Player Discussion "Prince Antti" Raanta

[Inferno]

Hes been better than Henrik this year. Dont agree with last year.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Yeah, he's really good. Been better than Lundqvist for over a year now, which is controversial to say, but true. That speaks both to his improvements and Lundqvist's decline.

I think Raanta could be a starting goalie in the NHL, I just don't think that's happening with the Rangers. I doubt they would ever bench Lundqvist in favor of Raanta, and if he keeps playing really well, I suspect he'll get a chance to play elsewhere before Lundqvist retires.

Last year he wasn't better than Lundqvist. There was a stretch in the middle of the season where he was plain bad.

 

[GOAT AINEC]

Talbot was great, and went on to become a starter somewhere else. Raanta has been great, and will go on to be a starter somewhere else.

 

[Maximus]

Call me nuts and as much as I love Raant who I'm pretty confident is the best backup goalie in the leauge, I believe it would be a huge mistake to think Raanta should take over the #1 gig and make Hanky the backup. We still have 2/3's of the year to go and I don't see any reason why it would be unlikely that Hank would start to get this chit together and be the stud he's always been for us.

I totally agree that he's been maddeningly inconsistent this season but I am not ready to throw in the towel on him. Raanta has been awesome...no question. And Allaire has obviously tought him well like he did for Prince Cam. As much as I love Raanta and admire how well he's performed, let's go easy on annointing him as the next Dominc Hasek.

We have a great situation here and I for one think it's best that we stick it out with Hank as I have complete confidence he will get his chit together and we know with Raanta anytime he comes in, we have a great chance at winning the game as well. So let's chill people. Hank is still great, he just hasn't been as consistant as he's been in the past. There is still plenty of time for him to get his mojo back and I'm supremly confident he will in short order....

 

[silverfish]

Who knows how many cups the Rangers would have won with Talbot or Raanta starting in the playoffs, and the window would be wide open for years to come with a younger goalie and this top offense.

Top-5 worst posts of all-time, I think.

A point that tends to come up a lot when discussing per 60 metrics is whether or not that player will continue to perform at that rate if given a bigger load to work with.

Do you think if Raanta was starting 60 games a season, he'd have a .932sv% Or do you think it'd be closer to his career average of .917? For the record, Lundqvist has only finished with a save percentage of .917 or worse twice in his career, and not since 08-09.

The funny thing is, it's likely that Lundqvist gets blown up tonight if he plays. Rangers are on a back-to-back. Travel from Winnipeg to Chicago. Have to go through immigration. Aren't playing on home ice. You can say this is 'excuses' or whatever you want, but it's probably pretty likely that the Rangers have roughly a 35% chance of winning tonight, and it'll be on the back of Hank if they do.

 

[offdacrossbar]

the defense looks better when he plays.

no idea why or how, but as a unit, the defense looks less terrible when raanta plays.

its weird. but thats how it appears to me.

 

[Irishguy42]

the defense looks better when he plays.

no idea why or how, but as a unit, the defense looks less terrible when raanta plays.

its weird. but thats how it appears to me.

Seems to be the case with a lot of teams, tbh. Playing better in front of your backup isn't as uncommon as you might think.

 

[silverfish]

Seems to be the case with a lot of teams, tbh. Playing better in front of your backup isn't as uncommon as you might think.

Most backups also get easier teams to play against.

ie. Winnipeg and not Chicago.

 

[Leetch66]

the defense looks better when he plays.

no idea why or how, but as a unit, the defense looks less terrible when raanta plays.

its weird. but thats how it appears to me.

Not just you....we all see it . Maybe just maybe the guys know and just play the game and don't worry about being scolded by Raanta unlike what Henrik often does....even when he SHOULD have made the save . It is starting to look more obvious...and don't kid yourself...but those small plays by Raanta in moving the puck go a long ways over Henriks handling of them.

 

[Irishguy42]

Most backups also get easier teams to play against.

ie. Winnipeg and not Chicago.

This is also true. But even when going up against better teams, it sometimes feels...different...when playing in front of a back up.

 

[Ori]

That rebound goal last night - what was the defense doing?

 

[NYRFANMANI]

the defense looks better when he plays.

no idea why or how, but as a unit, the defense looks less terrible when raanta plays.

its weird. but thats how it appears to me.

Hasn't it been like that for years?!

The team plays better in front of the back-up, mainly because of Lundqvist's legacy. Him being the best goalie of the last decade almost, may just affect the play on a psychological level. À la "Hank will bail us out if we **** up" vs. "back-up in net, better be extra careful".

Was the same when Talbot was here.

 

[RGY]

He should play again tonight.

Not a heavy workload last night. Playing against his former employer tonight. Let him play until he looks bad. Hank needs to sit.

 

[nyrleetch]

Top-5 worst posts of all-time, I think.

A point that tends to come up a lot when discussing per 60 metrics is whether or not that player will continue to perform at that rate if given a bigger load to work with.

Do you think if Raanta was starting 60 games a season, he'd have a .932sv% Or do you think it'd be closer to his career average of .917? For the record, Lundqvist has only finished with a save percentage of .917 or worse twice in his career, and not since 08-09.

The funny thing is, it's likely that Lundqvist gets blown up tonight if he plays. Rangers are on a back-to-back. Travel from Winnipeg to Chicago. Have to go through immigration. Aren't playing on home ice. You can say this is 'excuses' or whatever you want, but it's probably pretty likely that the Rangers have roughly a 35% chance of winning tonight, and it'll be on the back of Hank if they do.

We'd be a dynasty with Talbot. I'm thinking 5-6 cups by now.

 

[Dagoon44]

Most backups also get easier teams to play against.

ie. Winnipeg and not Chicago.

Your not accurate when it comes to the Rangers. Hank loves to pick and chose who he plays vs. and this season he has taken a bunch of easier games

 

[silverfish]

Your not accurate when it comes to the Rangers. Hank loves to pick and chose who he plays vs. and this season he has taken a bunch of easier games

Is this what you think, or do you have an inside source telling you that Hank is the one picking which games he plays in, and not AV?

If that's the case, I'd imagine Hank would want to play WPG and not CHI. Also, this seems to go against everything we know about Hank being ultra-competitive.

 

[Irishguy42]

AV has a schedule that they're sticking to for Hank/Raanta.

I imagine they have some say in the matter, but for the most part, AV is likely the one calling the shots.

 

[Dagoon44]

Is this what you think, or do you have an inside source telling you that Hank is the one picking which games he plays in, and not AV?

If that's the case, I'd imagine Hank would want to play WPG and not CHI. Also, this seems to go against everything we know about Hank being ultra-competitive.

you have seen the hawks are missing 4 keys correct ? oh thats right i only pick on hank he never does anything wrong

 

[silverfish]

you have seen the hawks are missing 4 keys correct ? oh thats right i only pick on hank he never does anything wrong

I'm not sure why this entered a personal level, as that's not something I intended. I was asking because you're vetted and have an inside base to this.

If this is something you know for a fact, then okay.
If this is a personal opinion, I'm inclined to disagree.

 

[Charlie Conway]

Hasn't it been like that for years?!

The team plays better in front of the back-up, mainly because of Lundqvist's legacy. Him being the best goalie of the last decade almost, may just affect the play on a psychological level. À la "Hank will bail us out if we **** up" vs. "back-up in net, better be extra careful".

Was the same when Talbot was here.

Absolutely. The team always looked to have played a more complete game when Talbot was in net.

 

[Bluenote13]

Our backups have all been well rested and prepared by the most intelligent goalie coach of this generation, the psychology goes like this - teams see that Henke is not playing so they think it'll be far easier to score. Think again says Benny !

 

[Roo Returns]

He's been great. Let him have a few more games. Henrik wet through the same situation in 13-14 when Talbot played a lot in late November/early December.

50/50 Vegas takes him or Grabner which is why I really hoped that Shestyorkin came over next season.

 

[Matz03]

Hank no doubt is letting in softies unlike I've ever seen this year, he has to get his game back. No doubt the D plays different in front of him, there could be many reason from psychological or ones related to how Hank handles the puck, fact is he doesn't help himself or the D there. But he needs to get back to being the best player on this team. I don't have much doubt he can or will, but the focus isn't there from him thus far on a nightly basis.

 

[Beacon]

Our backups have all been well rested and prepared by the most intelligent goalie coach of this generation, the psychology goes like this - teams see that Henke is not playing so they think it'll be far easier to score. Think again says Benny !

Generally, Francois Allaire is regarded as the best coach. He's the pioneer in modern goaltending. Benoit learned from his older brother.

 

[JimmyG89]

I'm not sure why this entered a personal level, as that's not something I intended. I was asking because you're vetted and have an inside base to this.

If this is something you know for a fact, then okay.
If this is a personal opinion, I'm inclined to disagree.

Guess you were right cause Hank isn't playing today. Raanta is.