Took a long break but I am back for the stretch run......And I see all the negativity again like before, lol. I know folks are freaking out about us having too much skill not as much grit but this team for 15 years could never score enough in the playoffs. Lets see......
You never are optimistic. But that isn't enough, you are overly negative about everything. We'll miss the playoffs, fire Gallant 2 months into the job, Titanic, it goes on and on. How has your team done in the playoffs recently (you are not a Rangers fan so trying to understand which team you actually do root for)?
Whats up Dump.....Yeah the East is brutal but fuk it. Grinders never won us shit. Mix is always best but Kane can win a series himself even though hes 34. I don't buy all the talk of him being washed up. He had 92 points on a shitty team last year. This will be end horrendously or will be the deadline steal of the last decade+, no middle ground IMO.
I check in every now and then, after big games or roster moves. Always get a kick of the game threads and then Panzer's morning-after dose of sunshine. I haven't posted in awhile but once I got the alert that Disturbed responded to my message (from 2 years ago!!!!), I had to come say what's up. Hope all has been well Dis. This roster construction is a gamble by Drury, no two ways about it. We have all the talent in the world but the question will be whether they can gel in time, and play the right way to win playoff series. On that point it is not a coincidence that the two main guys Drury gambled on have both been there and won. They know what it takes. I am a little concerned with the bottom 6 depth, that fourth line is going to be crucial for us late in games and on the kill, and the Kid line has been underwhelming past week or so. But if our big guys show up, this roster has the talent to get it done. Will be a fun ride down the stretch.
Yeah Prod its a good point about Senko too, everyone knows about Kane's 3 Cups and Conn Smythe but Senko won a cup too. At the end of the day what has every good Rangers team failed at in the playoffs since 94? Scoring enough goals. Goes back to Hank. Even last year vs Tampa. They lose these games 1-0 and 2-1 and get bounced from series. I know grit matters in playoffs and leads to goals but Kane is a great playoff guy and I think he is going to do really well here even if on paper we don't seem to have enough on the bottom 6 for playoff hockey. Senko and Kane are going to win us playoff games IMO and if the Kid Line can do what they did last playoffs this team is very very deep.
Igor will have to stand on his head. Drury thinks they will be like the Avs last year outscoring everyone at will. Look at the Avs defense last year. Besides makar and a couple of other guys, it was shit. They had Jack Johnson in their top 6 lol
I agree that the offense has always been a problem in the playoffs. However, now they’ve gone in the other direction where they can’t play defense for crap. Panarin and Kane need to shoot and play north-south a lot more or we are fucked.
In a lot of ways I think it comes down to the 3rd line. Traditionally the 3rd line is a sandpaper checking line that can pitch in some goals. Our 3rd line is another finesse scoring line. That's how this team is constructed. That's where our tradeoff is of skill/finesse vs. sandpaper/grit. If the 3rd line plays up to their skill level and score, like they did last playoffs, I think we can go a long way. The D pairings and forwards they will play against they will have a big talent edge over. If they don't score we are done, because then we don't have enough sandpaper/grit, and cannot make up for it with our 3rd scoring line not scoring. So I'll say right now we sink or swim, with regards to going far, on how the 3rd line produces. We'll go as far as they take us supplementing the top two lines scoring. The 4th line is fine, and IMO is one of the better 4th lines out there, so I think depth wise we are really good - not many teams have guys like Vesey/Goodrow/Motte on the 4th line. It's about the 3rd line finesse/scoring or sandpaper/grit. We went the former, and they have to produce for it to work out for us IMO.
You may have heard the old song about even a blind man knowing when the sun is shining Dis! This team is way better than last year's, Strome, Vatrano, Rooney and Copp replaced by Trocheck, Tarasenko, Kane and Vesey provide the offense last year's team lacked.
There have been plenty of seasons over the decades to hammer the Rangers organization from the top down and a few years ago it did seem like the same old Rangers when even though they lucked into a few #1s their selections seemed to miss the mark. When JD and co were suddenly fired and replaced by Drury that same old mentality changed with a new emphasis on grit and the board wailed. The only thing that I found puzzling about Gallant's hiring was that other teams he was successful coaching had unceremoniously dumped him but since coming here and going 87-42-15, I'm baffled by the Panthers and Knights decision. Interestingly enough, neither team got better after GG's departure yet some here think the Ogre has to go and some other coach like Trotz will waltz in to the rescue and secure the Cup. If not he's gone too!, everybody's fired! and we can resume the familiar grind of the never ending rebuild. I'm going to go out on a limb and think it's highly unlikely that the Rangers will still be playing exactly the same way they played against Ottawa come playoff time. There will be more familiarity after 20 games and the special teams should be dialed in providing Motte isn't out for a prolonged period of time. Since winning the Cup in 1994 the Rangers have missed the playoffs 11 times, been bounced in the 1st round 6 times and won 1 round 6 times. A new coach with GG;s success should be lauded here not vilified especially when the bashing is based on emotional subjectivity instead of statistical truth. There is great hockey ahead with a young team ahead of schedule. Let's Go Rangers!
