Post-Game Talk: SCQ #2 - 8/3/20 | RANGERS @ hurricanes

[NYSPORTS]

i think if you want to make any changes based on these 2 games it should be to cancel any work orders to have a C sewn on anyone in this lockerroom's jersey.

Good call!!

 

[egelband]

If we get swept but Kakko and Gauthier springboard into really effective top-9 wingers next season, that's a win in my book. I expected a better performance but when you're riding a stellar goalie who suddenly can't play, you're behind the 8-ball. When your elite producers stop producing on top of that, you're pretty much screwed.

Hank let in a softie to start the game, but if the team can't battle back that's on them. He kept it closer than it should've been once again. He's not the Hank of old but he's hardly been a major problem in this series.

Quinn got a mediocre team over .500 this year. Stop acting like his job is in jeopardy.

My only question at the moment regarding Quinn is about how the team does next time they’re in the playoffs. He and the team get a mulligan this year. In most narratives they needed to accrue a playoff run or even two before being contenders. This is all gravy if they improve next postseason.

 

[LokiDog]

Or maybe they didnt stay in shape over the summer, to me it looks more like that, none of our top guys have the speed they usually play with, and I'd say the fact we swept Carolina in the season meant they made sure they came in shape.

I mean, it does look like that, but if our top guys took the worst care of themselves of all the top qualifying guys in the league, that says something to me about the team culture. Otherwise, what? We just happen to have acquired the least committed top athletes in the NHL? Otherwise, if not culture, it comes down to preparation.

 

[Leetch3]

I actually think that the way we are getting our teeth kicked in will actually be good for us in the long run...we had one super redhot streak led panarin and zibanajed being ridiculous and our pp being insane...and I think alot of people got way ahead of themselves thinking the rebuild was over and thinking that we were better than we actually were. those hot streaks were signs of how good we can be when everything is going right but you need to show you can do it over a period of time.

I think this series is knocking alot of us fans, the front office and the players back to reality and remind everyone that while there were a lot of positives from this year, we still have a lot of work to do

 

[egelband]

Bullshit. Its not about losing to a better team. Its about the pathetic effort they put forward. By far the worst of all 24 teams in the bubble. You don't think the Rangers are as good or better than teams like Montreal or Chicago?

I don’t believe for a second they’re putting out a poor effort. It just looks bad when the other team is a step ahead most of the time. It’s not that the Rangers are slacking. They’re just being outplayed. It’s not the same thing.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

People questioning starting Hank most have a short memory forgetting his numbers vs the Canes this season and his career.

If you are solely relying on your goalie to bail you out for your transition game then this team isnt going anywhere. They are failing as 5 man units.

Look I love Hank as much as the next person but he is past his prime, it's not his fault time catches all. Two bad goals in a game against a team that plays so tight is hard to recover from. Our big guys arent up to speed and we didnt have that margin of error to work with all that adds up to what we had today. If it was 2014 Hank, he might have kept us in it until we got going, he isn't capable of that anymore, Shesterkin might be, but he was hurt so its irrelevant. All in all Hank wasnt terrible but we can't play from behind vs a team like Carolina.

 

[Edge]

it absolutely blows my mind that so many people think that this is quinn's fault...did people actually think we were going to win this series or that carolina wasn't the better team?

going into this series most felt that carolina was the better & deeper team but we had a shot because our goaltending and top 6 was superior. well the hank has let in some softies and the top 6 has been complete no shows and thats on the coach?

is the coaching perfect? of course not but we are getting completely dominated by a better team, their best players are dominating, we are a top heavy team and none of our top players have shown up and the take away is we could have won if quinn play gauthier more? seriously?

i think if you want to make any changes based on these 2 games it should be to cancel any work orders to have a C sewn on anyone in this lockerroom's jersey.

I think there's this memory that the Rangers were really on a roll when play stopped, and the truth is that even with better play, we were essentially a .500 team in our last 10 games, sitting 18th in the league standings, with a schedule that could've seen us drop to 21st or even 22nd.

Some of it could be prep. Some of it could also be this team just not having momentumn and being in one of their down stretches.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

I intentionally taped the game so I wouldn’t stew over whatever inevitably happened all day while I had to work.

I despise this team. I love how they end period 1 1-1 and come out and just take a penalty right off the bat.

The majority of the blame always falls on the players of course. But Quinn deserves some responsibility here.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

Can’t wait for Lemieux, maybe the dumbest player on the league’s dumbest team, to take a run at a player in the first minute of the next game and give the Canes a 5 min power play.

Nobody will be expecting it! Maybe our #1 defenseman Trouba and our “future captain” Chris Kreider will calm him down.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Who the hell voted McKegg??

I did....just to annoy you.

 

[Trxjw]

My only question at the moment regarding Quinn is about how the team does next time they’re in the playoffs. He and the team get a mulligan this year. In most narratives they needed to accrue a playoff run or even two before being contenders. This is all gravy if they improve next postseason.

I think it'll sort of depend on what personnel he has at his disposal. His best LD right now was playing forward for most of the year. If that's the case again next season, I can't really ding him too hard. He can't just flip the switch and make these guys something they're not.

I think this play-in was really sort of a gift in the grand scheme of things. Next year I think we can challenge for a playoff spot but we're going to need a number of things to break right as well.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

Also, did anyone see that absurd play on the 4 on 4 where the Carolina player hopped off the bench and they basically played with 5 players for a few seconds until the Rangers gave up the puck?

How the heck was that allowed!

 

[egelband]

Also, did anyone see that absurd play on the 4 on 4 where the Carolina player hopped off the bench and they basically played with 5 players for a few seconds until the Rangers gave up the puck?

How the heck was that allowed!

“Savvy coaching”

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

I think there's this memory that the Rangers were really on a roll when play stopped, and the truth is that even with better play, we were essentially a .500 team in our last 10 games, sitting 18th in the league standings, with a schedule that could've seen us drop to 21st or even 22nd.

Some of it could be prep. Some of it could also be this team just not having momentumn and being in one of their down stretches.

I don't know if there's a big enough sample yet, but in my memory college coached teams have mostly (if not all) gotten off to really slow starts at the beginning of seasons and start peaking later on, might be seeing some of that after the long layoff

 

[Edge]

I think it'll sort of depend on what personnel he has at his disposal. His best LD right now was playing forward for most of the year. If that's the case again next season, I can't really ding him too hard. He can't just flip the switch and make these guys something they're not.

I think this play-in was really sort of a gift in the grand scheme of things. Next year I think we can challenge for a playoff spot but we're going to need a number of things to break right as well.

Part of the challenge is balance and the ebb and flow of an emerging team.

When we're playing well, and everyone is firing on all-cylinders some fans gets so far ahead of themselves planning a trip to Eastern Conference Finals within the next 24 months. They love this team, they love the potential, the sky's the limit, guys are going to play well into their mid-30s, our prospects are all going to be ready sooner rather than later, etc. etc. etc.

When they're struggling, and the team is struggling to adapt, the ship is suddenly heading towards the abyss and we're already f***ed. This team pisses them off, here's the list of guys who are trash and expansion fodder, this guy is already a bust, this contract is going to be the shits pretty soon, we can't develop anyone, etc. etc. etc.

And the reality is this team is a little bit of both right now, and will be for a while. There are going to be moments where you really see what this team could be, and other times where they are going to look like a very different squad who is heading for another lottery pick.

But it's probably never going to match our brightest optimism, or our darkest pessimism. It'll almost always be somewhere inbetween, even if we're wildly successful.

 

[Edge]

I don't know if there's a big enough sample yet, but in my memory college coached teams have mostly (if not all) gotten off to really slow starts at the beginning of seasons and start peaking later on, might be seeing some of that after the long layoff

And keeping in mind that our late season savior in nets is on the bench, our newly re-signed LW is playing his first hockey since February, we just lost an assistant coach, our left defense is abysmal and is not going to be held up Ryan Lindgren - no matter how much he's suddenly caught fans' eyes, and Carolina is (regardless of our regular season record against them) and pretty dangerous team who is capable of capitalizing on mistakes even if they never look particularly dangerous.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

And keeping in mind that our late season savior in nets is on the bench, our newly re-signed LW is playing his first hockey since February, we just lost an assistant coach, our left defense is abysmal and is not going to be held up Ryan Lindgren - no matter how much he's suddenly caught fans' eyes, and Carolina is (regardless of our regular season record against them) and pretty dangerous team who is capable of capitalizing on mistakes even if they never look particularly dangerous.

I mean, I didn't think they'd even make the playoffs if the season had continued (and I've honestly got a pretty bad feeling about the next few years). This team relies on too few people to be the difference in winning and losing and if they're rendered ineffective you get what looks like the 3 games they've played so far

 

[RangersFan1994]

So the Rangers will be the only team to get swept

 

[LyNX27]

I mean, it does look like that, but if our top guys took the worst care of themselves of all the top qualifying guys in the league, that says something to me about the team culture. Otherwise, what? We just happen to have acquired the least committed top athletes in the NHL? Otherwise, if not culture, it comes down to preparation.

What about biggest over reactions?

 

[mti79]

I think this series has really shown how terrible our depth is. I love Fast as much as anyone but losing him shouldn't bring the whole team down. Until Chytil, Howden, Kakko, Gauthier, etc can show they can play at a high level consistently, the rangers remain a 2 line team. Our 4th line is atrocious. The 3rd isn't much better especially with KK playing up.

 

[Trxjw]

Part of the challenge is balance and the ebb and flow of an emerging team.

When we're playing well, and everyone is firing on all-cylinders some fans gets so far ahead of themselves planning a trip to Eastern Conference Finals within the next 24 months. They love this team, they love the potential, the sky's the limit, guys are going to play well into their mid-30s, our prospects are all going to be ready sooner rather than later, etc. etc. etc.

When they're struggling, and the team is struggling to adapt, the ship is suddenly heading towards the abyss and we're already f***ed. This team pisses them off, here's the list of guys who are trash and expansion fodder, this guy is already a bust, this contract is going to be the shits pretty soon, we can't develop anyone, etc. etc. etc.

And the reality is this team is a little bit of both right now, and will be for a while. There are going to be moments where you really see what this team could be, and other times where they are going to look like a very different squad who is heading for another lottery pick.

But it's probably never going to match our brightest optimism, or our darkest pessimism. It'll almost always be somewhere inbetween, even if we're wildly successful.

Don't forget the always reliable "just throw the kids in there" solution to all problems.

I think we're a little further ahead than a lot of us expected, but that's really due to the sudden injection of a Hart candidate into the lineup. My biggest fear when it came to offering Panarin that contract was how it would impact the timeline for the rebuild. Thus far it doesn't seem like the Rangers are trying to force it, but if they burn through another year or two of Panarin and Zibanejad without the rest of the pieces falling in line, things will get interesting pretty quickly.

Really the biggest problem for me is my sanity. I don't know how many more GDTs I can take blaming all of our problems on 2nd and 3rd year pros or guys who are being asked to play over their heads due to lack of depth. For now I'm just trying to focus on the good and mercifully there are some positive takeaways despite the shellacking we've taken over these last two games.

 

[Inferno]

Julien Gauthier was drafted #21 overall in 2016. Brett Howden was drafted #27 overall in 2016.

One averages 14:01 per game so far in their NHL career, the other averages 8:17.

So far in the playoffs, one averages 14:30 and one averages 8:15.

Aside from having the edge in experience (all of which has been GIVEN to him since being acquired by NYR), there is really no reason for this kind of discrepancy. Howden has been gifted minutes by Quinn and he really won’t reduce Howden’s minutes, nor give anyone else minutes, regardless of their pedigree.

Gauthier doesn't kill penalties...add in about 3 mins a game in time for howden there so instead of a 6 min difference it's more like 3.

One guy playing his like 10th NHL game..one guy playing like his 150th...

It's not hard to see why 1 gets more ice time than the other.

Frankly if howden isn't robbed is anyone crying about his ice.time?

The difference in ice time between howden and Gauthier isn't worth the time it takes to rant about it.

Rant about kreider sucking badly
Rant about panarin playing so blah.
Rant about henriks back breaking goals given up.

There's a lot more stuff to rant about

 

[LokiDog]

Gauthier doesn't kill penalties...add in about 3 mins a game in time for howden there so instead of a 6 min difference it's more like 3.

One guy playing his like 10th NHL game..one guy playing like his 150th...

It's not hard to see why 1 gets more ice time than the other.

Frankly if howden isn't robbed is anyone crying about his ice.time?

The difference in ice time between howden and Gauthier isn't worth the time it takes to rant about it.

Rant about kreider sucking badly
Rant about panarin playing so blah.
Rant about henriks back breaking goals given up.

There's a lot more stuff to rant about

I’m really not ranting. It’s an observation. Gauthier doesn’t kill penalties because Quinn hasn’t asked him to. Was Howden some renowned defensive specialist when we acquired him? All of his difference in NHL experience is games Quinn has given him. They’re the same age, same draft pedigree. Why is one treated with kid gloves while one has been golden since day one? Again, not ranting, not attributing our success/failure to it. Simply find it interesting.

 

[Boris Zubov]

I’m really not ranting. It’s an observation. Gauthier doesn’t kill penalties because Quinn hasn’t asked him to. Was Howden some renowned defensive specialist when we acquired him? All of his difference in NHL experience is games Quinn has given him. They’re the same age, same draft pedigree. Why is one treated with kid gloves while one has been golden since day one? Again, not ranting, not attributing our success/failure to it. Simply find it interesting.

Plus the first time Gauthier got off the bench in the 3rd period was to skate to the box to serve ADA's penalty. I could see if we were protecting a lead, but Quinn has no excuse to staple him to the bench when he was one of the few guys who seemed to have some success breaking through Carolina's lockdown in the neutral zone.

 

[bbny]

Gauthier doesn't kill penalties...add in about 3 mins a game in time for howden there so instead of a 6 min difference it's more like 3.

One guy playing his like 10th NHL game..one guy playing like his 150th...

It's not hard to see why 1 gets more ice time than the other.

Frankly if howden isn't robbed is anyone crying about his ice.time?

The difference in ice time between howden and Gauthier isn't worth the time it takes to rant about it.

Rant about kreider sucking badly
Rant about panarin playing so blah.
Rant about henriks back breaking goals given up.

There's a lot more stuff to rant about

He's had two full seasons now and there's been next to no progress. You could argue he regressed this season. One semi-gimme goal on the doorstep doesn't change that, and he couldn't even convert that.

Quinn's infatuation with Howden has been perplexing. I get sticking with young guys and going through the pains, but you have to show something. I just don't see anything there...whatsoever. I've seen more promise in Gauthier's play in those 10 games than Howden in 150.