Post-Game Talk: Leave

[TopShelfSnipes]

Was never a fan of Strome. Derek Stepan was a great team guy, but he was a two-way 50 point center who didn't have a great shot and got the most out of his limited skillset.

I always thought acquiring Strome was a lousy attempt to replace Stepan, only with a less fiery version that was somehow weaker in every aspect of the game.

 

[haohmaru]

Drury looked beyond pissed last night. He can’t be happy with #10.

 

[Machinehead]

Drury looked beyond pissed last night. He can’t be happy with #10.

To be fair, Drury always looks like somebody just shot his dog in front of him.

 

[Boris Zubov]

And look peter deboer was 15-5-2 after taking over for him. Much better with the same team.

Wonder why?

Vegas also traded for Lehner right around the time they hired DeBoer because Fleury was absolutely awful in the first half of that season because he dad was dying & eventually passed away...which was the main reason the team was struggling. The team's record didn't tell the whole story. They were near the top of the NHL in analytics but dead last in goalie stats with Subban & Fleury.

Plus after the change the VGK literally couldn't score in the playoffs against Vancouver & Dallas. Deboer wasn't the savior you think he was...you think our power play is stagnant now...the Knights power play in the 2 seasons Deboer took them to the WCFs was abysmal. Remember they also lost to Montreal after blowing multiple leads late in games.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Look its pretty simple, you play your hot lines, if its not the Zib line then they'll bust their ass to get more ice time. If they are handed it without playing well then they dont have any motivation to play better.

 

[Larrybiv]

Don't recall the record, but they were 4-5 points out of first place in their division.

THAT sounds like a GM that has high standards and expectations. Be damned with feelings and non-accountability. A winner.

 

[Boris Zubov]

THAT sounds like a GM that has high standards and expectations. Be damned with feelings and non-accountability. A winner.

Was all about the impatient, meddling owner & his shiny new toy syndrome. I'd take Dolan over Foley everyday of the week & twice on Sunday.

 

[ArPanet]

-2 & a penalty when trailing with a couple mins left
This guy worse than Laf

You're a Michkov guy anyway right?

 

[will1066]

Drury looked beyond pissed last night. He can’t be happy with #10.

He's probably -- and I'm guessing -- somewhere between not happy with the construction of this team and not happy because even this construction should be performing better.

So, in the end, not happy. And he's also not happy by being hamstrung in making moves. It's gonna be tough.

Remember, many organizations wanted this guy to be their GM. But yeah, he's made a few roster mistakes, not gonna lie.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Can you give me the evidence that he did?

Yes. It's in the 3rd period of the game we just watched lol

 

[2014nyr]

He kinda is.

hes not...defensive zone coverage is pretty simple....its not all that different from most mite teams. some teams go man to man which can cause miscommunications but the rangers dont. thats his wing, he obviously knows it and just loses his check. theres no confusion over responsibility here, its a physical and mental lapse on his part. what do you want gallant to do then? he cant make kreider not make mistakes bonehead lazy mistakes.

now i would agree with the case kreider had no business being on the ice in that game, in that moment, with how hed played the rest of it. gallant needs to start treating the kids as equals to the rest of his top 9, esp on nights they're going like that. if there are nights theyre off and just doing nothing? cut their ice defending a late 1 goal lead too. i can get them needing to really be going to lean on them late until they're producing and playing at this level consistently - fine. but on nights they're buzzing like that, esp when you have top 6 regulars pulling a no show, they've damn sure shown enough to be at least junior members of the trust tree.

 

[Hi ImHFNYR]

Kreider isn't really a 50 goal winger, though.

He's a 25 goal winger who had an outlier career year that will not ever be replicated again.

People held onto 50 goal scorer jonathan cheechoo for awhile in fantasy hockey.

The fantasy of that peak can sometimes linger for years

 

[Ruggs225]

I prefer Trocheck to Strome on this team. Strome was almost universally hated here last season. Didn't expect him to be missed.

I tend to agree.. however on the PP i prefer strome

 

[McRanger92]

Woke up feeling like I still want Gallant gone, preferably Friday, but feeling better about the overall performance. This team needs scoring desperately, as @Machinehead said, and the game was over if Kreider puts one in the empty net. Where have i heard that before?

The goal should be to acquire some top 9 talent, push Vesey and Goodrow on to the 4th line.

Panarin-Mika-
Kid Line
Kreider-Trocheck
Vesey-Goodrow-Cuylle

 

[bl02]

Woke up feeling like I still want Gallant gone, preferably Friday, but feeling better about the overall performance. This team needs scoring desperately, as @Machinehead said, and the game was over if Kreider puts one in the empty net. Where have i heard that before?

The goal should be to acquire some top 9 talent, push Vesey and Goodrow on to the 4th line.

Panarin-Mika-
Kid Line
Kreider-Trocheck
Vesey-Goodrow-Cuylle

I don't think Cuylle was terrible but I would rather him still get more minutes in all situations in Hartford.

 

[Kodiak]

Regarding the ice time last night, Gallant did not break the normal flow until very late in the game. I've called him out in the past for just playing the Zibanejad and Trocheck lines in alternating shifts at times, but this was not that.

Here are the shifts, starting at the 49 minute mark of the game:
Chytil
Leschyshyn (extremely short shift)
Zibanejad
Trocheck
Chytil
Zibanejad
Trocheck (goal against)
Chytil
Zibanejad
Trocheck
Zibanejad
Chytil

The flow doesn't break until the 58:30 mark when Gallant puts Zibanejad's line out instead of Chytil's.

 

[McRanger92]

I don't think Cuylle was terrible but I would rather him still get more minutes in all situations in Hartford.

I dont think his development will be hindered by 4th line ice time with 2 trustworthy veterans. He isn't a top 6 prospect, the expectations should be lowered for his NHL upside. For the kid's sake if anything. The best possible outcome is Marcus Foligno, and even for him it took years and a team change to become the 2/3 tweener he is. We need Cuylle to fill that role going forward.

 

[Kodiak]

I'm ok with a kid line as long as it gets minutes and doesn't get buried (like it did tonite).

But yeah I would absolutely go

Lafreniere - Zibanejad - Kakko
Panarin - Chytil - Kravtsov
Kreider - Trocheck - Vesey
Goodrow - Rydahl - Gauthier

And if you pick up a RW at the deadline, it's Vesey to the 4th, Krav to the 3rd, the RW to the 2nd, Gauthier to the press box.

I like those lines too. I think it would work well if Trocheck's line was the matchup line, but that's something Gallant doesn't seem to want to do.

 

[will1066]

Woke up feeling like I still want Gallant gone, preferably Friday, but feeling better about the overall performance. This team needs scoring desperately, as @Machinehead said, and the game was over if Kreider puts one in the empty net. Where have i heard that before?

The goal should be to acquire some top 9 talent, push Vesey and Goodrow on to the 4th line.

Panarin-Mika-
Kid Line
Kreider-Trocheck
Vesey-Goodrow-Cuylle

Savage, man.

 

[chosen]

I didn't mind Strome.

I hated Panarin-Strome and I was the first to say Panarin was the bad influence in that combo.

That being said, my issue isn't replacing Strome with Trocheck. My issue is not replacing Strome with Chytil and the responsibility that goes along with that.

He's at least just as good as Trocheck at this point and I would hate to lose him.

I agree that Chytil has passed Trocheck. I also think Trocheck would be a very good #3 center.

 

[McRanger92]

Savage, man.

The Kreider empty net thing? Wasnt directed at just him, Kakko did it like 3 ties in the playoffs alone last year, but it applies to just about everyone on the team. No 5v5 finishers outside of maybe Chytil

 

[mrhockey193195]

Yep, it was GG who let Lilljegren get free to tie the game and Marner skate around him.

No, but it was GG who put a player out in that situation who was awful all night and everyone with two eyes could see it. It was GG who stopped playing the three best forwards all game in the final 4 minutes.

What was boneheaded? Starting Mika, Panarin, and Miller? Boneheaded? Maybe not what you would do in NHL 23...but boneheaded?

Not playing the kids in the final 4 minutes. You know, the line that just before that hemmed in TOR in their own zone for almost a minute with aggressive cycling and puck possession.

 

[Pawnee Rangers]

Mika and Panarin are not great together. Kids were awesome. Probably Kreider's worst game in years, I think the shoulder is still bothering him, he's wearing bigger shoulder pads than normal.

As far as not playing the kids late in the game - although Kakko was on the ice for the game tying goal. The coach knows Toronto is gonna make a big push, that line isn't all that spectacular in their own end. It's bad but not fatal.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Coaches almost all shorten their bench near the end. It's easy to say something caused a loss, just like I pointed out that Kreider blew as sure a goal as he's ever had a chance to score and then got beaten for the tying goal.

Context might be meaningful here if the case wasn't that almost all of those screaming about Gallant do so in every thread.

Now, how about you or someone else answer my question:

They went to the Semis last season with Gallant. If he's a major detriment to the team, do you think they would they have won the Cup with a different coach? If not, and you think Gallant sucks, then it's my opinion that you can't judge the relative merit of a coach. I'm not saying I can, either.

But I do know that if a coach joins a non-playoff team and immediately goes to the Semis, with the highest winning percentage in 97 years, he's not the problem.

I think the Rangers would be reasonably better in the standings with a better coach. More importantly, I think the kids (Chytil, Kakko, Laf at least) would be further along in their development with a better coach.

GG has done a lot of things well here, don't get me wrong. But if we're talking about last year's playoffs, let's not kid ourselves: we rode a hot powerplay and an other-worldly goalie, plus a ton of luck to the ECF. We just as easily could have been out in 5 games in round 1.

 

[Kodiak]

No, but it was GG who put a player out in that situation who was awful all night and everyone with two eyes could see it. It was GG who stopped playing the three best forwards all game in the final 4 minutes.


Not playing the kids in the final 4 minutes. You know, the line that just before that hemmed in TOR in their own zone for almost a minute with aggressive cycling and puck possession.

There was one shift with about 1:30 left in the 3rd where Chytil's line would have been next up, but Zibanejad's line took the shift instead. That's it. Just one shift.