Linda Cohn of ESPN says the Rangers play with 'Selective Urgency'

[Jersey Girl]

I think you could not pick two words that better describe our team - and this predates AV, and even Tortorella. And, sadly, it also applies to playoff games.

The reasons why are subjective and everyone will have their own opinion, but the bottom line is nothing will change until this changes.

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[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I only think this "urgency and desperation" stuff becomes a larger issues when:

1. the team isn't overly talented
2. theres not a clear organizational philosophy regarding how these players should play the game

The Rangers have been victim of both of these for a # of years

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

While I totally agree, this applies to most teams that hover around the middle of the pack and below.

 

[Miller Time NYR]

Hit the nail right on the head.

Something else that's extremly selective is when espn chooses to acknowldge hockey as a sport.

 

[KreiMeARiver*]

Hit the nail right on the head.

Something else that's extremly selective is when espn chooses to acknowldge hockey as a sport.

Linda is a Ranger fan...and a big one. She's always tweeting about the Rangers. She's one of the good ones in a sea of empty suit cornballs they stick on camera.

 

[Crease]

If it were up to Cohn, Sportscenter would do a lot more hockey highlights. I nagged her about it one game and she seemed genuinely frustrated with her higher ups. She has killer seats by the way.

 

[OverTheCap]

It's a pretty accurate description of just about every Rangers team other than 2011-12.

I usually expect the Rangers to play with less intensity against some of the Western Conference teams, but this season they have played with little urgency against some of their biggest rivals: Isles, Flyers, and especially the Devils. But they made sure to show up last night against the defending champs. Selective is right - they need to play with a chip on their shoulders every night.

As for Linda, she knows her stuff when it comes to hockey and she usually tries to include some NHL/Rangers updates in her broadcast (and her co-anchor usually pokes fun at her for it).

 

[Inferno]

the problem with urgency is this.

in the playoffs, all teams are urgent. and then, usually, talent wins out.

its why we had a great...GREAT season 2 years ago. Torts had the team playing playoff hockey for all 82 games...and then, the rest of the league caught up to our "urgency" and our inferior talent level lost it for us.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

It's a pretty accurate description of just about every Rangers team other than 2011-12.

I usually expect the Rangers to play with less intensity against some of the Western Conference teams, but this season they have played with little urgency against some of their biggest rivals: Isles, Flyers, and especially the Devils. But they made sure to show up last night against the defending champs. Selective is right - they need to play with a chip on their shoulders every night.

As for Linda, she knows her stuff when it comes to hockey and she usually tries to include some NHL/Rangers updates in her broadcast (and her co-anchor usually pokes fun at her for it).

Maybe its just my faded and selective memory, but I remember those dark ages teams actually playing pretty well sometimes against the better teams in the league, then laying complete eggs against the dregs.

(Devils are out of this equation, of course).

 

[OverTheCap]

Maybe its just my faded and selective memory, but I remember those dark ages teams actually playing pretty well sometimes against the better teams in the league, then laying complete eggs against the dregs.

(Devils are out of this equation, of course).

Yes, they used to play down to their competition and then raise their game against the good teams. This is another issue that crops up every now and then with the Rangers - they have had some trouble against struggling teams like Florida and Atlanta/Winnipeg in recent years.

The Devils dominated the Rangers pre-lockout and then we started to have success against them with Jagr and Lundqvist. But now it seems like the Rangers have gotten complacent against the Devils, they haven't had as much success against them as of late and sometimes the games barely resemble a rivalry. And of course, it's always the 4th liners on that team that own us.

 

[Pizza]

Hit the nail right on the head.

Something else that's extremly selective is when espn chooses to acknowldge hockey as a sport.

Very good.

 

[doncherrysgrill]

I think you could not pick two words that better describe our team - and this predates AV, and even Tortorella. And, sadly, it also applies to playoff games.

The reasons why are subjective and everyone will have their own opinion, but the bottom line is nothing will change until this changes.

This team did not play with selective urgency under Torts. In fact I'd say the exact opposite, the team had no idea when to let up. Torts took a lot of teams with very little talent into the playoffs because of how hard they played. They didn't have little success in the playoffs because of a lack of urgency, it was because of a lack of talent. AV's first year has a team with more talent but less urgency.

 

[Crease]

Selective urgency is a good way of putting it. But bottom line, this franchise just doesn't have a winning culture. No sense of entitlement, no sense that it is "Cup or bust". Hasn't since the early 90s.

 

[Jersey Girl]

This team did not play with selective urgency under Torts. In fact I'd say the exact opposite, the team had no idea when to let up. Torts took a lot of teams with very little talent into the playoffs because of how hard they played. They didn't have little success in the playoffs because of a lack of urgency, it was because of a lack of talent. AV's first year has a team with more talent but less urgency.

I guess we will have to completely disagree on this one. Time tends to create 'selective memory'.

Many times we complained that the team sleepwalked through games, or through the first period or first half of a game under Torts - even playoff games.

 

[cd211]

haha its an obvious answer..

thats what separates the good teams from the greats and the greats from Cup winners..

-consistency is everything.. the rangers play like they did vs blackhawks for the rest of the year/playoffs they can make some noise

 

[Fitzy]

Selective urgency is a good way of putting it. But bottom line, this franchise just doesn't have a winning culture. No sense of entitlement, no sense that it is "Cup or bust". Hasn't since the early 90s.

People tend to suggest 10-11 was a fluke, but I thought we had a winning culture that year.

This year, you get the feeling that the players got tired of Torts, forced him out, and now can get away with being lazy whenever they damn well please. Who knows.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I think almost every team in almost every professional league (other than the NFL who play only 17 times + playoffs) falls into this category. When you have so many games it's impossible not to have peaks and valleys of effort and urgency.

Maybe the Rangers fall into this category a little more than others, part of me thinks it has to do with the way they are "spoiled" by the franchise with the many perks that come with being a Ranger/ living in such a unique metropolis with more distractions and attention. I also think certain upper management has an air about them that contributes to this...

Plus, as NY fans I think we are harder on our teams more so than in other cities and areas, so we always attack the passion or urgency level of the team because we live in such a fast paced dog eat dog environment.

Some teams may do a better job of managing it better, but sooner or later the talent levels catches up in the big games - as Inferno mentioned.

All things being equal, I don't think it's entirely fair to label the Rangers team this way.

 

[Green Blob*]

While I totally agree, this applies to most teams that hover around the middle of the pack and below.

Yup, agreed.

Thats what separates the middle teams and the top teams, consistency.

 

[Clausewitz]

Excellent word choice. Fair play to Ms. Cohn.

 

[Mr Atoz*]

Sounds like someone trying to make believe they belong on a sports show.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Regarding Linda Cohn- I read her bio and not only is she a huge hockey fan she used to play goalie in college.

Regarding playing down to competition- I remember in 00-01, that team started off with the top offense and at one point they had a long-ass stretch of games where they didn't score more than a goal a game, except oddly against one of the best Ds in the league in the Devils. They played a great game and tied them 5-5, when they led 5-3 in the 3rd.

 

[we want cup]

Linda Cohn is awesome. Anybody disputing that is crazy.

She is also exactly right. And a team that's mediocre in talent had better exceed other teams in hustle, of it will be in trouble (as the Rangers are perfect evidence of).

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

the problem with urgency is this.

in the playoffs, all teams are urgent. and then, usually, talent wins out.

its why we had a great...GREAT season 2 years ago. Torts had the team playing playoff hockey for all 82 games...and then, the rest of the league caught up to our "urgency" and our inferior talent level lost it for us.

We lost to a Devils team that didn't have much more talent than we did.

I agree to an extent but don't think that was it.

 

[Ola]

While I totally agree, this applies to most teams that hover around the middle of the pack and below.

All teams does it.

Compare a regular season game with a PO game, it's a different sport. If everyone gave 100% during the regular season, there would be nothing left to put on the fire in the POs.

The experts are today preaching that you must understand that you never are giving 100%, more like 50% in terms of "adrenaline" in the system in a pro-game situation, and that you as pro athlete must learn how to function best based on that instead. Of course all this as opposed to the "boyz let's give 110%"-talk. That is not in touch with reality.

 

[Barnaby]

the problem with urgency is this.

in the playoffs, all teams are urgent. and then, usually, talent wins out.

its why we had a great...GREAT season 2 years ago. Torts had the team playing playoff hockey for all 82 games...and then, the rest of the league caught up to our "urgency" and our inferior talent level lost it for us.

Nail on the head.