The team defense as whole was terrible all night. Turnovers galore, poor coverage in the defensive zone all night. You can get on talbot all you want. I don't care, he is what he is...a backup.
We'll see. The schedule is in their favor. Like I said the other day, to stay above water we need to score a lot. Cam will allow 3 gpg +/-, so the minimum most games will be 3 we need. The Avs game will be tough, but if we can get that one maybe we can get a little run going with Zona up next. Then a tough one at the Isles, but then 5 more winnable games after that. We'll see. I hate to keep reading Hank is hoping to be back by the playoffs. I am hoping he is back way before then...like mid-March worst case.
If we were a game or two over .500 for the next 15 I think we'd be a WC. We'll get in unless we totally fall apart, but if we struggle we'll be a WC, which is not ideal for a long run.
33 out of a 60 possible remaining points get them to 100 points. So that actually may not be too bad.
The schedule is favorable. Not out of the question. Zona twice, at Buffalo, Vancouver and Calgary and CBJ all at home. Favorable for sure. If we can find a way to win at the Avs that would be a god jumping off point.
They're in Mess. Just a question of where. I still want 2 in the Met. Would like to avoid the Isles until the 2nd round if we get there.
The way to look at it is like this. Every point we get with Hank out is a good point. Just hope he is back in a month.
They can still get at least a second seed in the division. MSL needs to get it going though, that would help.
The Rangers were 0-2 against Toronto coming into tonight's game including their home opener where the Leafs hung a 6 spot on Hank (.750 save %) and chased him. Not surprising that despite being suddenly thrown into the starting position Cam starts 2-1-1 and already the sky is falling crowd is calling for his head. The 4th goal wasn't even his fault but counts against his shooting % as once again McDonough drops like there's a sniper in the crowd to deflect the puck past Cam as he slid through the crease away from the shooter. I am a lot more concerned with what's going on with McDonough than Cam. I agree the second goal was garbage but please stop acting like Hank never gives up a soft goal and he's also more prone to turning the puck over while he's trying to stickhandle. There is a huge mental and physical adjustment Cam has to make in his routine to be a starter and not surprisingly he's made some mistakes but he'll never be Hank. Rielly's 2 goals were not easy saves, the guy can shoot the puck. I don't see Glen making any type of move until Hank is reevaluated by the medical staff in the next 1-2 weeks.
Chuck and mess will disagree, man. We went back and fourth about this during the game if you read the entire thread.
More and more you see Zucc playing himself into a contract now and St. Louis not coming back unless it's for cheap. St. Louis is finally showing a lot of age.
Here is the difference, we all know when Hank struggles for a few games he will come around. He has a proven track record as one of the best goalies in the world. Cam...he does not have that. 4 starts no sv% over .900. And don't blame the D when in 3 of those starts he has faced 25 shots or less. He has let up at least 1 soft goal in each of his last 3 starts. I think he will be a 3 gaa +/- kind of guy. Is what it is IMO. Not sure why this discussion gets people so fired up. That is how he has played over this stretch. Not making it up. I think he is a backup goalie who is forced to start 15 games +/- at least, and I personally don't believe he can get it done with anything other than mediocre play, a 3 gaa, maybe best case a .900 sv% +/-, and soft goals allowed. Not sure why that is such a big issue. That is my opinion. That is Mess' opinion. So far we have been dead on. BUT guess what...I am sure we both hope we will be dead wrong AND Cam has time to prove us wrong. So let's see how it plays out. I hope he plays great and shuts us up. Still plenty of time for that.
Zucc has been up and down no doubt. If he would shoot more I think he would be up more than he is down, and he mentioned in his post-game interview that the whole team keeps telling him to shoot more...hope he listens. I think the Rangers want him back because he is an important part of the team. But he has to be fair. I don't see giving him 5 mill or more per on a long term deal as a smart move. If he takes low to mid 4's long term I think it works. So what is he looking for...that is the question. As for MSL...3 mill per for two years...maybe 6.4 total for two years max. I cannot go more than that. If he wants more than a 3 or very low 3's cap hit, he needs to go somewhere else. This is a business, and we have to treat it as such.
