Pre-Game Talk: Stanley Cup Final: New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings

[Bullseyes]

And we aren't giving up much of anything in the size department either. Too much being made of that slight advantage to LA.

Size is also overrated, especially on HFBoards.

Throughout all last year's playoffs, all I heard was how the Blues, Kings, and Bruins were going to beat the Blackhawks because of their size advantage. They were supposed to push them around. While I think that Blackhawks team was a better team than this Rangers team, size doesn't matter nearly as much as people think.

 

[aufheben]

Some usage charts to kill time. 5-on-5. Blue means when that player is on the ice, the team gets more shots on goal than they allow. ZS% = O-zone start % / O-zone start % + D zone start %. i.e. Boyle gets 16% of his 5-on-5 starts in the Offensive zone, and 47% in the Defensive zone. Circle size is TOI. John Moore has been getting the most sheltered minutes of any NHL player all post-season.

 

[NYR Viper]

Well I consider him a top 3 defenseman, so I assume it should be a non-factor.

How is Doughty's conditioning? Subban was an absolute horse.

I considered Subban up there too. Everyone gets tired playing that many minutes every night against the other teams best players.

 

[FJB]

Is LA a very physical team, or are they more speed-orientated?

 

[NYR Viper]

Is LA a very physical team, or are they more speed-orientated?

Physical for sure. They aren't the fastest team in the league but they will grind you down.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

LA beat Vancouver and the Blues in 5. Beat the Coyotes in 6. They played 16 games before the Finals in 12.

They actually swept the Blues and beat Phoenix in 5.

14 games, they've played a full seven games more than that through three rounds in these playoffs.

Its been mentioned in here a few times, but the big jump in their GPG has to be due to their PP and the large amount of ENG's they've scored (I believe its 6 in total.) Maybe someone can run the numbers, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they're scoring at the same rate or even less during 5 on 5 play than they were during their 2012 run.

 

[chosen]

Fleming and Kurtenbach?

 

[NYRSchrute217]

LA beat Vancouver and the Blues in 5. Beat the Coyotes in 6. They played 16 games before the Finals in 12.

14, actually. They swept the Blues and beat Phoenix in 5.

 

[Loff]

Yea but he has the voodoo posts on his side. Those things are lethal. Look at this forcefield!!

Magical rut is magical.

 

[poeman]

We really need use our speed this series and run circles around the Kings with their grinding style. Tire them out as long as possible, there will be counter attack options

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

LA beat Vancouver and the Blues in 5. Beat the Coyotes in 6. They played 16 games before the Finals in 12.

LA swept Phoenix iirc.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

LA swept Phoenix iirc.

Almost positive it went 6 with Smith stealing the show in a couple of the games.

 

[JanErixon20]

LA swept Phoenix iirc.

Almost positive it went 6 with Smith stealing the show in a couple of the games.

That was a 5 game series.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2012/matchup/_/teams/coyotes-kings

 

[Thirty One]

LA swept Phoenix iirc.

It was a 4-1 series. They swept St. Louis and beat Vancouver in 5.

RongoBoi pls

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

That was a 5 game series.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2012/matchup/_/teams/coyotes-kings

So if we take what I say, and we take what Brian Boyle says, and we average it out... we get reality.

BB, your opinion on the series?

Mine is as confident as it can be in the series. Let's take your opinion, find a middle ground, and deduce our fate before everyone else knows it.

 

[Levitate]

Some usage charts to kill time. 5-on-5. Blue means when that player is on the ice, the team gets more shots on goal than they allow. ZS% = O-zone start % / O-zone start % + D zone start %. i.e. Boyle gets 16% of his 5-on-5 starts in the Offensive zone, and 47% in the Defensive zone. Circle size is TOI. John Moore has been getting the most sheltered minutes of any NHL player all post-season.

tbh Girardi and McDonagh need to step it up on the possession chart.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Im not sure if LA's offensive prowess is the result of their offense or poor goaltending. Probably both, I would guess. The Rangers have had a pretty charmed life this playoff when it comes to the opposition's goalie, but their offense hasn't really surged because of it.

One thing I noticed about LA is they get a TON of players in front of the net. Rangers D will have to work them over and limit the traffic.

 

[NYR Viper]

Im not sure if LA's offensive prowess is the result of their offense or poor goaltending. Probably both, I would guess. The Rangers have had a pretty charmed life this playoff when it comes to the opposition's goalie, but their offense hasn't really surged because of it.

One thing I noticed about LA is they get a TON of players in front of the net. Rangers D will have to work them over and limit the traffic.

Or they have to move the puck quickly to get it out of the zone.

 

[aufheben]

Im not sure if LA's offensive prowess is the result of their offense or poor goaltending. Probably both, I would guess. The Rangers have had a pretty charmed life this playoff when it comes to the opposition's goalie, but their offense hasn't really surged because of it.

One thing I noticed about LA is they get a TON of players in front of the net. Rangers D will have to work them over and limit the traffic.

It's both. They had free parking in front of Crawford for the whole series. Seabrook was a joke. Sheriff Staal and Deputy Stralman cannot allow that ****.

Doesn't take skill to stand in front of the net uncontested, it takes Brent Seabrook.

 

[McRanger]

Staal worries me more than any Ranger right now. He was a mess last round and it wasn't just him having trouble with the Habs speed, he just flat out made a lot of poor decisions.

Which Staal shows up will have a huge impact on the outcome of the series. The margin for error is going to be small.

 

[Beer League Sniper]

tbh Girardi and McDonagh need to step it up on the possession chart.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that chart really says nothing about possession, just zone starts and quality of competition (and icetime).

 

[McRanger]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that chart really says nothing about possession, just zone starts and quality of competition (and icetime).

Possession (shots for vs against) is the color. The darker the blue the better. Anything less than grey and you are a negative.

 

[Thirty One]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that chart really says nothing about possession, just zone starts and quality of competition (and icetime).

The color of the circles represents possession.

 

[aufheben]

Staal worries me more than any Ranger right now. He was a mess last round and it wasn't just him having trouble with the Habs speed, he just flat out made a lot of poor decisions.

Which Staal shows up will have a huge impact on the outcome of the series. The margin for error is going to be small.

I don't think they can win this series if Staal isn't at the top of his game. We need Girardi, McDonagh, and Staal to all be at their peak at the same time for once. Staal was a beast against Philly, he absolutely needs to find that level for this series.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=623178

This gave me the chills. It has finally sunk in, like really sunk in - that the Rangers are playing for the Cup. Wow.