Post-Game Talk: PS #5 - 10/04/16 | RANGERS @ islanders | 7:00 PM - MSG2

[Trxjw]

Even if he's on the 4th line, he'd be valuable in the lineup for the powerplay.

But does a team with a solid amount of scoring depth need to ice a PP specialist on the 4th line? Given AV's comments about wanting to have more of a shutdown/checking style 4th line, and his follow up on Pirri saying he needs to be a top-9 guy, I'm not sure there's a chance he plays on the 4th line.

 

[silverfish]

But does a team with a solid amount of scoring depth need to ice a PP specialist on the 4th line? Given AV's comments about wanting to have more of a shutdown/checking style 4th line, and his follow up on Pirri saying he needs to be a top-9 guy, I'm not sure there's a chance he plays on the 4th line.

This irks me a little bit because with AV's mentality here, he is willingly making his team less skilled.

Either way, I still think Pirri should be a lock for the third line, and I guess I understand why he isn't, but that doesn't mean I agree with it

 

[5 4 Fighting]

To go more in depth into some of our core guys, I'm not liking the way Hayes is looking so far...still looks lazy, lethargic, high-risk plays I'm seeing.

Staal- looks much improved, his base is back to being solid, he's our rock back there, and very under the radar might I add.

McDonagh- some good, some so-so, the Voracek goal was a world class play, not worried about him at all.

Nash- liking the way he's ramping up his tenacity.

Vesey- will have a Stepan like impact this year for us, I like him.

Miller- getting into his comfort zone slowly but surely.

Mcilrath- love the added element he brings to the squad, makes it tougher to play against us.

Excited to see Zuccs and Mika together already!

 

[GOAT AINEC]

Staal is a heck of s player who played hurt last year. Looks great to me def a top 4 guy.

People need to stop lumping him in with Girardi.

Agreed, Staal can range from bad to good while Girardi is always bad. Staal is still a decent top 4 defenseman on most teams. He gets lumped with Girardi because of his contract.

 

[Fitzy]

But does a team with a solid amount of scoring depth need to ice a PP specialist on the 4th line? Given AV's comments about wanting to have more of a shutdown/checking style 4th line, and his follow up on Pirri saying he needs to be a top-9 guy, I'm not sure there's a chance he plays on the 4th line.

Most of our middle 6 scorers are not PP guys. Especially when it comes to a big shot from the point.

 

[Kovalev27]

Pirri is a must for this power play especially with yandle gone and no real righty point man (unless clendening makes it) pucks will be going to his side. We need him.

I'm fine having hiding him on the 4th line he was very dangerous there last night and flanked by defensive players I think we'd be just fine

I rather we trade zuccarello for trouba or shattenkirk which would make this team much better and open a top 9 spot for him. But if not he should be on the 4th line to start the season.

Gerbe should make this team over fast. He's light years better defensively and on the PK which is where we need help.

 

[5 4 Fighting]

Don't forget about Grabner. We now have 3 righty centers, compared to just 1 last year which was Stepan.
Mika,Step,Jooris. New look for sure.

 

[Trxjw]

This irks me a little bit because with AV's mentality here, he is willingly making his team less skilled.

Either way, I still think Pirri should be a lock for the third line, and I guess I understand why he isn't, but that doesn't mean I agree with it

Eh, I don't think that's really fair. Assuming we're not talking about putting Glass in place of Pirri for "jam" or whatever, I think it's perfectly reasonable to ice a 4th line which is a combination of Grabner/Jooris/Lindberg/Hrivik/Fast/Gerbe without making the team less skilled.

 

[Trxjw]

Most of our middle 6 scorers are not PP guys. Especially when it comes to a big shot from the point.

Assuming one PP will consist of Kreids, Zib, and X, while the other is some combination of Nash, Step, Zucc, Miller, and Hayes, I don't think it's that big of an issue. Those guys are all skilled and can play on the PP. Do you need more than two units? No, and you can make up 2 solid PP options from the guys listed.

Now, when it comes to the blue line, then yes, I agree there's a lack of offensive potency there. However, carrying a guy just so he can be a weapon for the PP seems a bit unnecessary to me. Particularly if he's going to take time away from a guy who is going to be a more effective energy/checking player.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I think Mcilrath has been pretty horrendous with the puck in the games ive seen him play.

I definitely think hes played like the 7th, possibly 8th. But this is from only 2 games that ive seen. Havent been able to see his full set of work in camp.

I dont know. I know its early and everyone needs time to get their game going but if this is his game, ugh.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I think Mcilrath has been pretty horrendous with the puck in the games ive seen him play.

I definitely think hes the 7th, possibly 8th behind Clendening.

After this pre-season, I could see the following happening:

- Skjei, Graves, Gilmour, Summers will go to Hartford
- Holden, Clendening and McIlrath will fight for 2 spots on defense.

Skjei is a great prospect, but not ready for NHL hockey (yet). He is waiver exempt and honestly, he has not outplayed Holden.

Clendening at this stage is better than McIlrath, even though some people will never admit it. My ideal defense, without any changes:

McDonagh-Klein
Staal-Clendening
Holden-Girardi
McIlrath

 

[TheTakedown]

Pirri is a must for this power play especially with yandle gone and no real righty point man (unless clendening makes it) pucks will be going to his side. We need him.

I'm fine having hiding him on the 4th line he was very dangerous there last night and flanked by defensive players I think we'd be just fine

I rather we trade zuccarello for trouba or shattenkirk which would make this team much better and open a top 9 spot for him. But if not he should be on the 4th line to start the season.

Gerbe should make this team over fast. He's light years better defensively and on the PK which is where we need help.

fully agree with this post Kov

 

[TheTakedown]

After this pre-season, I could see the following happening:

- Skjei, Graves, Gilmour, Summers will go to Hartford
- Holden, Clendening and McIlrath will fight for 2 spots on defense.

Skjei is a great prospect, but not ready for NHL hockey (yet). He is waiver exempt and honestly, he has not outplayed Holden.

Clendening at this stage is better than McIlrath, even though some people will never admit it. My ideal defense, without any changes:

McDonagh-Klein
Staal-Clendening
Holden-Girardi
McIlrath

Then let McIlrath take Girardi's spot once he's bought out. We're going to need an affordable defenseman with that massive buyout cap hit that Girardi is accruing.

Speaking of Girardi, where the hell has he been? 2 preseason games and that's it? Damn, maybe he's on his way out

 

[Fitzy]

I don't think Buchnevich is a lock to make the team out of camp, so 4th line may not be the only option for Pirri.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Pirri has as many 20 goal seasons as Miller does.

And he does literally nothing else. Miller adds much more to a team than Pirri does. Pirri is great for the PP. Miller can take a regular shift.

 

[True Blue]

Pirri should have a top 9 role which is why Miller should be traded.

This is a joke, right?

 

[True Blue]

I'm fine having hiding him on the 4th line he was very dangerous there last night and flanked by defensive players I think we'd be just fine

This presumes that he can create offense by himself.

 

[ManUtdTobbe]

This presumes that he can create offense by himself.

Not necessarily, we (hopefully) won't have wingers on the 4th line who are complete and utter black holes offensively. If he plays with Grabner and Fast for example then they can help him create.

 

[True Blue]

Not necessarily, we (hopefully) won't have wingers on the 4th line who are complete and utter black holes offensively. If he plays with Grabner and Fast for example then they can help him create.

I understand your point, but would counter with if you have 3 players on a line that cannot create anything, does that mean that the collective can get it done in unison? Maybe.

 

[haveandare]

I think Mcilrath has been pretty horrendous with the puck in the games ive seen him play.

I definitely think hes played like the 7th, possibly 8th. But this is from only 2 games that ive seen. Havent been able to see his full set of work in camp.

I dont know. I know its early and everyone needs time to get their game going but if this is his game, ugh.

Last night was his worst game. He was fighting it the first half of the first isles game too, otherwise he's been solid moving the puck and way improved in terms of taking shots and getting shots through.

I think his issue sometimes, last night in particular, is/was that he just stands still while deciding on a breakout pass. That limits the angles he can pass at and broadcasts the likely lanes to the other teams forwards.

 

[Levitate]

Last night was his worst game. He was fighting it the first half of the first isles game too, otherwise he's been solid moving the puck and way improved in terms of taking shots and getting shots through.

I think his issue sometimes, last night in particular, is/was that he just stands still while deciding on a breakout pass. That limits the angles he can pass at and broadcasts the likely lanes to the other teams forwards.

Puck seemed to stick on the ice on him a couple of times as well.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

And he does literally nothing else. Miller adds much more to a team than Pirri does. Pirri is great for the PP. Miller can take a regular shift.

Pretty much. Pirri is a one trick pony. And I think the deck might be stacked against him on a team that did well offensively last season and had all sorts of troubles on the defensive side of the pick.

 

[aufheben]

Pirri should have absolutely nothing to do with Miller's organizational position, but I'm not opposed to Pirri on the 3rd line as they have always been offensive minded with AV.

 

[offdacrossbar]

And he does literally nothing else. Miller adds much more to a team than Pirri does. Pirri is great for the PP. Miller can take a regular shift.

so can brandon

i really think you need to look at brandon pirris complete body of work. to say he "literally does nothing else" is a bit of hyperbole and perhaps not entirely fair or even accurate.

although he certainly isn't a 2 way guy like miller is and he isn't a huge possession driver, offensively he does have the fancy stats that the metrics crowd likes.

he shoots, he scores and his team outshoots and outscores opponents when he's on the ice.

there is room for a guy like this especially on a team so devoid of shooters and finishers.

 

[Levitate]

so can brandon

i really think you need to look at brandon pirris complete body of work. to say he "literally does nothing else" is a bit of hyperbole and perhaps not entirely fair or even accurate.

although he certainly isn't a 2 way guy like miller is and he isn't a huge possession driver, offensively he does have the fancy stats that the metrics crowd likes.

he shoots, he scores and his team outshoots and outscores opponents when he's on the ice.

there is room for a guy like this especially on a team so devoid of shooters and finishers.

Yeah, agree

Pirri isn't a floater that just sits around waiting to take a shot and does nothing else. He's at least working out there even if he's not great at everything