Post-Game Talk: Ottawa Senators vs. New York Rangers 11/27/16

[True Blue]

They looked like Keystone Cops on that first goal.

Horrific. Brutal. Shades of last year for sure.

And that's the fear. My view point was that we would have a good idea of what this team is around Thanksgiving weekend. Right now, it is "uh-oh". They appear to be a faster version of last year's team. And neither version can stickhandle through 3 opposing players.

The other issue is not so much that Girardi is exactly who he was last year. But that Klein is looking very much like Girardi right now.

 

[Stasis]

Kevin de Klein

Underappreciated post.

Poor Kevin, lol.

 

[Fataldogg]

Rangers problem is they have no grit or physical presence, and it will be a primary reason they do not advance in the playoffs when things begin to get tightened up.

All of the Rangers goals are on odd man rushes, breakaway opportunities, a shot from the slot, etc.

Rangers rarely get a rebound goal, have net front presence, win battles along the boards, etc. They do everything in transition, on the rush, and when the transition is eliminated they have no answer.

Rangers need a prime Mike Knuble.

 

[One Winged Angel]

Too many players not contributing.

Kreider, Zuccarello, Pirri, Fast, Stepan, none of them playing well. Pirri is basically useless if he's not shooting. I never expected him to maintain his scoring, but he's useless in these types of games where it comes down to grinding, defense and winning puck battles along the boards. Zuccarello hasn't been the spark plug he usually is. Kreider hasn't been the same since the injury. Fast has been meh.

Girardi gets too many minutes, Clendening doesn't play. I'd rather see Holden with McDonagh than Girardi.

The coach doesn't get that adjustments have to be made. He's an idiot.

 

[trilobyte]

Rangers problem is they have no grit or physical presence, and it will be a primary reason they do not advance in the playoffs when things begin to get tightened up.

All of the Rangers goals are on odd man rushes, breakaway opportunities, a shot from the slot, etc.

Rangers rarely get a rebound goal, have net front presence, win battles along the boards, etc. They do everything in transition, on the rush, and when the transition is eliminated they have no answer.

Rangers need a prime Mike Knuble.

There seems to have been a decision to not spend time on practicing and working on a strong forecheck. Rangers used to be one of the top teams at making that work for them. They had the opposition looking desperate trying to defend it. While that forecheck may be interpreted as an admission of a lack of enough talent to take it to the net via the rush, and the best way to establish possession, it is a valuable part to have in your arsenal when an admittedly talented forward corps is being stopped before they get going.

 

[ZiGOODejad]

Too many people complaining did you think we would score 5 or more every game cause these hackjob advanced stats guys would tell you otherwise. Even the eye test would tell you otherwise. Burn the tape and get over it we always respond well after a loss

 

[Larrybiv]

There seems to have been a decision to not spend time on practicing and working on a strong forecheck. Rangers used to be one of the top teams at making that work for them. They had the opposition looking desperate trying to defend it. While that forecheck may be interpreted as an admission of a lack of enough talent to take it to the net via the rush, and the best way to establish possession, it is a valuable part to have in your arsenal when an admittedly talented forward corps is being stopped before they get going.

Yes, we used to be one of those teams. We, "as fans" hear all the time about "the process". Just wondering if that will be something AV administers during our upcoming practices. We really arent privy to these "processes".

Imo, it needs to be addressed. Opposing teams are getting out of their zone a little too easily, starting their rush. Not too much last game, but in general.

 

[Fitzy]

My take after some time to chew on this game...

When a team struggles at even strength, which happens to everyone, you need to have the powerplay going strong to produce offensively. NYR have been bad in the transition game the past 3 games. Take that away and we need to find other ways to score.

-Pirri needs to be moved to a different PP unit, one that can set him up with more time and space. He's hopeless when asked to make quick decisions in moving the puck.

-McDonagh and Skjei aren't good enough shooters to be left alone at the point. They turn into turrets and teams don't fear a forced wrist shot down the center of the ice. They need more support from the wingers.


I actually thought NYR put in a better performance this game than against Philly.

Holden is up and down, but I don't know why he gets so much vitriol from a specific group of posters. He's been better than Staal, Girardi, and Klein, which obviously isn't saying much but if we had a functional defense he'd be an ideal 3rd pairing guy. Put in the right spot he does his job well. The only issue is if he blocks the development of a guy like Graves or Gilmour.

I think we should try to get Vesey back and in sync with the top offensive players on this team. He isn't good enough yet to carry a 4th line, so if they are really going for balanced offense it should be someone else down there.

Each NYR line needs a burner to stretch the ice. Kreider, Grabner, Nash should all be on different lines to provide a threat.

 

[chosen]

Holden is up and down, but I don't know why he gets so much vitriol from a specific group of posters. He's been better than Staal, Girardi, and Klein, which obviously isn't saying much but if we had a functional defense he'd be an ideal 3rd pairing guy. Put in the right spot he does his job well. The only issue is if he blocks the development of a guy like Graves or Gilmour.

If Graves or Gilmour or anyone else is good enough, they won't be blocked.

Each NYR line needs a burner to stretch the ice. Kreider, Grabner, Nash should all be on different lines to provide a threat.

Nash is still a great asset, but he is no longer a burner.

 

[OrbitalDynamics]

Graves is a big physical D man, AV abhors those types of players.He's all about the speed and smart first pass. /sarcasm

Worked out smashingly for Clendening thus far this season no?

 

[True Blue]

Too many people complaining did you think we would score 5 or more every game cause these hackjob advanced stats guys would tell you otherwise. Even the eye test would tell you otherwise. Burn the tape and get over it we always respond well after a loss

Has this team looked like they have played well to you over the last two weeks? Do you see the loss against Ottawa as the one rough game they had?

 

[True Blue]

If Graves or Gilmour or anyone else is good enough, they won't be blocked.

Not necessarily. AV utter faith in the veterans may not make that statement factual.

 

[bernmeister]

Andersen is playing some of the best hockey of his career and the Rangers had some pretty awful luck tonight. How often is a goal scored as a result of a clearing attempt going off of the referee and right into the slot? Come on man.

What worries me is that the Rangers are getting outworked in recent games. Tonight. Against Philly. The second Pittsburgh game. The Florida game at MSG. The trend worries me. Are we crashing back to earth after a hot start or are we getting complacent? I think it's more the former.

The past week encapsulates exactly what this team is. A team with a great counter-attack offense that scores goals in bunches with good but sometimes inconsistent goaltending, with a defensive group that does not have very much offensive IQ. Clog the neutral zone on these guys and you hold them to under 2 goals a game.

We'll make the playoffs again, but we'll likely finish 3rd in the Metro and have Pittsburgh or Washington waiting for us in the first round. Blegh.

Andy had a career night, and that happens, so this game is not upsetting. However recent games demonstrate this team needs further improvement.

We need to get serious about moving vets to both improve, and move the wonder twins, assuming they agree to the move.

 

[bernmeister]

Not necessarily. AV utter faith in the veterans may not make that statement factual.

all the more reason to demand, screw AV!
if we trade the vets then he won't have an effin choice!

 

[ZiGOODejad]

Has this team looked like they have played well to you over the last two weeks? Do you see the loss against Ottawa as the one rough game they had?

We have a played well enough to win a couple losses doesn't mean you harp on it. Our team dips around the same time every year. This is nothing to worry about

 

[Kovalev27]

Clendening is a perfect example that it has nothing to do with what kind of player the guy is and everything to do with rookies vs veterans.

Got rid of mcilrath because didn't fit system we have to many defensive type guys but Clendening is a righty shot puck moving dman that can play the power play something we desperately need especially with Zibanejad out and he still can't get into the lineup over a badly regressing Kevin Klein

 

[aufheben]

Hurricanes GDT up.