1st line continues to do shit. 2nd line showed up tonight. Panarin has sucked but a great pass And decent set up on both goals scored can’t argue he was total shit tonight. Still nowhere where he needs to be but this was where the 1st line is suppose to come in for support
They have played pretty well in all the first periods, up and down in the 2nd, and dominated in the 3rd. That sets a trend that as the game goes on the Rangers wear down. Keep thinking the big guys and the PP are due, but you can keep thinking that all the way to the golf course potentially. Maybe we'll get a few more PP's at home. As for Zibanejad, that was a really bad play in OT. Wheeler kind of had to take the penalty, which could have saved the game winning goal right there. But if you want my honest opinion, the worst part of it was how lazy Zibanejad looked skating back and covering no one, almost out for a Sunday stroll, that is alarming as effort should never be in question, and yet it was. Mentally he is not there. And Kreider is playing like the old days Kreider where he'd disappear for long stretches, you almost never even hear his name mentioned. It is bad. And like I said, yes, a few points, but neither Fox nor Panarin have really made an impact either, the Florida top guys are playing way better than our top guys. We are lucky to be 2-2, and not just due to play on the ice, but the PP/special teams big edge for Florida, and their big players playing well and ours not. Very lucky to be here, but we are, and we need to wake up with a big effort in game 5, and I expect them to do it given what the team has done this season. Not saying they win for sure, but I expect a very good Rangers effort on Thursday night.
This won't be popular, but if it is me, I may put Chytil back in, and leave Wheeler in. The only reason I question that is because at home Rempe helps get the crowd going, and the team energized, so I have to weigh that if I'm Lav, but I may put Chytil back in if healthy. Kreider/Zibanejad/Chytil Pan/Tro/Laf Ros/Wenn/Kakko Cuylle/Goodrow/Wheeler 1. Slow Barkov. 2.Contain Reinhart on the PP. 3. Take less penalties/PK needs to be much better.
“Obviously I should have probably made a different play, decision,” Zibanejad explained postgame. “Just come back and try to make other decisions next time and hope that it goes my way.” Boy, he really sounds engaged and into it doesn't he, wow can you show some passion please. I hope it goes my way, are you kidding me dude. Jesus, talk about softness. No, I have to be better, I have not been getting it done and need to step up, nothing except make a different decision and hope it goes my way. Not getting that second goal in a 1st period we controlled did hurt us. I am just a little bothered with how the Rangers played in the 3rd period in game 3 and after the 1st period tonight. Taking dumb penalties, poor PK, not scoring on the PP, losing FO's, top guys not showing up, Barkov and Reinhart on the PP really hurting us. A lot of things we have done well we are not doing well, or things we did all season we are struggling with. Could be the Panthers just too good and too strong, or maybe they need to wake up and show up with some passion and fire in game 5 at MSG. Maybe the Rangers are sitting on a big game, I really hope they are, and I expect them to play well as stated.
Other than Lindgren the D corps has pretty much looked like crap, which I guess is partly Florida but guys look like they want no part of hitting.
I don't think it is hitting per se, the Rangers have outhit the Panthers in the series by a couple, and outhit them in 2 games, including tonight. I think it is more dealing with the pressure and making the right decisions quickly. Plus, Florida is a heavy team and I think they wear the Rangers down as the game goes on. The Rangers need to be quicker with their decision making and play with more conviction. Clean up the penalties and PK, and the top guys have to step up, or it all won't matter. Zibanejad has been a joke, but where the F has Captain Kreider been, he has been totally invisible. He is due for a good Chris game, I think.
Not sure why this organization thinks he can lead them to the cup. Time to promote trocheck to number 1 center and drop that sack of shit Zibanejad to number 2.
He may, that could be fair, but to your point, that is no excuse for Kreider. A lot of people say he is the true Captain, call him Captain Kreider, the guy has ZERO points in this series, ZERO. Zibanejad, ZERO points in this series, ZERO. Both are a -3. Barkov is great defensively but come on now this is beyond that. Even on the PP they have not done sh*t. Enough, and these guys need to play with a lot more passion and fire or we will be done in 6. That is why Zibanejad's comments, and total lack of hustle on the Wheeler penalty in OT are alarming to me.
Look, I will end by saying this, the Rangers have it ALL right in front of them still. We all knew the Panthers were a good team, and while we lost the chance to make it a shorter series tonight, we still are sitting in a decent spot. It is now a best of 3, and we have home ice. Man the F up and show up with a big effort in game 5, get that win and we will win the series. Unlike Rangers teams of the past, this team has answered every big challenge this season, I expect this time they will as well.
The bottom line is that Lafreniere has shown more guts, leadership and will to win than any vet other than Lindgren and Trochek. That's pretty fn sad but also a great to credit to what he will become. If the Rangers don't get out of this series Drury has two options. Go get Brady Tkachuk or hope that Othmann, Sykora and a kid like Berard can actually up the compete level, heart and courage of our useless, overpaid vets like Zibanejad. I'm surprised Kreider has been a complete pussy in this series. Panarin was game planned out by the Panthers. Those other two ass clowns have no excuse.
I agree with your point on Zibanejad and Kreider, and the vets. I said it last night, but of all the BS, the two most telling things with Zibanejad are his ridiculous comments post-game, and the clear lack of hustle or urgency on his turnover and Wheeler penalty in OT. Those two things are alarming to me and send up big red flags. How do you play like he has played and say "hope it goes different next time", and nothing else, that is so mentally weak and shows a clear lack of engagement and urgency, it is troubling from one of your "best" players and a "leader". The Kreider thing is maybe in a weird way a little more annoying because I thought we were past this with him, and he is the leader of the team many say, and we have not seen any of it this series. It is almost impossible that neither guy has even one point in this series, and then you combine that with Zibanejad's clear lack of urgency, and it is very telling. With that said, they still have a chance to step up and get it done. Let's see what these two guys do in a huge game 5, that will go a very long way in deciding the series winning team.
Florida had their rink freezer set to slush last night to help their shoot the puck from every angle possible philosophy so pucks were bouncing and players were constantly losing edge. Florida trips so often that the refs become complacent about it and swallow the whistle, The Rangers should expect suspect officiating - has been that way postseason for decades but it wasn't the officials failing to clear the puck from the offensive zone dozens of times leading to the onslaught of shots by Florida. Forwards have to come back for the puck when dmen are double teamed, there is no movement in the Rangers breakout. CK and Mika need to pick it up for game 5.
On the refs, I don't think they are why we lost last night, or the series is tied 2-2, we discussed the Rangers big players not showing up, not making quick decisions, the PP struggling, the PK struggling etc. But while I don't think the refs are the reason we lost or have struggled in some areas we normally don't, we have absolutely gotten the short end of the stick from the refs in this series, that Kakko play is a clear example, we should have been on the PP to start OT. I think the point that the Panthers do so much they almost dare the refs to call penalty after penalty on them is very legit. At some point the refs will "let them play". They were the most penalized team in the regular season, 2nd most penalized team in the playoffs into this series, yet they have had many more PP's than we have had, a team that was one of the least penalized teams in the league, very telling. I do think back at home in game 5 we will get some calls. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I can see us getting the benefit of the doubt and ending with more PP's than the Panthers in game 5. One comment on Lav, I would like to see him "work the refs" a bit more than he does though. Basketball coaches do it all the time, not getting on Lav, but I think he has been a little too passive on the refs given what has gone on. Take a fine now to get your thoughts out. Even the call in game 3 where Reinhart fell like he got shot and they stopped the play as we had a 4 on 2 break was a joke.
Well said, totally agree. The refs have been bad, and in Florida's favor, but that is not why we lost last night, or have not been at the level we have been at previously or have not played the right way at times.
If they’re not going to get anything from the top line it’s going to be very difficult to win this series. Not to mention they need to play a complete game instead of hoping Igor bails them out. This is looking like the Lundqvist days out there. Let’s face it. Going back to the previous series they had two loses, needed Kreider heroics to avoid a third loss and now have two overtime wins against Florida. It’s not sustainable.
Yup, the big players have to step up now. It is very rare you beat a very good team late in the playoffs if your best guys no show, and I'd say Zibanejad and Kreider have no showed, and Panarin and Fox have had little impact. That is not sustainable. But the beauty of it is despite ALL of this that favors the Panthers, the series is 2-2 and we are heading home for game 5. Other than Igor, Lafreniere, Goodrow, and a solid Trocheck the Rangers have had just about everything against them. PP and PK (if I told you we'd be -4 on PPG's and -3 on special teams overall through 4 games no way you say it is a 2-2 series), refs not on their game, big guys not showing up, Vesey went out, and more, and yet we are in a 2-2 series. You can look at that in a bad way and say it is a matter of time before we collapse. OR you can look at it in an opportunistic way and say we have to be due; the big guys will show up at some point, the PP and PK will get better, and we'll win this series, and are fortunate to be 2-2 and build off that. It is still right there for us to win, let's not lose sight of that with the downer of last night, and a decent amount of the play through 4 games.
