Kitchener Rangers 2019-20 Season Thread (Part 3)

[EvenSteven]

Big love in for Steve B on the Farwell and Pope podcast today. Deserved I suppose. Especially the first half of his near 20 year tenure.

But things have been stagnant around the organization (on and off ice) over the second half of his tenure. Season ticket waiting list petering out. Only one real threat to get to the finals (16-17) since the 07-08 season.

I will say though that his hiring of DeBoer when he did, his capping of season tickets causing an instant rush by the fanbase to get out and buy season tickets to the cap, spectacular Memorial Cup bid, and a force behind Aud expansion are a few things that helped put this team on the map.

I’d be interested to see who they bring in to replace him. Hopefully, someone who can put this team back on the upswing that it enjoyed pre 2008.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

Hawel and Pinelli expected back tonight per JB. who sits tonight? do they roll out 7 D again and sit Dickerson and one of Fishman/Serpa (I hope not) or is it Dickerson, Motew & one of Xhekaj/Ottavainen (wait I don’t want that either)

good problem to have in Kitchener right now

So we finally see the "power line".....and with Pinelli on that 3rd line. Wow....can't wait. They need to focus on one game at a time. No looking ahead until the game at hand is done. NB has nothing to lose by coming at the Rangers hard.

 

[Tim Wallach]

Hawel and Pinelli expected back tonight per JB. who sits tonight? do they roll out 7 D again and sit Dickerson and one of Fishman/Serpa (I hope not) or is it Dickerson, Motew & one of Xhekaj/Ottavainen (wait I don’t want that either)

good problem to have in Kitchener right now

Not saying this will happen, but if it were me, I'd rest Sebrango tonight. You have 8 healthy D and need opportunities to get them into games. For Sebrango, you want him playing the back-to-back with Guelph, so it'll be four games in 3.5 days if he plays tonight. Gotta take the long view in my opinion.

 

[EvenSteven]

Not saying this will happen, but if it were me, I'd rest Sebrango tonight. You have 8 healthy D and need opportunities to get them into games. For Sebrango, you want him playing the back-to-back with Guelph, so it'll be four games in 3.5 days if he plays tonight. Gotta take the long view in my opinion.

Great idea!! It’s not like we don’t have capable D to carry the mail.

 

[EvenSteven]

Not saying this will happen, but if it were me, I'd rest Sebrango tonight. You have 8 healthy D and need opportunities to get them into games. For Sebrango, you want him playing the back-to-back with Guelph, so it'll be four games in 3.5 days if he plays tonight. Gotta take the long view in my opinion.

Great idea!! It’s not like we don’t have capable D to carry the mail.

 

[GeoBlue]

Great idea!! It’s not like we don’t have capable D to carry the mail.

You can say that again.

 

[EvenSteven]

You can say that again.

Lol!!

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

Not saying this will happen, but if it were me, I'd rest Sebrango tonight. You have 8 healthy D and need opportunities to get them into games. For Sebrango, you want him playing the back-to-back with Guelph, so it'll be four games in 3.5 days if he plays tonight. Gotta take the long view in my opinion.

didn’t know MM was a poster here.

good call

 

[Ward Cornell]

Must be close to the record if not the record for the fastest short-handed goal in the era of the initial face-off in the short-handed teams end....8 seconds.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

really a fan of the Petizian-Pinelli-McDonnell line. reminds me of the DMQ line from 2018. Petizian is the wheels (McHugh), Pinelli brings the scoring touch (Damiani) and McDonnell is an absolute workhorse (Meireles). I suspect we’ll see a lot from Pinelli in the 2nd half on the defensive side especially considering who he’s playing with and the lighter competition he’s playing against

 

[rangersblues]

I watched the Rangers pregame warmup for the first time since the coaching change tonight. I can't begin to tell you how impressed I was. The passes were crisp and on the tape, not slow that barely made it to the player. Lots of speed, great energy. And at the end players working on one timers. Nobody can ever tell me this isn't 100% coaching.

The more I watch, the more I hope we have a dual Coach/GM on our hands permanently.

 

[moose311]

Not saying this will happen, but if it were me, I'd rest Sebrango tonight. You have 8 healthy D and need opportunities to get them into games. For Sebrango, you want him playing the back-to-back with Guelph, so it'll be four games in 3.5 days if he plays tonight. Gotta take the long view in my opinion.

Josh Brown noted that Sebrango was not allowed to play 4 straight days (per OHL rules), so he'd have to sit one of the three games. The Friday game was the obvious choice.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

who’s out for Sebrango tomorrow? Motew seems like the obvious choice but I thought he played pretty well tonight

 

[GeoBlue]

I watched the Rangers pregame warmup for the first time since the coaching change tonight. I can't begin to tell you how impressed I was. The passes were crisp and on the tape, not slow that barely made it to the player. Lots of speed, great energy. And at the end players working on one timers. Nobody can ever tell me this isn't 100% coaching.

The more I watch, the more I hope we have a dual Coach/GM on our hands permanently.

What impressed me was that the 1st and 2nd lines pretty much sat out the 3rd period in order to give the other lines more playing time, despite the fact that Meireles and Damiani were going for the hat trick. (As was McDonnell You would never have seen this with McKee behind the bench.

 

[Rangers True Blue]

What impressed me was that the 1st and 2nd lines pretty much sat out the 3rd period in order to give the other lines more playing time, despite the fact that Meireles and Damiani were going for the hat trick. (As was McDonnell You would never have seen this with McKee behind the bench.

You would have seen them sit back and trap allowing the opposing team to come in waves and set up a shooting gallery. Resting the top 2 lines and giving more ice time for the 3rd and 4th kept the flow going back and forth. No one was held back. If they could score....score.

You have to wonder if MM is empowering his assistant coaches to do the job they were hired to do. You can see it in pretty much every facet of their game. X's development over the past weeks.....more team grit.....better playmaking.....team defense (yeah, I know....still some breakdowns but fewer than pre MM).....creativity that's smart and varied (not the same play into the zone every time)....and confidence that runs from the top line down to the 4th (love watching that 4th line wreak havoc). This is a different team in so many ways and one that is entertaining...fun even!

No Daws in net for the back-to-back. Time to take advantage and dominate.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

 

[robertmac43]

Anyone braving the roads to go to Guelph for tonight?

 

[rangersblues]

Anyone braving the roads to go to Guelph for tonight?

Was playing it by ear since Wednesday when I saw the forecast. Not tonight.

 

[GeoBlue]

You would have seen them sit back and trap allowing the opposing team to come in waves and set up a shooting gallery. Resting the top 2 lines and giving more ice time for the 3rd and 4th kept the flow going back and forth. No one was held back. If they could score....score.

You have to wonder if MM is empowering his assistant coaches to do the job they were hired to do. You can see it in pretty much every facet of their game. X's development over the past weeks.....more team grit.....better playmaking.....team defense (yeah, I know....still some breakdowns but fewer than pre MM).....creativity that's smart and varied (not the same play into the zone every time)....and confidence that runs from the top line down to the 4th (love watching that 4th line wreak havoc). This is a different team in so many ways and one that is entertaining...fun even!

No Daws in net for the back-to-back. Time to take advantage and dominate.

And just to add.........aggressive on the PK. Love it. I took my daughter to the game she says, "Oh shucks, we have a penalty". I told her that we could end up with a shortie, then "Oh look.........a breakway!" Meireles scores. This is VERY opposite of the McKee philosophy.

 

[GeoBlue]

Maybe we can get Fish 6 more to finish the year? ;-)

 

[EvenSteven]

Maybe we can get Fish 6 more to finish the year? ;-)

Love to see it. But it’ll be hard if dressing 7-D while scratching healthy F’s becomes a thing.

 

[EvenSteven]

Love to see it. But it’ll be hard if dressing 7-D while scratching healthy F’s becomes a thing.

Nice win. Not a fan of 7-D. But tough to complain or critisize when you’re winning.

 

[rangersblues]

Nice win. Not a fan of 7-D. But tough to complain or critisize when you’re winning.

MM explained his thoughts on developing the younger players on pregame. He feels he doesn't want any of them sitting for extended periods to stunt their development. It seems like he's going to rotate the lower forwards and one defenceman in and out of the lineup. He doesn't mind the idea of utilizing "one of his horses" to get them more ice time while getting the 4th liners some minutes.

I kind of like the fact that MM thinks outside the box developing players, while giving us the best chance to compete at a high level today.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

MM explained his thoughts on developing the younger players on pregame. He feels he doesn't want any of them sitting for extended periods to stunt their development. It seems like he's going to rotate the lower forwards and one defenceman in and out of the lineup. He doesn't mind the idea of utilizing "one of his horses" to get them more ice time while getting the 4th liners some minutes.

I kind of like the fact that MM thinks outside the box developing players, while giving us the best chance to compete at a high level today.

will Dickerson get in that rotation of forwards? do Fishman and Serpa sit tomorrow for him? he’s been way better as of late IMO, just can’t get consistent minutes

 

[rangersblues]

will Dickerson get in that rotation of forwards? do Fishman and Serpa sit tomorrow for him? he’s been way better as of late IMO, just can’t get consistent minutes

I'm sure it is something that will eventually sort itself out as the season goes on. The better players will get dressed more frequently and get the ice they earn. Right now we have the luxury of making choices as we are relatively healthy.