Guarantee there is nothing wrong with Shesterkin. Total bullshit. They just threw Hank a bone. That's what loser organizations do. They don't put the best team out there. You have to be a gullible moron to think Shesterkin couldn't play. They will make up some shit like he tweaked his groin. Bullshit. Hank totally fucked up the backhand by Trocheck. Should be down 2-0 because of him. Love him but he's done. Accept it and move on.
One good shift that entire period for the Rangers. Totally dominated that period. Didn’t help that the refs made it a revolving door to the box for both teams and killed any hope of a flow for the game. Definitely looked like a team that wasn’t ready to play. Extremely sloppy but that’s to be expected without a real preseason before this.
Losing an experienced guy like Fast really hurts for a team this young, especially with the kind of forecheck pressure the Canes put on. Fucking Brady Skjei. First time he laid a hit in his career. We need the top guys to sustain some offensive pressure in the 2nd.
Instead of focusing on Hank, who was fine and made some very good saves after allowing a maybe stoppable goal, how about we focus on the awful play by the team. They were dominated. Outshot 12-4. Pretty much outclassed in the 1st, and they are very lucky to only be down 1-0. Really pathetic period. Unless they raise their game many levels, this will be a quick 3 and out series.
And not only outshot 12-4, it is worse when you factor in the shots were 1-1 for the first 10 minutes or so of the game, yet the Canes ended with 12 overall. That was really bad, and it looked like the Rangers don't belong on the same ice as the Canes. With that said, only one period and only down 1-0 thankfully,
What the fuck was the ref doing running a screen on our guy?????? Why was he even in the center of the ice???? What a crock of shit. This officiating crew is literally going to make this just be a special teams game. Holy fuck.
So far what this come down to is Carolina is just a more talented mature team. The Rangers simply cannot handle their constant pressure and harassment. We are not strong enough on the puck, and not nearly decisive enough with the puck. We have zero space and time to get anything done, and we cannot make plays. Big picture this will be a good learning experience for a lot of our younger players I think. It has been a lesson on what playoff hockey is all about. A whole other level.
The refs have been a joke, but they have been a joke both ways. They are just a better team, and have paid it off, terrible refs or not.
At what point do these refs realize that this is supposed to be playoff hockey and NOT exhibition hockey and start calling it like that? First REAL NHL game in months and we get treated to the refs making up for lost tv time. Unfucking real
I said the refs were terrible for both teams after period one. This period has continued that trend. Making this shit unwatchable. Good job refs. It’s a MAJOR problem when there have been more minutes played with a man up/down then 5v5. This isn’t what hockey fans want to watch. PP after PP after PP is boring hockey.
Maybe the Rangers can make them pay here and get back into the game. As for the refs, they called everything against the Isles also. Makes me think the head office told the refs to call things very tight in these games. Seems to be a trend.