dafoe]

The thing is, Stepan isn't producing as much as he should be, but he's trying. He's doing other things well. Nash is playing as if he's trying to suck. There is no comparison there.

 

[GAGLine]

Nash has 0 goals on 52 shots. How many of those shots would have resulted in an assist for Stepan had they gone in? And that line has been without Kreider for all but the last 4 games.

There are very few players in this league who will be able to match their regular season stats in the playoffs, particularly when they are playing teams that are evenly matched or better. In the playoffs, offense is more about scoring at the right time and getting contributions from unlikely sources. Teams game-plan to shut down the opposition's top lines. That's why depth is so important.

 

[RempireStateBuilding]

The day Rick Nash, our supposed top offense-providing player, has more goals and points than Stepan is the day I'll start to think about considering the possibility of worrying about Stepan's production. On a team where there's a 3-way tie for 1st with 4 goals, a 3-way tie for 2nd with 3 goals, and a 4-way tie for 3rd with 2 goals, I'm fine with Stepan's offensive production. Stepan also tied for 2nd on the team in assists with 4.

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

The thing is, Stepan isn't producing as much as he should be, but he's trying. He's doing other things well. Nash is playing as if he's trying to suck. There is no comparison there.

I'll give you that one...

We need that line to start producing if we're gonna keep this rolling.

 

[Ail]

He has the best from behind stick check on the team. He's a neutral zone/blueline theif. That's a big time quality to have for creating turnovers and oddman rushes. I just wish his acceleration wasn't doodoo.

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

Stepan is an easy player to pick on because he isn't flashy, but he's a very effective player overall. He's not an ideal 1C, which is why his production leaves a bit to be desired, but he's our best option for that spot.

I know you mostly agree with me on this, but I have to bang on my Stepan drum due to this thread and this isn't targeted at you in any way, but i'm gonna pick apart the idea of the ideal 1C.

The "ideal" 1C is Jon Toews or Crosby. Given the fact that our elite players are the best goalie in the world and a future Norris winner, i'm fine with Derek Stepan and his consistently very good-to-great two-way play as our 1C for the foreseeable future.

6 points in 14 games while Nash has ZERO GOALS. If Nash had even 4 ****ing goals in 14 games, Steps would have 10 in 14. Given his two way play, that would be great.

I can't believe people still hate on Stepan.