What if the Rangers learned their lesson last year and purposely playing poorly enough to secure that 1st wildcard this year?
#MakeBSBHGreatAgain
What if the Rangers learned their lesson last year and purposely playing poorly enough to secure that 1st wildcard this year?
#MakeBSBHGreatAgain
That's what I'm hoping!![]()
According to this: http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL.html
The Rangers are a 91% chance of being WC1.
Quite possibly and also using the opportunity to rest some banged up guys and not rush them back in the line up. They should use these last dozen or so as tune up games for the playoffs basically.
I HOPE they are doing their best to wrap up the WC.. But by no means is their play indicating such things.. They have the 3rd best record in the league since February 1st. And they just beat the second best team in the West, in their barn, on the 2nd half of a back to back. They are showing no signs up learning their lesson and not playing to their best ability lol, as much as I wish they would.
Obviously I hope we continue to just roll along and finish as the W1. I'd even take losing a few here and then getting on a roll the final 3 or 4 games. We are in fine form for the Playoffs in my eyes. 5th best team in the league, all while playing multiple times against 3 of the other top 4 teams in the league. Very impressive season so far form our boys. Can't wait for April.
Regular season doesn't mean much when the playoffs start. That's when the real season begins. It's all about how they come together as a team April onwards and the matchups. It's all well and good about wanting to do the honorable thing and saying it doesn't matter who they play, but it does. Win at any costs even if it means positioning yourself for easier match-ups.
The last thing they would want to do is play poorly on purpose going into the playoffs. Don't want to set in bad habits. I think they just aren't going full throttle, and doing what is given to them. WC1 is pretty much wrapped up now with Pitt/Columbus/Washington opening up 6/7 point lead on the Rangers. Its time for the Rangers to work on the PP during the game, would also consider resting players on a rotating basis.
IMO it's the only viable path to the Conference Final. And it might be the only viable path to the Cup Final, too, given the gauntlet one of PIT, CBJ, and/or WSH need to run to get there.
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"Everyone says you should be a good loser. If you’re a good loser, you’re a loser."
- John Tortorella
"I've always said, I'd rather tame a tiger than paint stripes on a kitty cat."
- Dean Lombardi
"Don't take refuge in the false security of consensus, and the feeling that whatever
you think you'e bound to be okay, because you're in the safely moral majority."
- Christopher Hitchens
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It's the only way they have a chance to win this year, so they'd be silly not to at least pace themselves and focus on playing well, not necessarily winning. Giving some guys rest right now is a good plan, because I love this team as much as everyone else, but there's a 0% chance we win if we have to go through two of CBJ, PIT, and WSH and the only way to guarantee that doesn't happen is to land in WC1.
The more I think about it, the more i think it would suck going through the Atlantic.
If the Rangers do that and win the Cup, then there is going to be an asterisk next to it forever. And when we're talking about what this core group has accomplished three years from now when everyone wants to burn everything to the ground the "please, they didn't even have to play WAS/CBJ" arguments will come out in full force.
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I was actually thinking about this the other day. I think the only way it really works out is if OTT wins the division and we end up as the WC1 spot.
OTT/NYR
MTL/BOS
WAS/TOR
PIT/CBJ
Pray Boston takes out MTL. I know you mentioned in the out of town scoreboard thread that you don't think we matchup well against Ottawa though, so really, idk. No road is ever easy to the Conference Final or Cup Final. We're the 5th best team in the league and we're worried about playing our own division. I get it, but LOL.
LGR!
Sorry guys but there's zero arguments for the road through the ATL being equally difficult or more difficult than the road through our own division. Zero. I can see Future's perspective on the outlook on the win should it happen, but really I don't give a shit how we get there because you still have to beat four teams to do it. The truth is that this is the hardest trophy to win in sports, and the easiest way for us to win it is to go through the atlantic. Whether or not that's what they're playing for right now is completely up in the air, and obviously nobody likes to lose, but I like to lose less in the playoffs and we're not beating PIT or CBJ and then Washington.
I know I know. I don't want to get steamrolled by the Pens again, but I don't think this team is getting steamrolled in the first round, no matter who they play. Despite what AV might or might not do in the playoffs, the roster players seem to be playing more with an edge. I'm not saying that edge wins games, a series, or the cup, but I don't think they'll get steamrolled by anyone.
LGR!
There's no asterisk needed. No Cup is won that meets some universal standard for difficulty. They're all difficult, even if some are less. 16 postseason wins is never easy no matter the path.
If the Rangers win because of fortuitous seeding, so be it. The goal is to win. Not to make your path to it as difficult as humanly possible. This logic makes no sense. If that's true, AV should start Glass at 1C for game seven just to say they overcame the adversity of winning despite a bad player in a bad spot.
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Hidden Content
"Everyone says you should be a good loser. If you’re a good loser, you’re a loser."
- John Tortorella
"I've always said, I'd rather tame a tiger than paint stripes on a kitty cat."
- Dean Lombardi
"Don't take refuge in the false security of consensus, and the feeling that whatever
you think you'e bound to be okay, because you're in the safely moral majority."
- Christopher Hitchens
"We're all f*cked. It helps to remember that." - George Carlin
"How many Cups you've got?" - Esa Tikkanen
"Hatred can keep you warm when you run out of liquor" - Ray Ratto, Dan Patrick show 1/20/2017