Post-Game Talk: PS#1 - Devils @ Rangers

[Igor Shestyorkin]

I get your point, but a few things.

Firstly, McI has developed a lot on a steady bases several years in a row now. And his development from say late 14' until now has been great. From a bit shaky stay-at-home D in the AHL to a rock solid legit top pairing D/solid 6-7 D in the NHL.

There is absolutely no reason to expect him to -- stop -- developing September 2015 if you get what I mean. Its the opposite. My best bet is that he will keep developing for a good half decade. You know, Glass is a stiff. McIlrath is not a stiff. He is more of a solid natural 2-way D that due to skating limitations and not being that early developed have to step back a bit into a stay-at-home D role.

My point is just, if he is close now I would expect him to be more established in a year, and a real positive factor in 2-3 years.

Secondly, we play in the toughest division in the league. Physical play will always be a factor. We complain on Glass always in connection to everything. Facts are that if you are responsible for putting a team on the ice, if you do not have a single player on the roster that can drop the gloves, game in and game out, season in and season out, I am sure anyone get skeptical of not having any single player on the ice that knows its ways in these areas. Its your ass that gets fired if things go south and -- nobody -- will step up and defend you if things goes south and you dressed the softest roster in the NHL.

McIlrath is a hockey player much more than a 4th line goon, and hence its very valuable to have a player in that capacity that doesn't require you to dress a goon.

Thirdly, our play in front of Hank has been an issue to against teams like LAK for example. McI is very good in that area.

My point is just, from my POV its just worth a lot to get McIlrath on board. Especially for the coming 5-10 years. If he is just decent right now, I like it.

Good post about McI. The only thing I disagree with is saying that we are in the "toughest" division in the league. Well I don't know if you mean really good tough or physical tough but yeah, I think the central is the best division. Metro is the best division in the east no doubts about it though.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

All good points.

1. McIlrath is still a developing player but close enough at this point to get into the lineup--maybe not on a nightly basis but as a 7d option--that's fine.

2. Rangers need some toughness. I'm looking at Anaheim to be in the SC finals this spring. Anaheim is IMO the toughest team in the league physically. They have several guys that fight often and their three best forwards Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler are all big, nasty players. If the Rangers manage to get back to the finals again this year and face them that will be a major issue.

The trend is against the goon. It's not against players like Patrick Maroon and Chris Stewart--both big physical Anaheim forwards who know how to fight and can play the game. Kevin Bieksa and Simon Despres provide some of the same element for their blueline. Bruce Boudreau might be a bit of a goofball but when you look at their lineup for this coming year it's not difficult to see a real plan in place. A good mix of skill and aggression.

3. Henrik has been banged into and run over a lot in his NHL career. For the most part it's happened without much pay back. Henrik is 33 years old this year. Continuing to allow players to take runs at him or to crowd him and whack away.........? It would be nice (for us) to see opponents start to pay for doing that.

This is EXACTLY why we need McIlrath and not Klein.

 

[Waivers]

McIlrath looked solid tonight, not GREAT like how much people are depicting, but he played solid. His job is not to provide a ton of offense, but to be more defensively sound than anything - and he was.

You cannot make a huge analysis on McIlrath yet, I think we need the entire slew of preseasons games to evaluate him entirely. Also, the Devils team they iced was really meh - only noticed Mike Cammalleri's line really.

 

[Off Sides]

I don't mind what Glass did, but strategically Tlusty wins that one. Rangers end up shorthanded, and he gets to chop both Yandle and Glass.

In my view, there is no winning in that situation unless Yandle takes the initiative to chop back at Tlusty in which case maybe the refs call both players for matching minors.

This team, including these past seasons, seems to have a lot of players who refuse to fight back for themselves or for each other which helps make the "role" Glass plays seem more important than it should be given there is no strategical advantage in him playing beyond sticking up for his teammates who refuse to do it for themselves.

In a way I wonder what they'd do without Glass, maybe they'd have to learn to stick up for themselves and one another without feeling as if someone else is there to do that for them. I guess the fear is they wouldn't and they'd start playing more timid than they already do. Yet if that is the case the issue is much larger than just some 4th line wing can fix given the small amount of ice time he is likely to get.

 

[Ola]

Good post about McI. The only thing I disagree with is saying that we are in the "toughest" division in the league. Well I don't know if you mean really good tough or physical tough but yeah, I think the central is the best division. Metro is the best division in the east no doubts about it though.

Thx!

Actually I meant most physical division, and that can be debated too. But for us, from time to time in the coming years, we will face teams -- be it Philly, the Islanders, NJ, Columbus, Washington or someone else in the division -- that will play us hard.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

Thx!

Actually I meant most physical division, and that can be debated too. But for us, from time to time in the coming years, we will face teams -- be it Philly, the Islanders, NJ, Columbus, Washington or someone else in the division -- that will play us hard.

That is very true. The Rangers will always be played hard by these teams.

 

[Miamipuck]

Here's a link to Kreider's goal:

https://streamable.com/9k7o

 

[nevesis]

Kreider busted his ass during his celly. Hysterical.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

Kreider busted his ass during his celly. Hysterical.

I think he slipped.


What a shot that was. Kreids is playing for a contract, for sure.

Hoping for 30 goals.

 

[ZiGOODejad]

Kreider busted his ass during his celly. Hysterical.

Pre season he trained every aspect of his game but the celly this off season.....hah

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

If you think McI doesn't have the foot speed to play in the NHL then you really cannot evaluate talent. Im sorry, but thats the truth.

What I find funny is that had McI played poorly yesterday you would have been one of the first to rush to the podium to rip him to shreds. Don't know why its so hard for you to admit that he had a strong game, but what ever dude. I'm pretty sure McI not having a roster spot has to do more with the guys who are already on the team. If he keeps playing the way he did yesterday, they'll make room for him.

BTW, that "horrible" penalty you claim AV was disgusted by? You should watch the post game press conference.

And if you think McIlrath's speed is more than adequate and not a question mark (ESPECIALLY with this team), you are a fossil.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

And if you think McIlrath's speed is more than adequate and not a question mark (ESPECIALLY with this team), you are a fossil.

It's not all about speed when it comes to skating.

Edit: Not saying McIlrath IS a great skater. but you can most definitely say he has improved his skating.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

It's not all about speed when it comes to skating.

Edit: Not saying McIlrath IS a great skater. but you can most definitely say he has improved his skating.

Cant argue with that. But its about that time where "he's getting better" is no longer a solid argument.

 

[nevesis]

I think he slipped.


What a shot that was. Kreids is playing for a contract, for sure.

Hoping for 30 goals.

That shot was just pure filth. Impossible to react to as a goaltender. If he can do that on a regular basis, he will pot 30 easily.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Cant argue with that. But its about that time where "he's getting better" is no longer a solid argument.

Typical. Did you even watch last night.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Typical. Did you even watch last night.

I sure did. Am I supposed to admit that McIlrath played anything more than OK even if I dont think thats the case?

Said it before and Ill say it again. Hes a tick slow. He probably always will be compared to the rest of the league. If he could use his enormous frame to make up for it, maybe we have an NHL'er. Maybe.

 

[E-Train]

Can't wait for the new GDT. I love that AV is putting in a kid lineup for tonight. Looking forward to seeing Graves and Mantha on D with Nej and Jayden Hart dressed up front. First look at Etem too.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

I sure did. Am I supposed to admit that McIlrath played anything more than OK even if I dont think thats the case?

Said it before and Ill say it again. Hes a tick slow. He probably always will be compared to the rest of the league. If he could use his enormous frame to make up for it, maybe we have an NHL'er. Maybe.

By the same token, klein was a tick slower than Mcilrath.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

That shot was just pure filth. Impossible to react to as a goaltender. If he can do that on a regular basis, he will pot 30 easily.

Pure filth is right!

K-pop for 30 this year no doubts in my mind.

If he keeps improving the aspects of his game, he is going to turn into a game breaking winger in no time.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

That shot was just pure filth. Impossible to react to as a goaltender. If he can do that on a regular basis, he will pot 30 easily.

Yes. That was top-5 sniper stuff right there. If he can do that on a regular basis, 30 goals is more than attainable, and even 40 is not out of the question. Would be huge for this team.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

Can't wait for the new GDT. I love that AV is putting in a kid lineup for tonight. Looking forward to seeing Graves and Mantha on D with Nej and Jayden Hart dressed up front. First look at Etem too.

Sweet. I think Graves is going to be good, so looking forward to seeing him today, if he plays.

 

[RGY]

Cant argue with that. But its about that time where "he's getting better" is no longer a solid argument.

5 years later and were still hearing "he is progressing", " he is getting better." Next we'll hear "big physical defenseman like him take longer to develop"

And while he has improved and he did look ok last night, he was still not up to par with the level of play and ability that Klein provides. Five years later and he is fighting to be a 6/7 defenseman on this team. Granted this is a deep cup contening team, Mcilrath would still be a 5-7 defenseman on a lot of teams. He still isnt quick enough in multiple aspects of the game to beat out an established defenseman like Klein, who btw was one of our best for most of last year. Again you are competing for a cup. Team isnt in cap trouble. There is no reason to get weaker by trading Klein (who has a low cap hit whether it is a luxury or not in the 6 spot) in favor if Mcilrath. No there isnt a winger out there that i have heard to be available that Klein (plus Glass for those who love to put that proposal together) would bring back. No we arent getting Patty Kane.

And at the end of the day while the Undertaker may not be a bust draft pick overall, five years later competing to be the 6/7 defenseman and still having areas of his game that we have to look at as "improving" or "progressing" and not "excelling" at is a bust pick at the number 10 overall pick in a draft.

 

[Igor Shestyorkin]

Yes. That was top-5 sniper stuff right there. If he can do that on a regular basis, 30 goals is more than attainable, and even 40 is not out of the question. Would be huge for this team.

Couldn't have said this better myself.

 

[RGY]

By the same token, klein was a tick slower than Mcilrath.

Respectfully disagree Kj.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

By the same token, klein was a tick slower than Mcilrath.

********. That's a pro-McIlrath agenda talking. Klein looked good last night.

I agree that McIlrath was only okay. Okay is an improvement for him. Okay is an indication of progress. Okay is good enough to make it as #7.

Okay is not better than Klein. Not yet.