Brady Tkachuk. Am I giving up? No. However, this team hasn’t show me any reason to believe they’re going to win this series. Shesterkin would have to steal the next two games and they would have to get a lot of offensive luck, since they clearly have no idea what the fuck they’re doing.
Honestly, or quite obviously if you want to look at it that way. Shesterkin will need a shutout for them to have a chance. I don’t see them scoring more than two goals. The problem is they allow Florida two many shots, too many high danger shots and ultimately too much time in the Rangers zone. People can say he gives up a soft goal or two but it’s just how the game goes. Eventually professionals are going to put one or two good looks into the net.
Another amazing thing is that this is now eight games against Florida this season and they have yet to beat them in regulation.
Of course, Igor has been their best player throughout the playoffs, and it isn't even close. Quite frankly, I am okay with Igor "needing to be great" in the context of he is part of the team, and there is a reason why he is great and treated as such, so that's okay to me even though I am in the minority of thinking a goalie being great and needing to be your best player is okay. BUT where I think things fall short is we do not score in these big spots, and it has been an issue for the Igor years and the Hank years, that is no coincidence. It is for many reasons we don't score; our best players are soft and don't perform when faced with a punch you in your mouth physical game, we do not and I am convinced never will, get that we need to shoot more get pucks on net and score dirty goals, we don't pay the price to score in the playoffs especially as we get later into the 2nd round and ECF. Again, it is not a coincidence that this team has made a VERY good 5 ECF's in the past 13 seasons, that is just about 39% of the time we have made the ECF in 13 years, that is top notch. The flip side to that is if we lose to Florida, we'll be 1-4 in those ECF appearances, and that is bad. Reason, as we get later in the playoffs, we are not good enough, not tough enough, and do not score in big spots. We have so far wasted two amazing goalies in Hank and Igor. Hank, we wasted his whole career, Igor we are on pace to waste his whole career as well. None of that is a coincidence, it is all very telling, and all tied together as one big story IMO. As for what's next, I will really focus on that after this series if we do lose, but I'll just say now with the vets we have signed for big money with NMC's, it is not going to be easy to make impactful moves. And I also think Drury needs to be front and center to answer for some of what he has done (and not done). But getting deep into it is for another day. For today, let's hope against hope they can still win this series, I think they can win game 6, and then watch them implode at home in game 7, that would be the Rangers way sadly. But let's see if they can get it done, if not then I will focus on the off-season.
Hey, find a way to win game 6 and anything can happen in a game 7. That being said. The kind of guys we need more of in the playoffs we have in the system and most have a year of AHL experience. Othmann, Sykora, Berard. Hopefully, Laba coming soon. Problem with that is they will be rookies with an aging top for forward core other than Lafreniere and a goalie who is 28.
Florida also doesn’t give you much. Look at their total goals allowed all season. You have to bury the good chances you do get. I was tired of hearing the last two games that the Rangers played a good period or two. It doesn’t matter when they don’t score. Florida also absolutely owns the third period.
If they can somehow score a couple early they will have a chance. The longer the game goes with the offense dormant means trouble.
They also need to stop backing up on defense to the other team has the puck 15 to 20 feet out. They've been doing for 10 fucking years. We get stood up at the blueline. We let the other team walk in constantly.
Agreed on Florida not giving you much, needing to bury your chances, and if you don't score it doesn't mean sh*t. It is obviously telling that the 3rd period has been the Rangers worst all series. With that said, the Rangers overall issues are deeper IMO, there is a reason they are about to be 1-4 in the ECF over these 13 seasons, they don't score goals in big spots. That's against TB or Florida or NJ. It's a common theme over more than just this series. Damn right it isn't easy, and it shouldn't be in the ECF, but if you want to win a Cup you have to actually score some goals in big spots. And it is all the reasons we have all listed. They need players who thrive in these moments, not players like Panarin and Zibanejad who wilt. Until then first Hank, and now Igor will have their careers wasted with regards to winning a Cup.
Drury knows what it takes to win in the playoffs. He's going to build this team around Lafreniere, Igor, Schneider, Lindgren, Fox, Cuylle for starters. Fox has his flaws but it's almost impossible to get a PP QB that consistently gives you a dangerous PP. Problem is now, they have 4 righty shots on the PP unit and Kreider the only lefty shot is in front. Which is why I said put fucking Laffy on right wing who is a lefty shot and is tremendous one timing the puck with almost no back swing. Zibanejad needs to be taken off the unit.
Mika’s one trick pony one timer approach and the time they waste setting him up for it has contributed to ruining the power play.
I have significant doubts that Drury knows how to build a roster to win in the playoffs. He did NOTHING to help this team with their obvious flaws at the deadline. He hurt us more than helped us quite honestly. He brought in deadweight players that can’t do anything we need them to do. Win faceoffs? Nope. Score goals? Nope. Play make? Nope. Be useful in the dzone? Nope. Literally they are just occupying roster spots to occupy roster spots. Drury killed this teams chances at the deadline. While Florida got better, and even the Canes (who yes we eliminated but we looked bad doing so) got better, we stood still. If you’re not trying to get better at the deadline then you aren’t winning shit. Holding onto draft picks is great when a window has closed. Going all in when the window is wide open is what we should have done. Is what it is at this point, but I don’t think Drury gets it done here.
Then everyone fell in love with another useless player in Rempe. He’s a clumsy doofus who can’t skate. Florida has knocked him around more than anything physical he has done.
The best part is, the first round pick we had to hold onto at the DL which is why Drury added junk, is going to be the 30th pick in the draft, 30. For that we absolutely had to keep it, come on now that is poor asset management. And we had cap space due to Chytil being on LTIR. The thing on Fox is this summer is the last time we can trade him before his NMC goes into effect. I agree if we move him, he needs to be replaced with a very good dman who can QB a PP, but if we do not deal him now, he's locked in for a long while. And that is the other issue, I don't agree if someone feels this team can easily be remade, like getting Mika to waive his NMC is some easy task, then get a team to take him with a NMC, and get that team to take his cap hit, and lastly get a team to give up good assets for him. That's easier said than done. That is why in some ways if you can get a haul, looking into trading Fox makes sense. If they keep him this team is locked in with a lot of NMC's with big cap hits for years. As for Drury, I don't have faith in him. As 94, Mess, and I have all written real time at the DL, he failed the DL miserably this year in order to keep the 30th pick. As was stated, need a FO guy, instead got Wennberg who cannot win a FO (1 goal 45% on FO's in 19 regular season games; 1 goal 44% on FO's in the playoffs), need a tough dman, instead added no one (I don't even count Ruhwedel as he is a zero), need a RW to finish the 1st line, instead got Roslovic who is just about a zero (5 total goals in 34 games). If that isn't a DL failure, I don't know what is. He didn't even need to nail all 3 needs, but he failed on all 3 needs, he didn't even address one. As for Rempe, the saddest or worst part of it is, he was/is so loved by the fans because he actually hits and energizes the crowd. What does that say about the rest of the team that we need a 4th line guy who plays 5 minutes to do that, huge indictment on the makeup of the team IMO. And no shot Rempe plays in game 6 on the road, it will be Chytil and Wheeler, and if one of those guys cannot go, we may even see Brod over Rempe. I think it was absolutely a poor decision to play Rempe in game 5 if you were going to play him all of 4 shifts for 2:43, I like Lav, but that is an awful lineup decision on his part. That is wasting a lineup spot, and he should have played Wheeler instead. I would be shocked if we don't see Wheeler in game 6.
I was going to say that also. What was the point of dressing Rempe when he hardly played? That said we’re talking about swapping lower line guys which really isn’t the issue. It’s the top guys just not getting it done.
Rempe getting 4 shifts would be fine if we were winning. Regardless, if putting in Chytil or Wheeler is what we think will make a difference we are screwed. All I know is that if our PP1 unit goes out there and it’s still Mika and not Laf I’m turning off the game for my own sanity. I’ll score check, but not going to watch and get all upset and mad when it’s clear we would all care more than players and coaches.
On the PP Panarin and Fox should be in the middle as much as possible trying to split Florida's diamond apart and making Bobrovsky handle some rebounds. It doesn't seem like Kreider's getting in front enough.
While I agree, at the end of the day if the top guys don't show up it doesn't matter, I would say Wheeler could have played on the 4th line and maybe added something. That is not an in-game decision where something changed once they dropped the puck, when Rempe only plays 4 shifts that was part of the gameplan, so why waste a spot on him. There is no way to defend that decision by Lav, and I am a Lav guy, even if I agree it wouldn't have changed the outcome, dumb decision and waste of a spot (not saying we disagree Mess). I don't think it will happen at this point in the playoffs out of nowhere, but at the very least with how this series has played out, I absolutely would move Lafreniere up to PP1 and Mika down to PP2. I don't see it happening for the reason I mentioned, but also if you do that, I think you risk losing Mika. Counter to that is he hasn't done sh*t anyway so who cares, but I just don't see Lav doing it for the first time all season in game 6 of the ECF with no practice, even if I think it is the right decision. But we are in desperate times so you never know. My prediction on the lineup is both Chytil and Wheeler are in, and Rempe is out. I am not sure what the lines look like as I absolutely could see Kreider and Zibanejad playing with someone other than Chytil. If Chytil can play C, my 4th line would be Goodrow/Wennberg/Wheeler. You know Panarin/Trocheck/Lafreniere will be together. Then I would look at how to put together Kreider, Zibanejad, Chytil, Cuylle, Roslovic, and Kakko. If Chytil cannot play C, then you have to leave Wennberg on the 3rd line, and I personally would move Roslovic down to the 4th line, but that will never happen. I want Cuylle on the 3rd line if possible. Not sure how Lav will structure the lines, but I would be very surprised if Rempe isn't a scratch on the road.
I really truly hope the Rangers step up tonight and play their best game of the series to force an anything can happen game 7 at MSG, and I think there is a punchers chance they will. But if they don't and things go tonight how they have gone the rest of the series, you seriously have to ask can a team with Mika and Panarin counting for just over $20M against the cap, win a Cup. Panarin has two more years remaining at $11.6M, and Mika has six more years remaining at $8.5M. Fox at $9.5M is the only other player on the team over an $8M cap hit. With how both of these guys seemingly wilt as the playoff pressure and toughness and physical play ramp up, it is difficult to see this team winning a Cup with them at the top of the food chain if they cannot get it done this season. And with both having NMC's, I really don't know how you can do anything about it, except put the $11.6M to good use in the summer of 2026 when Panarin's deal is up (that is also the summer Trouba's $8M deal is up - so that could be the next time we can really remake the team). If I had to list the players, I am fed up with if they lose tonight, Panarin, Zibanejad, and Kakko would be my top guys, I am not sure I even have a close 4th on my list. Those 3 guys frustrate me to no end with how they handle these big tough spots, year after year for the first two especially.
