Post-Game Talk: Rangers @ Predators - December 28

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

He needs to go and be replaced with a depth player that can do something. Even when the team was winning and playing well for stretches, he was awful.

He's such a downgrade from Benny P it's ridiculous. The Rangers essentially signed him as a Pouliot replacement but ****, guy is a fringe NHLer at this point.

We already have Etem, Etem put together a string of nice games and his last one was his best and then he gets sat.


Try Etem in the top 9 and slide Fast down where he is most effective in the bottom 6/4th line.


Try a middle 6 of:

Kreider-Stepan-Etem
Lindberg-Hayes-Miller

or

Kreider-Stepan-Miller
Lindberg-Hayes-Etem


I was to see the first one, I think Etem can compliment Stepan and Kreider well. I also think he could fit with Zucc-Brass as well. I think with the lines being as stagnant and as largely ineffective as they are, it's worth a shot to see if Etem can be an effective top 6 guy. At least give him a shot, even if it's on the 4th line, he's better than Stalberg.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think we should go 7D, 11F. Boyle as the PP specialist, give him full 2 mins on that right point. McIlrath takes Boyle's spot on a pair with Staal. Get rid of Stalberg from the lineup, Etem replaces Glass.

Hayes-Brass-Zucc
Kreids-Step-Nash
Miller-Lindberg-Fast
Moore-Etem

McD-G
Yandle-Klein
Staal-McIlrath
Boyle

 

[Machinehead]

Was out tonight. Just finished the replay.

-First of all, embarrassing game all around.
-Yandle was terrible
-Girardi was good
-Tanner Glass -16 in corsi. Good to have the real Tanner Glass back.
-One shot attempt for the Rangers with Viktor Stalberg on the ice, 20 against. Still wanna sit Etem, AV?
-Kevin Hayes is garbage. On the first Neal goal he turns the puck over at the line and then disconnects his controller coming back and the late man scores. Just get off the ice. Waste of talent.
-All Stepan does is ice the puck
-Brassard, Zuccarello, and Nash were really good.
-Miller was great again
-Kreider was better
-Lundqvist has been god awful for quite a long stretch now.

 

[Machinehead]

Viktor stalberg was on the ice for 1, just 1 ****ing shot Attempt for the Rangers and 20 against the Rangers.

My mind got ****ed when I saw that stat, it's almost unbelievable. Not the possession driver people said he was after the signing eh?

He used to be a great possession driver, no idea what happened to him. People say it's because he was on the Hawks but he was never with good linemates on the Hawks. The guy just hit a wall.

**** it I can count the Rangers who didn't hit a ****ing wall this season on one hand

 

[Machinehead]

Oh a couple more things.

The defense is noticeably worse without McIlrath, but you know, AV...

And did I mention I ****ing DESPISE our penalty kill? I have, but I could never say it enough. Circus on ice.

 

[wolfgaze]

Look at the silver lining here guys....PAPA JOHNS FOR EVERYONE!

LOL....

 

[Realize]

Just finished the replay as well.. stopped watching after 1 - 4 and finished the condensed one.

Only positive for this season right now is that COL is playing some nice hockey the last few games to compensate that crap performance of the NYR.

The silly thing is: I still watch every game and at the start I think "okay, somewhen the performance will be back" ... After 2/3 then, I would like to cry and throw something out of the window.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

watching staal quit on that 5th goal was hilarious...

I want a broken-controller gif of that

 

[Ail]

Henrik sounds defeated. Like the season is a lost cause.

It is a lost cause; they only remain in playoff position because of a fluke hot streak, and the fact the rest of the big teams in the East have also been injured or struggled.

This team will likely make the playoffs, but a miracle withstanding, these dinguses are not winning a 'Cup this season. There is no compete most nights and too many key players are having a bad year or just outright blow. Something that rarely rectifies itself to the degree necessary to turn a season around.

If they sneak into the playoff and lose in round one to the Caps or whomever, that's going to be a complete waste of a season. At this juncture I would prefer they suck the rest the way and land a top 10 draft pick instead, but I sincerely doubt we could be so lucky.

 

[Ail]

Really weird how fans turn so quickly on this team.

Really weird how some fans keep the blinders on perpetually. Fans are people that irrationally believe things about their favorite team no matter the circumstances. People should be able to step outside of the fan box to objectively look at their favorite team.

 

[Loff]

Another collapse and 5 ****ing goals against eh? Sweet.

Things are gonna get better in Tampa. You'll see.









Said no one ever.

 

[RangerBoy]

The Rangers needed another five days of XMAS vacation.

 

[mike14]

5 or more goals against in 6 of the last 8 games; we'd have to be a good bet to give up 5 to the Bolts as well.
Anyone know the last time the rangers had a run like this giving up so many goals?

 

[Loff]

5 or more goals against in 6 of the last 8 games; we'd have to be a good bet to give up 5 to the Bolts as well.
Anyone know the last time the rangers had a run like this giving up so many goals?

We had two three game spans in October 2013 and 14 where we gave up 5 or more. This December has been way worse overall though. It's godamn unbelievable.

 

[mike14]

We had two three game spans in October 2013 and 14 where we gave up 5 or more. This December has been way worse overall though. It's godamn unbelievable.

Yeah i remember us having a few bad games in a row, but this has been horrendous

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

I think if Hayes and Kreider weren't terrible this season our record would be much better.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I think if Hayes and Kreider weren't terrible this season our record would be much better.

I think it's extremely disingenuous to assume this team would be much better if it weren't for one or two players, or the coach, or whatever fixes presented here that are fraudulently being pushed as relatively easy. There's far more bad going on than good everywhere on this roster.

The goaltending, which was a shining bright spot earlier in the season has become suspect.

The defense is in disarray. Half the core is aging with too many miles on them as is. McDonagh's play has steadily fallen for the past 2 years. It's time we stop blaming that on his partners and maybe look at him. Yandle has been ok, but you better turn the other way if you're looking for him to defend at all. Klein has been a bright spot but injured. McIlrath too, but too many folks are acting like a bottom pairing rookie still finding his way is one of the major fixes here.

The biggest problem, as far as I'm concerned are the forwards, who have been delinquent with their defensive responsibilities the whole season with little goal scoring to make up for it over the last month. Is there a single forward who has exceeded expectations? Maybe zuccarello and brassard? Lindberg until recently? The rest of the lot have been straight up disappointments. Hayes and Kreider have been hellish. Nash and Stepan are nowhere to be found most nights. The bottom 6 is a hodgepodge with no identity.

Perhaps the suggestions here are a good place to start. Play McIlrath, play etem, knock the coach around, etc. But the problems with this team are far more deep rooted. It sure seems like a team that is collectively on the downswing.

 

[Ail]

Salary cap was both the best and worst thing to happen to this team recently...

...if only there was a German word for that..

Schlampehunden?

 

[kovazub94]

Not enough blame put on Stepan. Yeah, he missed games with rib injury but he's got a total of 13 (!!!) points for the season. This is 4 less than a totally lost in sophomore slump Hayes. Stepan, who's been noted as the team"s #1 (and the most important) center after signing a $6.5 m / year contract. Does he ever win an important face-off? Is he ever physical as a two-way center supposed to be? Most of the talk here about struggling forwards is about Nash, Kreider, Hayes, Glass etc. Stepan's struggles are much more profound and more detrimental to the team than any of the above but he always gets a pass from the fans here.

 

[Realize]

Schlampehunden?

That's not German at all

Btw: Does Papa John's deliver to Germany?

 

[Dr. Ogrodnick]

Not enough blame put on Stepan. Yeah, he missed games with rib injury but he's got a total of 13 (!!!) points for the season. This is 4 less than a totally lost in sophomore slump Hayes. Stepan, who's been noted as the team"s #1 (and the most important) center after signing a $6.5 m / year contract. Does he ever win an important face-off? Is he ever physical as a two-way center supposed to be? Most of the talk here about struggling forwards is about Nash, Kreider, Hayes, Glass etc. Stepan's struggles are much more profound and more detrimental to the team than any of the above but he always gets a pass from the fans here.

Well, probably because he's only played in the last 2 games after being out for almost the entirety of the losing streak? Nobody is free from blame but Stepan has the best excuse.

 

[Bluenote13]

Really weird how some fans keep the blinders on perpetually. Fans are people that irrationally believe things about their favorite team no matter the circumstances. People should be able to step outside of the fan box to objectively look at their favorite team.

Ha, that's rich. I have blinders on cause I don't totally **** all over this team, gotcha.

I've been fan long enough to know you don't give up on every player just because one bad season. And this season isn't over, though looking at this thread you'd think most around here are novices to hockey or just whiny babies.

Just imagine if these fans were around in 1993, they'd all be having strokes ! Trade Messier, trade Richter, trade Amonte !

 

[Bluenote13]

We had two three game spans in October 2013 and 14 where we gave up 5 or more. This December has been way worse overall though. It's godamn unbelievable.

Nope, pretty believable when your forwards can't keep the opposition from backing up our defense and peppering our goalie.

 

[Beer League Sniper]

This team needs to switch to a zone defensive scheme. Man defense just doesn't match the roster we have. Our defenders largely can't skate. McDonagh and Yandle are our only defenders with the wheels to play man. It's why Hunwick looked good last season. Staal, Girardi, and Boyle are all a year older and slower. They flat out can't play man, and it's glaringly obvious at this point. McIlrath and Klein are average skaters, but would likely be much better in a zone scheme.

Our forwards, while not the speediest group, probably should be capable of playing man. For whatever reason, they can't or won't put in the effort to do so.

We never possess the puck. We can't transition the puck if we're constantly being pinned in our own zone. We don't score off the rush anymore, yet we can't cycle effectively either.

This losing streak is a crescendo of all the problems with this team:
-Defenders aging/regressing
-Defensive scheme poorly fits defensive personnel
-Forwards lack of defensive effort
-Forwards regressing/poor play
-Poorly managed roster
-Goaltending struggles (partially attributed to poor defensive coverage)

The most disturbing thing is that AV seems to think we can just ride out this stretch, but our problems appear to run much deeper than that. Unless Henrik decides to Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, we're going to lose the majority of our games.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Hayes has been so so so bad this season.