Post-Game Talk: Preseason Game 3: vs. Flyers

[sark76]

Just a quick irrelevant stat...Stortini has more goals and more assists in near half as many NHL games as Colton Orr. The same Colton Orr, the the rangers broadcast team told us was more than just a fighter..."he can skate and play hockey too and that was very important to the rangers organization." I wish I could find a clip of that to remember if it was Joe that said that. This is not an exact quote, just from my memory that was near 10 years ago.

 

[Bluenote13]

Really liked what I saw from the youngsters last night, but lets be honest, we played an ahl team, a bad ahl team.

Still appreciate the skill and drive in these young guys, it helps the team on so many levels even before the real games begin.

Loved the Zucc hit on Morin, but that kid is gonna be a beast for the Flys. He has great instincts. Mcilrath on the other hand, would like to see him not fall down one game, kid still has work to do, not ready for prime time.

 

[AHB*]

Just a quick irrelevant stat...Stortini has more goals and more assists in near half as many NHL games as Colton Orr. The same Colton Orr, the the rangers broadcast team told us was more than just a fighter..."he can skate and play hockey too and that was very important to the rangers organization." I wish I could find a clip of that to remember if it was Joe that said that. This is not an exact quote, just from my memory that was near 10 years ago.

Colton Orr was on this team years ago now and frankly, was one of the first guys that could do slightly more then your average goon. The game has developed more since he left, but that's not to say those comments weren't warranted then.

This is a poor comparison, the game is changing and while Joe should be more professional, that doesn't make what Stortini did ok.

Also, you clearly don't watch other teams broadcasts. Most teams have announcers who are major homers. We have two of the most unbiased guys announcing our games, which is probably the reason you and others were so outraged based on last nights comments. For most teams, these kinds of comments happen often.

 

[OverTheCap]

I don't really have a much of an issue with what Joe said. But in past seasons, the Rangers have had no shortage of enforcers who do little more than fight, and Joe would enthusiastically shower them with praise merely because they are wearing a Rangers jersey. If Stortini was on the Rangers, Joe would probably say he brings a great veteran presence to the locker room. That's Homer Joe for you...

 

[Levitate]

I suspect it was Stortini's comments before the game combined with fighting Glass that set Joe off.

But...the Rangers are playing Nick Tarnaski tonight, so it's not like the Flyers are the only team who are playing an enforcer in the preseason. My feeling is that I would hope the difference is that Tarnaski is there to step in if guys like Rinaldo or even Simmonds try to rough up the Rangers prospects, not to go out there and headhunt Flyers players or talk smack

 

[Championship*]

Just a quick irrelevant stat...Stortini has more goals and more assists in near half as many NHL games as Colton Orr. The same Colton Orr, the the rangers broadcast team told us was more than just a fighter..."he can skate and play hockey too and that was very important to the rangers organization." I wish I could find a clip of that to remember if it was Joe that said that. This is not an exact quote, just from my memory that was near 10 years ago.

Perhaps at the time that was the case. Storntini, at this moment in time, is what Joe said he is.

 

[Draft Guru]

Wish more announcers called it like it is.

 

[eco's bones]

Tarnasky is actually not just a musclebound goon. He's more like Glass's size. He pretty much regularly puts up 25 + points every year in the AHL. He is not really an NHL player but he's a legit bottom line AHL player. He's a lot better skater than Stortini is as well. Without the 30+ fights Stortini gets into every year he'd be in the CHL (not the ECHL) or out of hockey altogether. Tarnasky would probably survive (fighting say only 5 times a year) as an AHL player.

Personally I find Micheletti annoying practically all the time. Here--Joe was just saying something that was true. Stortini wanted (more like needed) this fight. FWIW McIlrath gets 17 minutes for defending Chris Bourque after he got plowed by the much bigger Labrie. Okay--it was a legit hit on a smaller player and Dylan probably just says 'you want to go'--and that was instigation--17 minutes. Here we have Stortini saying all kinds of **** even before the game begins--yelling and screaming at the face-off circle and it's just 5 for him and 5 for Glass. Stortini wanted his staged fight and Glass didn't give it to him and then Stortini went out and chased it--tracks Glass down--but apparently that's not instigation. How the referees handle this stuff is part of the problem IMO.

 

[haveandare]

I know a lot of people are dismissing it with "well, it was a crappy Flyers squad," which it undoubtedly was, but McIlrath did exactly what I hoped he'd do last night, and you can only play who's out there. For a guy in his position, starting against a crappy team to get some mojo and confidence going isn't bad. Like some others have said, he reminds me a bit of Kreider last year - he knows his big and strong, but he doesn't exactly know the full value of just how big and strong he is. He needs minutes to sort it out, and big minutes in the A are probably best for right now. I don't think thats a failure or a disappointment, or a sign of a guy who isn't progressing. It's just the way it goes for huge d-men sometimes. At that size, unless you're one in a million, you aren't going to have the feet to skate yourself out of problems. You need to be able to read the game and process things quickly, and that takes times. He's still young, and he missed a huge portion of an important development season with a freak injury.

He was solid in the actual defending department, and surprisingly good at making simple passes to move the puck out of the zone. His play back off the boards in the first was way smarter than I expected from him. He also threw his weight around a bit without taking penalties. After Glass put Rinaldo in his own bench, McI made sure to put to body on him a few times the next shift, where the guys on the broadcast team were commenting on Rinaldo running his mouth down on the surface. Really, what's a guy like that going to do against McI? Absolutely nothing, and they both know it, and that's part of the value of having a big guy on the back end. You can distract the other team's agitators, getting them riled up against someone they know they can't fight or trample, rather than having them running around trying to hurt skill players. Apparently he also wrecked Rinaldo at the end of the game. I'm cool with that also.

He wasn't the best player for NYR by any means, but I don't think I need to rehash why Duclair, Haggerty, Fast and Hayes looked great. It's all been covered.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Wish more announcers called it like it is.

I agree. I don't have an issue with it.

 

[eco's bones]

I know a lot of people are dismissing it with "well, it was a crappy Flyers squad," which it undoubtedly was, but McIlrath did exactly what I hoped he'd do last night, and you can only play who's out there. For a guy in his position, starting against a crappy team to get some mojo and confidence going isn't bad. Like some others have said, he reminds me a bit of Kreider last year - he knows his big and strong, but he doesn't exactly know the full value of just how big and strong he is. He needs minutes to sort it out, and big minutes in the A are probably best for right now. I don't think thats a failure or a disappointment, or a sign of a guy who isn't progressing. It's just the way it goes for huge d-men sometimes. At that size, unless you're one in a million, you aren't going to have the feet to skate yourself out of problems. You need to be able to read the game and process things quickly, and that takes times. He's still young, and he missed a huge portion of an important development season with a freak injury.

He was solid in the actual defending department, and surprisingly good at making simple passes to move the puck out of the zone. His play back off the boards in the first was way smarter than I expected from him. He also threw his weight around a bit without taking penalties. After Glass put Rinaldo in his own bench, McI made sure to put to body on him a few times the next shift, where the guys on the broadcast team were commenting on Rinaldo running his mouth down on the surface. Really, what's a guy like that going to do against McI? Absolutely nothing, and they both know it, and that's part of the value of having a big guy on the back end. You can distract the other team's agitators, getting them riled up against someone they know they can't fight or trample, rather than having them running around trying to hurt skill players. Apparently he also wrecked Rinaldo at the end of the game. I'm cool with that also.

He wasn't the best player for NYR by any means, but I don't think I need to rehash why Duclair, Haggerty, Fast and Hayes looked great. It's all been covered.

IMO McIlrath is probably going back to the AHL--though I expect he's going to be here for several more days. He looks a lot better this year--a lot more comfortable with the puck and a lot less lost on the ice. He has some balance issues he still needs to work on. When he doesn't hit someone square he almost always has gone down. His recoveries seem to be a lot better and he's moving the puck better. What I see is very good progress but not good enough yet. Ideally he plays 60 games or so in the AHL and 10-15 in the NHL this year.

 

[Idlerlee]

Kinda hoping for some more thunder from the vets tonight. I'm loving that the kids are making things happen, but I'd like to see where the vets are in terms of conditioning if they go flat out

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Wrong thread

 

[Ola]

I agree completely on McIlrath -- very solid showing.

After watching the game, some really poor showings by Mason AND a couple of Philly Ds enabling a few highlight moments by our kids, non-the-less our kids looked real good. Haggerty was a bit more invisible besides his goals than I wanted to see, I think Duclair was better. Fast took a ton of responsibility -- but I want to see more offense and especially more energy. He never transports the puck really. I want to see him take more responsibility there, skate the puck up ice etc.

Hayes is good. Maybe he should start in the AHL, but he will become a player for us.

Kreids-Brass-Zucc had a much tougher match-up than the rest -- that deserves to be mentioned.

I don't quite understand why people don't think Miller can become a good top 6 center. He can still improve, and he is t there yet, but he has that potential at least...

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Also, you clearly don't watch other teams broadcasts. Most teams have announcers who are major homers. We have two of the most unbiased guys announcing our games, which is probably the reason you and others were so outraged based on last nights comments. For most teams, these kinds of comments happen often.

Completely agree with this. Sam and Joe are easily in the top 5 of least biased announcers in the league. Sam is excited with every goal, even fans of other teams who watch the Rangers feed will comment on how they can barely tell which announcing crew is calling the games because of how excited Sam gets when the other team scores. And Joe is also very unbiased, especially because of his NBC gig, it's just how he is.

The only fans who think Sam and Joe aren't a quality team who are very unbiased are Islanders and Devils fans.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I go back and forth on Joe

So far this preseason, he's been the equivalent - no, the inferior - of nails on a chalkboard

 

[JohnC]

Joe bashed a goon for being a goon?