Pre-Game Talk: New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins 4/23 3pm

[yrrebbor]

Imagine if Nash and Kreider start going to the crease and laying some hits? Maybe Hank will wake up and go right to ultra-beast mode for the first time all season? Glass mysteriously gets flu like symptoms? Why the hell did they play their best game of the year against Detroit, and then go back to sleep?

I'm almost glad that I have to work today and can't watch live.

 

[chosen]

Rangers have the most fragile psyche of any team in the history of sports.

I think it's more a clear lack of upper-end talent and a defense corps that has gone from a great asset to a clear liability in one season.

 

[chosen]

Imagine if Nash and Kreider start going to the crease and laying some hits? Maybe Hank will wake up and go right to ultra-beast mode for the first time all season? Glass mysteriously gets flu like symptoms? Why the hell did they play their best game of the year against Detroit, and then go back to sleep?

I'm almost glad that I have to work today and can't watch live.

Nash and Kreider have been very physical, as has most of the roster. What they have lacked is the ability to get out of their defensive zone and get into the offensive zone while maintaining possession of the puck.

 

[Vickers8]

Don't quit, don't ever give up...

 

[darko]

We live to fight another day.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

is there a reason AV doesn't give guys a lot of ice time?? correct me if i'm wrong but im looking at the average ice time for rangers players this series and its mind boggling. Nash and zucc with 18 minutes per game, step with 17:38, brassard averaging only 16:56. aren't you supposed to double shift your best guys when you're losing games?

It just doesn't make sense to me. When the pens are losing you can bet crosby and letang will be playing every other shift in the 3rd period. sid is averaging 21 minutes per game this series.

Is there a reason AV does anything he does? The guy doesn't follow stats or logic. He's brought much of this board together this year with his asinine decisions, because he's not making sense via the stats or the eye test.

 

[haohmaru]

This is positively astounding (Brooks, NYP): "Boyle has been on the ice for one five-on-four PPG since Christmas (on Feb. 17) covering 87:39 during the regular season and 11:36 this series."

 

[Petey Pucks]

Rangers have the most fragile psyche of any team in the history of sports.

yup....history of this team / organization

I think it's more a clear lack of upper-end talent and a defense corps that has gone from a great asset to a clear liability in one season.

i agree...but how do you account for the fragile psyche of the 2014 team that blew so many leads in the SCF? ....blowing so many chances in OT after blowing the lead too?

we way not have had the best upper end talent in the league that year but it was definitely good/capable enough and that was going along with the great D and goal tending we had as well. imho we had 4 fully capable lines we could roll.....the only thing we lacked , per usual , was a clear #1 big time center but that is something a lot of teams lack.

that team....like many past ranger teams was fragile too....yes you could argue that they came back from 3-1 against pitt but when it mattered most in the final they choked away many leads and potential OT winning chances


I mean hell if you really look at 94 there were so many times we almost choked the final...lol and that was Messier and the 94 team we are talking about FFS!

 

[Mac n Gs]

Either we heal as a team or we die as individuals.

 

[haohmaru]

Only team in NHL history to come back from 3-1 deficits in consecutive years in the playoffs. "Fragile" wouldn't be the word I'd use to describe why they don't win.

In the playoffs, this team has been all about the lack of finishing/scoring.

And, as far as the SCF, LA was clearly the much better team. Rangers were fortunate to get to OT a few times.

 

[Petey Pucks]

In the playoffs, this team has been all about the lack of finishing/scoring.

.

but why in the playoffs? how do they have no trouble from mid season of 2013-2014 to 2014-2015 being one of the highest scoring teams in the league while registering many 3 or over goal games along with Nash potting over 40 goals again but they can't score in the playoffs....when it matters most? like game 7 at home vs the bolts last year?

how do you account for that? how many consecutive playoff games at home have we been limited to scoring less than 3 now?

 

[Mac n Gs]

but why in the playoffs? how do they have no trouble from mid season of 2013-2014 to 2014-2015 being one of the highest scoring teams in the league while registering many 3 or over goal games along with Nash potting over 40 goals again but they can't score in the playoffs? how do you account for that? how many consecutive playoff games at home have we been limited to scoring less than 3 now?

Because we're too reliant on scoring off the rush. It works in the regular season when defensive structures are looser and teams aren't playing as tight of a checking game. The playoffs are all about grinding it out, cycling, and creating havoc around the net.

 

[Petey Pucks]

Because we're too reliant on scoring off the rush. It works in the regular season when defensive structures are looser and teams aren't playing as tight of a checking game. The playoffs are all about grinding it out, cycling, and creating havoc around the net.

I could subscribe to that....that is on our coach though

but what about when we had leads in the 2014 finals and pissed them away....losing in OT while also pissing away many OT winning chances to win? we had great D/goaltending but we couldn't turtle when it mattered most while also trying to score a goal off the counter...once that team got the lead they were too afraid to keep playing to their strengths....they were too afraid to blow the final and it bit them... in game 7 vs the bolts when it mattered most they got shut out at home.....to me it says something

imho I think those teams 2014/2015 , despite it successes , had some fragility ...

 

[rangerrat]

His whopping 9 minutes sure helped us win that game

Agree brother, Our superman played 9 friggn minutes and he s our answer?? NOT

 

[KOVALEV022473]

Only team in NHL history to come back from 3-1 deficits in consecutive years in the playoffs. "Fragile" wouldn't be the word I'd use to describe why they don't win.

In the playoffs, this team has been all about the lack of finishing/scoring.

And, as far as the SCF, LA was clearly the much better team. Rangers were fortunate to get to OT a few times.

With regards to the last part of your statement, this is easily the most ridiculous thing I've read! The Kinks lead for a total of 46 mins through five games and if you take out game three, they never had the lead!

 

[rangerrat]

His whopping 9 minutes sure helped us win that game

And yet it was the only game the Rangers remained physical and won. Weird.

The team played as a team, the forwards actually got some shots and offence going the defence played good, and the King did his friggn job!! Not 9 minsof D IC won the game wake up boyz!

 

[Petey Pucks]

With regards to the last part of your statement, this is easily the most ridiculous thing I've read! The Kings lead for a total of 46 mins through five games and if you take out game three, they never had the lead!

lol...you beat me to posting this

 

[rangerrat]

Anyone care to see what the rangers record is with an without mcilwrth this season? Going back to when he was first paired with yandle?

OMG another who cant see the forest for the trees!!! These boards are getting crazy from the top branches to the bottom

 

[KOVALEV022473]

lol...you beat me to posting this

It's ridiculous how the stat boys overlook that STAT, or they just disregard it as a matter of convenience.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

What do we say to the God of death?

 

[Dr. Ogrodnick]

OMG another who cant see the forest for the trees!!! These boards are getting crazy from the top branches to the bottom

Have you never watched playoff hockey? Its all about the physical grind. Especially against a team like the penguins. You have to grind them down. Its why the pretty tic-tac-toe goals off the rush don't work and why the Rangers aren't scoring. They threw more hits in game 2 than in most of the rest of the series.

 

[Petey Pucks]

What do we say to the God of death?

I dunno....go f yourself

no no I know

not today

 

[Mac n Gs]

I could subscribe to that....that is on our coach though

but what about when we had leads in the 2014 finals and pissed them away....losing in OT while also pissing away many OT winning chances to win? we had great D/goaltending but we couldn't turtle when it mattered most while also trying to score a goal off the counter...once that team got the lead they were too afraid to keep playing to their strengths....they were too afraid to blow the final and it bit them... in game 7 vs the bolts when it mattered most they got shut out at home.....to me it says something

imho I think those teams 2014/2015 , despite it successes , had some fragility ...

We lost to the Kings because we took our foot off the gas and allowed them to pepper away at us until they got a bounce. We had the perfect gameplan against them until the third periods started, and then we just stopped playing hockey.

 

[Petey Pucks]

It's ridiculous how the stat boys overlook that STAT, or they just disregard it as a matter of convenience.

for me that stat defines the wholes series really....maybe even the history of this team to some application

 

[Petey Pucks]

We lost to the Kings because we took our foot off the gas and allowed them to pepper away at us until they got a bounce. We had the perfect gameplan against them until the third periods started, and then we just stopped playing hockey.

taking your foot off the gas in the final is just another way of playing afraid .....afraid to blow the final = fragile

the perfect game plan would have been to play the way we were playing for a full 60 minutes to win the final