Let's see. Just a few minutes and the team has let up a breakaway and the defense let a guy wide open in front of Lundqvist with all day to shoot. Nothing new.
Maybe should have challenged the Bruins goal for goalie interference. Big clean FO loss hurt on that goal...Bergeron is one of the best though so can't go nuts. You saw why I am starting to get upset with Hayes at the end of the PP. Sweet move and a great chance to shoot...BUT passes to a covered guy and no chance. I have said it a ton over the past few weeks, until the Rangers understand that getting pucks on goal is never a bad play they will struggle to score against good teams in tight games. Very frustrated with their refusal to simply get pucks on goal and see what it leads to. Not an awful period overall IMO. Hit two posts squarely. Hopefully they get the next one and make it a tossup game.
Great start to 2nd. Fore-checking and throwing pucks on net. Nice goal by Lindberg and we are tied. Keep pushing.
That's the way we need to play. Get pucks deep and fore-check hard. And most importantly no fancy sh*t just get pucks on net. Good to see. The one player who I am really starting to get frustrated with is Kreider. He angers me like no other player on the team.
That's awful officiating. Stephan gets rid of the puck and then almost two seconds later get hit. And that's fine? Since fucking when? That's as much of a cheap shot as you can get. Bullshit. But if that's what the refs are going to say is legal, then a Ranger needs to return the favor on Bergeron.
Pretty even 2nd period. Love what McIlrath did sticking up for Stepan even if he did get an extra penalty. That alone should mean he stays in the lineup tomorrow AV. Wish we killed the penalty for the big guy. Zucc had a great opportunity, but passed to a covered Nash instead, frustrating. Should be a fun 3rd period in what has been a pretty even game I think.
That's what this team has been missing. A guy who will stick up for his teammates when the refs turn a blind eye to a cheap shot. If Dylan gets more games and teams see him doing this, they will be less likely to take runs at guys and will open up the ice some more for our skill guys. If you know in the back of your head that you can fly around with no repercussions because the Rangers have no one to stop you and the PP struggles to produce anything, you will keep flying around. If you know that there's a deterrent out there, even if he's not on the ice during your shift, you're less likely to play like that because you know eventually you'll have to "pay the piper." Biggest mistake the NHL ever made was taking the game out of the players' hands on a cheap shot like that on Stepan. If that was Crosby and not Stepan it's an overreaction of 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Consistency is NO WHERE to be found in officiating in the NHL anymore. Instead of worrying about goals, worry about the fact that penalties are inconsistent called in games from refs (obviously will be different game to game due to different refs, which will inevitably always interpret things at least slightly different). Solving goal scoring is simple. Bigger ice surface, smaller chest protectors, gloves and blockers. Done and done.
And that's karma for the bogus PP goal Boston got in the second. But Pierre NAILED what's one big problem with the PP. No one screens the goalie properly. Either they're not in front or they're to the side and not effecting his sight.
The guy who 100% receives a pass in here is Kreider. You guys get on pretty much everyone but never get on CK. His season thus far has been a huge letdown. He can't even screen a goalie properly. He really is starting to bother me now with his dumb play.
I just said Pierre nailed it. He's learning from Nash how to be soft and not use your size to get to the net (granted Nash has been better past few games). Kreider doesn't get a pass from anyone. Dump did give him a D haha
Staal and Klein both just don't communicate and leave Spooner wide open. I really don't know why Staal leaves the front of the net. And there's the crappy defense we've seen all year from this team. Can't clear the puck at all for minutes at a time. Defense MUST get better.
What a shock. Chance to clear the puck and Staal pushes it to his own blueline like a pussy and they score. It's time assclowns like Staal start getting scratched. Time to call up Skjei and put Staal in the stands until he gets a clue.
Frustrating finish. First speed bump this season. The time is now for the team, and the D, to clean it up. Not much different than last season except we were winning a lot of games, but we need to step it up now. The past 5 games, starting with at TB, have been very poorly played. Time to get out of this funk and it starts with better in zone play. Very sloppy to say the least and not staying true to the system. This is what happens over the long NHL season though...it's how you battle out of the down stretches that determine what type of team you are.
Well this is what happens when Hank doesn't stand on his head and bail us out. We are an average defensive team. We just struggle defensively way too much as it is RIGHT NOW (yes, it's super early but still can be a concern), to be a SERIOUS Cup contender. Yes, we will win a series or two in the playoffs with how we are playing currently, but if we can't figure out what the hell we are doing in the defensive zone, teams are going to keep exposing us. We really need to get this shit straightened out because these losses are going to start piling up unless Hank can keep standing on his head. These last two games are EXACTLY what I've been saying about this defense. Too soft. Too slow. Bailed out consistently by Hank. But now when Hank starts to come back to earth we see all our flaws being exposed for ALL to see. Please stop ignoring how awful we are defensively. Please stop giving me this GAA stat. Look at SOG against, and realize that eventually, the GAA anomaly was going to right itself. You can't keep on giving up good chances in scoring positions and expect to win. If Hank doesn't basically win these games by himself and starts out how he usually starts, this teams GAA is near 4. It's going to keep creeping up until we get this defensive zone crap figured out. Oh well. Tomorrow's another game. Hope Dylan stays in. Bench Staal for Boyle if AV MUST have Boyle in the lineup.
