All I know is this. Canes skills players don't like getting hit. It clearly effects their game. Rangers didn't hit anybody when they played the Canes and it showed. If they don't play phsycial, they are fucked. They are going to need Goodrow big time.
Rangers beat the Pens, and I couldn't be happier to shut up the Pens fans I know, and Crosby, and get the kids more experience. But if we play against the Canes like we did against the Pens we'll get rolled. The game needs to raise a couple of levels to stay with these guys. That is a big ask.
GM 1: Wednesday 5/18 @CAR 7PM ET (ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVA Sports) GM 2: Friday, 5/20 @CAR 8PM ET (ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVA Sports) GM 3: Sunday, 5/22 @NYR 3:30PM ET (ESPN, Sportsnet, SN360, TVA Sports) GM 4: Tuesday, 5/24 @NYR 7PM ET (ESPN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVA Sports) GM 5: Thursday, 5/26 @CAR TBD TBA GM 6: Saturday, 5/28 @NYR TBD TBA GM 7: Monday, 5/30 @CAR TBD TBA I don't love game 3 being an afternoon game. Outside of that pretty straight forward.
Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow, who has been week-to-week with a lower-body injury, will not be available for the first few games of New York's second round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, head coach Gerard Gallant told reporters on Monday. However, Gallant did not rule out a possible Goodrow return later in the series against Carolina. The series begins on Wednesday. It is not clear when the injury to Goodrow (reportedly a broken left ankle) happened, but he did not miss any time during the Rangers' Game 1 triple overtime loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He did not play Game 2, and missed the remainder of the first-round series.
I wonder what the deal is with Andersen. That could be interesting if we face Raanta for most of the series.
Can Gauthier get in for a game here on the fourth line in place of Reaves? He’s got something to prove against his old team. I know Reaves is teams mascot in the looker room and all but do they really need him in all the games against such fast team?
When has Gauthier ever done anything offensively for the Rangers? I think his time was done here when GG played Brodzinski over him. An average Boston team took the Canes to Game 7 with physical play and I don't see the Canes getting the same ridiculously lopsided officiating that Cindy and the Pens received. Hit and shoot often and the Rangers win this series.
No one is asking Gauthier to score a lot of points. He can skate, hit a little and drive to the net and draw penalties. Reaves is slow as molasses. You can get away with having him against teams like the pens. Canes are much faster and will skate circles around our fourth line. You can also put in brodzinsky who can be more effective than Rooney. Mott Brod Gauthier is much faster and formidable fourth line
I mean they got outplayed by the pens for most of the series. Wouldn’t hurt to make some lineup changes.
Not for nothing but I shudder to think of Gauthier (from what we have seen from him for the most part) playing in the playoffs. He has shown flashes of lets call it ability to drive the net and draw penalties. But that's about it. He has no scoring touch, is not a play maker, is an average defender at best and has zero playoff experience. If one of the keys for the Rangers to advance out of this series is playing physical and getting the Canes off their game I'd prefer Reaves.
Despite all of the injury chaos, the Rangers still had a lot of controlling play at 5-on-5, particularly on defense. By the end of the series, the Penguins had a +2 goal differential, a +10 expected goal differential, and an absurd +60 differential in terms of high-danger scoring chances. Pittsburgh created 116 high-danger opportunities in what was roughly eight games of hockey when you add in the overtimes. The next closest team in the first round was Edmonton with 94. Needless to say, that kind of leaky defensive play can’t continue if the Rangers want to hang with Carolina, Florida, or Tampa Bay over the next few weeks.
How many of those opportunities were in games without Lindgren though. Miller needs to step up big time this series. He was our second worse dman behind Nemeth last series. I said in game 7, it seemed like he was caught in between a lot and wasn’t being decisive. He was playing scared to make a mistake which led to even more mistakes. Hopefully he is more assertive and aggressive this round because if not, the Canes will eat him up.
Points aside...Fox was worse than Miller. There is no sugar coating it. He stunk for the most part. Made some very good plays and showed up on the scoresheet but he really looked slow, indecisive and turnover prone.
Two of the Rangers losses to the Canes this year were with Georgiev in goal. GG should be fired or put in concussion protocol if he was to dress that baby Huey no talent Gauthier over playoff experienced Reaves. Interesting that my longtime Fstix fan friend has been making excuses similar to some of the posters on this board as to the Rangers having no chance. As I told him, the Rangers should physically dominate this series and as long as Igor has shed the rabbit ears the Rangers will roll.