of the rangers having to go through tampa to get to finals and win it all, meaning no disrespect to any team still fightin it out of course. as i recall, the rangers did not play well against them in the 3 meetings this year, they beat us in all facets. only team other then the isles that gave the rangers fits, as a rangers fan, i want no doubts to remain.
This team needs to win the cup. No ifs, ands or buts. Now the third trip to the ECF in four years. Can't take another late playoff disappointment.
It is pretty amazing that for 15 years this team did NOTHING. Now 3 ECF's in 4 years...wow. We have done it all outside of winning the cup. It is cup or bust. No moral victories this season.
Fast had a great series. He really stepped up this series... Looking for Yandle, MSL, Nash to do it next series
This won't be quite as physical a series but more wide open I think. Our 'fleet footed' backenders will have to get their B12 shots daily.
i have read all posts in other threads, and after reading them all, i feel if the rangers do lose this series, they lost to the better team! Right now, i have no concerns after 2, last series i posted the rangers were in trouble after 2 , i was ridiculed for it, turned out they were in trouble losing the next 2 , and at that time i never said they were going to lose series, just felt team was in trouble... now again , rangers just need to go out and have fun!!! i do believe in destiny, and i do feel the rangers deserve the CUP! i do believe it is their year, how they get it done, is their business!
never said the rangers were the best team in hockey, thought they were this years special 1 tho. i felt they could overcome whatever obstacle to win, like LA did last year, going 7 in every series. even being down 3 zip to the team which i had thought was the best, the ducks. anyway, reg season as it appears does matter, tampa proved to be the better team. i thought the isles were a better team too, their forwards blew our guys away, had they been healthy they could have beaten washington, and if they had met us good chance they could have beaten us as well, it would have been a classic series. as far as AV goes, best coach we have had since '94 cup imo, what i read in thread about him being a successful reg season coach and struggles in PS, well they just fired 1 of the best coaches in NBA for same reason, i doubt AV's job is in jeapordy tho.. very proud of this team, feel for lundy, he always does give up a head shaker, but would be nice if our guys gave him something for all the ones he did stop... i do think sather could have done a better job filling in any missing piece, yandle, imo is not what team needed, but i do not know hockey well enough to know what was out there at the time. to the players who i have criticized for years, and you know who they are, they are just too inconsistent, nonexistent.
I would've liked to see what would've happened with Zucc in the lineup. They obviously could've used another forward who could make plays and put the puck in the net. That being said they didn't have him so those are the breaks. But then you add on top of that really getting nothing from Hags or Hayes for two rounds and MSL for the entire playoffs and this became a one or maybe a 1.5 line offensive team.
Hayes 2 goals, Fast 3 goals, MSL 1 goal, Miller 1 goal (he played really well though and had 8 points which was more than anyone on this list and was a +3), Hags 2 goals (ZERO after round 1), Moore 1 goal and a -7...wow he had some struggles, Zucc 0 goals in 5 games...well really 4. Forwards didn't get it done. Hayes you give a little pass to in his first season, but him doing nothing really hurt us. I think Miller played really well with 8 points and a + 3. Even Kreider had 7 goals, but only 2 assists and did nothing the last couple of games (0 points -2 last 3 games). BTW Brass at 5 mill per will be a steal. That's one in our favor for sure. Let's see what we lock Step up for. We get him in the 5's and we are in a good spot at C with Hayes as the 3rd.
When/if Kreider learns to bring it every game he'll score 30 in his sleep. With his skill set to only score 21 goals is a crime. He just turned 24 though, so maybe next year he puts it together and goes 30 goals and 55 + points. He clearly has the abilty to do it. Just needs to bring it all the time, and I think that comes with maturity and experience. We all know he isn't/wasn't the most mature guy. That is why I like Miller a lot, I think he is more mature at 22 than Kreider was, but clearly not the same ceiling or skills as Kreider. Kreider 30/55, Miller 16/32, Hayes 20/50. I want to see that next season.
If you get that next season along with what you expect from others you can argue next year's team will be better. We can only hope.
And truthfully, nothing I said there was crazy. For Miller that is 6 more goals and 3 more assists...he only played 58 games this season...so that is clearly doable, maybe even a touch more. For Hayes that is 3 more goals and 2 more assists...considering this was his rookie season that is clearly doable. Only issue would be a SO slump. For Kreider that is 9 more goals and 0 more assists...considering we know the skills are there, he can clearly score 9 more goals. This is the biggest jump, but I don't see why CK cannot score 9 more goals and hit 30 if he brings it mostly every game. All clearly doable assuming health of course.
Not unreasonable so I certainly don't see why not. What I worry about next season is the amount of hockey this team has played and if eventually we see a season where the grind finally gets to them.
You and I are 100% in lockstep there Mess. That is BY FAR my biggest concern about the team heading into next season wondering can they have another strong regular season and can they make another long playoff run. That is BY FAR my biggest concern. Man for man we have a ton of talent IMO, and a great goalie, Yandle full year, and some young guys who will take strides forward. We also have the ability to move on from MSL and/or Hags and add a better player in that role (combined with flipping Talbot), so the talent is there for sure. The issue is the grind and wear and tear...can we overcome that. My biggest concern by miles.
Then again look at Chicago. Two cup wins and conference finals or better in five of the last seven seasons. Perhaps shouldn't worry about it until it happens. If you're good enough you're going to win.
