Seems in games where they don’t score on the pp or get pp opportunities they struggle. The defensive breakdowns are absurd. I remember with the Hank teams I always felt confident they weren’t gonna allow many goals every playoff game,this team I don’t have that confidence. Zibanejad is a shit even strength player now.
Right now, it is difficult to argue against this. The defensive breakdowns have been glaring for a while now. I think they have the talent; I am just not sure they have the commitment. And I am convinced they have no clue how to cover the late man on the rush, as he is almost always all alone. They need to take these last two games and get back to playing well in their own zone and valuing the puck. As for Zibanejad, I have said this for a while, watch the guy at even strength, and he does not shoot or even look at the net. I get very frustrated by that because I don't understand why Lavy doesn't say Mika you need to shoot more, or I am sitting you down for a bit to reflect. Instead, it is the same thing over and over again, and it is a trickle effect on everything else he does at even strength because when he is no threat to shoot it makes it so much easier on the D to cover the other guys and allows the goalie to be one-step ahead anticipating a pass. Fox is bad with regards to refusing to shoot or even look at the net, but he is a dman, it is way worse when your "# 1" C does not shoot at even strength. Also, that line has not performed well. Roslovic has added very little, and Mika/CK only score on the PP. It is a big concern when your co # 1-line scores very little at even strength. Lastly, not only has Roslovic been a dud so far IMO, but Wennberg also adds very little offense. I am not going to really get on him for two reasons though, he is the 3rd line C, so you aren't expecting major offensive production, and he does play solid in his own zone and is responsible defensively, so again he has been okay, and I am not going to be overly critical. With that said, he adds little offensively as mentioned, and he is an abysmal 44.7% on faceoffs with the Rangers, that is beyond bad, does he even try to win them. With all that said, they still can right this ship. Need to play well and get back to being defensively sound these last two games, hopefully win them and win the East/Met (they still control their own destiny), and then go into the playoffs with some positive momentum. That is the focus right now from where I sit.
Yes and also yes. In reflection, the moves Drury made at the deadline (to me) seem like he was not serious about making a run at the cup this year. Roslovic and Wennberg are milquetoast...just....blahhhh. Zibanejad has been a huge disappointment. Pains me to say that. That line is just not an offensive threat in almost any situation at even strength. If they manage to have a quick breakout/odd man rush there is a hope they'll score but they just have no ability to generate scoring chances otherwise. It was very encouraging to see how working with Panarin and Trocheck has helped Laf but really outside of that line there is not much to fear with this lineup. Even with Rempe as a physical presence, that only goes so far. He's not going to be making up for the offensive shortfalls of Kreider, Zib, Kakko, Goodrow, the new guys, the old guys. They still may finish with the most points in the East/NHL but like you two have said...there are too many red flags to not expect a letdown once the playoffs start...which is still over a week away for gods sake. ugh.
It boils down to whether they will be able to create anything 5 on 5. The past two games the Islanders and Flyers have loaded up the middle of the ice in front of their netminder. Blasting shots from the point instead of weak wristers might alleviate some of that.
Your point about blasting shots instead of taking weak wristers from the point is a good one, and I think fits the Rangers MO. They are too pretty and fancy and white collar, they don't want to have their O be blast from the point and crash for dirty goals. Hence, they take weak wristers or wrister shot passes hoping for pretty deflections. That is who they are. It is why they struggle in the playoffs, and unfortunately their play recently doesn't give me a lot of hope this year will be any different. As for the trade DL, I was maybe the most critical on here about Drury's failure. As I have reflected on it, I have a bit of different perspective now. I don't think it was reasonable to expect Drury to add both a clear LW upgrade, and a clear dman upgrade, but I do think he had to do one. Meaning if you added Ruhwedal on D, you had to get a bigger fish than Roslovic for the 1st line. If you added a better dman that could upgrade the lineup, than you could live with only adding Roslovic for the 1st line. You couldn't soft play/half a** both of them and expect improvement, and that is what Drury did. It was a mistake, and we'll see if we pay for it, or if we can get it going again. One other comment on Mika that is so frustrating, all he needs to do is look at Panarin to see what being aggressive and shooting the puck as your first option can do for your game, and your line. Panarin came into this season saying I am going to be aggressive and shoot first, and wow any already great player has gone to even another level. Mika should take 5 minutes to watch that, and mirror what Pan has done, and Lavy should be telling him that daily. But alas, that does not happen, so I would expect another down playoff performance from Mika.
I said this during the Isles game. If a team wants to block a ton of shots that means you’re likely taking weak shots against them. Take a few hard slap shots and let them be unable to get off the ice or have to try and regroup on the bench and you’ll see teams less willing to lie down in front of a shot. In the offensive zone it’s a lot of “pretty” perimeter play and possession but no real threats on goal. Once again this team is falling into the beauty show mindset instead of getting the dirty, gritty goals. In the defensive zone they don’t even seem to have a plan anymore. This team right now is reminding me of Gallant from last year. Lots of talent but a coach unwilling to change a game plan or hold guys accountable by benching them/scratching them.
