I think people are being too crazy with this "so and so is barely playing at a NHL level!" especially the defensemen. They all are making plays and moving the puck pretty well most of the time, and I see a LOT of their mistakes are more systematic. Like, McDonagh's turnover on the first goal isn't great but he has to try to make a long pass out of the zone in that situation because he's got no other option there (though sure he could have held it or maybe gone back to Girardi) and that's something the Rangers do sometimes that makes things more difficult...all the forwards fly out to the neutral zone and the D have to make a long ass pass through the oppposing team to get it to them. It actually USUALLY works but for a team without defensemen who are known for their stretch passing it always seems a bit odd.
Beyond that I think AV is telling his D to play more aggressively and even sometimes act like rovers, and that leads to getting caught or some mistakes sometimes. Good lord how many times has Staal gone deep and stayed there lately? Again it's good when it works but bad when they get caught, but I see it as something AV is trying to make his team do. The biggest thing is that I wish he would pull back on McDonagh a bit because he's trying to play like a true rover and be very aggressive all over the ice and it's resulting in those mistakes people are killing him for. He's all over the ice and then tries to stand up opposing players very early and sometimes gets beat. I guess I"m interested to see if he can eventually make that transition to being an effective player that way but honestly I think he was more effective playing more conservatively before
That all said, he and the rest of the D are still generally making more good plays than bad. They're very good at winning board battles and moving the puck to the forwards in the defensive zone (I'd also like to point out that the Rangers transition game is mostly dependent on the forwards and not the defensemen getting the puck out of the zone...it's generally "defenseman wins a battle, moves the puck to the open forward who starts the breakout". Most of the time they're not playing a defenseman breakout on their own scheme, which is why I shake my head when people complain about the defensemen being terrible at transitioning etc. That's not their job most of the time, and when it is their job they usually do just fine if they have support from the forwards to give them a passing target.
Anyways, yes it's sloppier than I'd like to see and again I'm surrprised to see McDonagh trying to play like a rover, but it still actually works most of the time. Oh and a large number of big breakdowns also at least share some blame with the forwards who especially get caught sometimes in no mans land in the defensive zone and unsure who to cover when things get a bit scrambly
e: and for an "Average" team, the Panthers have some very slick and skilled players, it's not surprising they can generate some very good pressure at times. Some of their lines are very strong and if their young players keep developing they're going to be a good team. The NHL isn't a league where a team not being in a playoff position just means your'e automatically going to walk all over them and they will get no chances at all.
Beyond that I think AV is telling his D to play more aggressively and even sometimes act like rovers, and that leads to getting caught or some mistakes sometimes. Good lord how many times has Staal gone deep and stayed there lately? Again it's good when it works but bad when they get caught, but I see it as something AV is trying to make his team do. The biggest thing is that I wish he would pull back on McDonagh a bit because he's trying to play like a true rover and be very aggressive all over the ice and it's resulting in those mistakes people are killing him for. He's all over the ice and then tries to stand up opposing players very early and sometimes gets beat. I guess I"m interested to see if he can eventually make that transition to being an effective player that way but honestly I think he was more effective playing more conservatively before
That all said, he and the rest of the D are still generally making more good plays than bad. They're very good at winning board battles and moving the puck to the forwards in the defensive zone (I'd also like to point out that the Rangers transition game is mostly dependent on the forwards and not the defensemen getting the puck out of the zone...it's generally "defenseman wins a battle, moves the puck to the open forward who starts the breakout". Most of the time they're not playing a defenseman breakout on their own scheme, which is why I shake my head when people complain about the defensemen being terrible at transitioning etc. That's not their job most of the time, and when it is their job they usually do just fine if they have support from the forwards to give them a passing target.
Anyways, yes it's sloppier than I'd like to see and again I'm surrprised to see McDonagh trying to play like a rover, but it still actually works most of the time. Oh and a large number of big breakdowns also at least share some blame with the forwards who especially get caught sometimes in no mans land in the defensive zone and unsure who to cover when things get a bit scrambly
e: and for an "Average" team, the Panthers have some very slick and skilled players, it's not surprising they can generate some very good pressure at times. Some of their lines are very strong and if their young players keep developing they're going to be a good team. The NHL isn't a league where a team not being in a playoff position just means your'e automatically going to walk all over them and they will get no chances at all.
