Predictions Thread

[ReggieDunlop68]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but did you see how much this article just shat on the Rangers? Like holy cow! They seem to be predicting a massive downswing for the team.

http://nhlnumbers.com/2015/10/7/5-things-it-s-okay-not-to-be-sold-on-the-rangers

However, one thing that I absolutely do not understand is why everyone is so high on the New York Rangers.

Hmmm...why do you disagree?

Okay, sure, they went to the conference final last year, and the Cup Final the year before that. In fact, they've been to a conference final in three of the last four years, and lost in the second round in the lockout-shortened season. They also won the Presidents' Trophy last season, which is not nothing.

Okay...they've been really successful for a while, but big deal. What if they made a lot of changes to that successful roster?

But this is a team that got a little worse in the summer, having traded...Which, again, they had the best record in the league last season, so "a little worse" isn't perhaps that big of a deal.

Wait...I'm confused

But on paper, this is a team that looks very much like the fourth-best team in its own division (behind Washington, Pittsburgh, and Brooklyn)...And of course, there's the fact that Lundqvist is basically guaranteed to stop 92-plus percent of all the shots he faces, which in and of itself is going to be worth a boatload of goals each season. Especially when combined with Vigneault's chance-limiting style...The last time Lundqvist was less than a .920 goaltender was 2008-09, when the league average was only .908 (incomprehensibly low by today's standards). He was a .916 goalie that season, meaning that he was still extremely dominant relative to the era. And by the way, that was also seven years ago at this point.

Now you trippin!

All of this, by the way, probably only applies to the regular season, because it's hard to knock the Rangers' postseason success, or see it as anything resembling unrepeatable. Lundqvist hasn't turned in less than .927 in the playoffs in four years, because again, he is unbelievable. So while better teams may push the club around when April, May, and perhaps even June arrive, Lundqvist remains the great odds-leveler.

but you said...

However, one thing that I absolutely do not understand is why everyone is so high on the New York Rangers.

This article was poop.

 

[Inferno]

why on earth would ANYONE be high on a team that has made the ECF or better in three of the last 4 years? Its obvious it was just a fluke.

 

[Giacomin]

The Cup!