Rangers Not Only Survive but Thrive Without Mika

There's been a lot of ups and downs so far in what was expected to be a rollercoaster season. But after the 2-0 start, the Rangers went 1-5-1 and looked like a lottery team, destined to be in the league's basement. Paired with Mika's (concussion), some folks -- myself included -- were wondering if the season was lost before it even got started.

 

13 games later, and the Rangers have somehow revived their season. Going 8-4-1 without their top center, top penalty killer, top PP trigger, and future captain, the Rangers somehow got even younger and rattled off more than a handful of impressive wins over the league's top teams.

 

In this time we've learned a lot about players like Panarin and Strome but more impressive has been the collective play of the youngest Rangers. Kakko, Fox, and Lindgren have all had impressive runs while Lemieux, DeAngelo, and Buch have seemingly come into their own. Filip Chytil has cemented himself as the 2nd line center and even Brett Howden has shown signs of life.

 

What this team has done over the past few weeks has been insane and shouldn't be overlooked. The fact that they've set themselves up, 2 games over .500 with Mika about to reenter the lineup, should be commended. Too often we're quick to shit on players and coaches for poor play so here's my attempt to shower them with praise: great fucking job by everyone involved.

 

LGR! :cheers:

+1

 

 

I refuse to get too optimistic but damn, looks like we have a team again. Some of the most entertaining hockey in a while from this team. Fingers crossed it continues. I'm not expecting it but a wild card spot and some playoff experience would be a great way to end this step forward. Here is to hoping!!

We have a solidly built team. The two most important positions and toughest to fill are RD and C. We are pretty stacked there so we will be a very competitive team going forward. Goaltending is the other big position and we're pretty good there and Igor looks like he'll be a star pretty soon too. This team has a very bright future with this roster makeup but I do think Strome is more important to retain than Kreider.

There's been a lot of ups and downs so far in what was expected to be a rollercoaster season. But after the 2-0 start, the Rangers went 1-5-1 and looked like a lottery team, destined to be in the league's basement. Paired with Mika's (concussion), some folks -- myself included -- were wondering if the season was lost before it even got started.

 

13 games later, and the Rangers have somehow revived their season. Going 8-4-1 without their top center, top penalty killer, top PP trigger, and future captain, the Rangers somehow got even younger and rattled off more than a handful of impressive wins over the league's top teams.

 

In this time we've learned a lot about players like Panarin and Strome but more impressive has been the collective play of the youngest Rangers. Kakko, Fox, and Lindgren have all had impressive runs while Lemieux, DeAngelo, and Buch have seemingly come into their own. Filip Chytil has cemented himself as the 2nd line center and even Brett Howden has shown signs of life.

 

What this team has done over the past few weeks has been insane and shouldn't be overlooked. The fact that they've set themselves up, 2 games over .500 with Mika about to reenter the lineup, should be commended. Too often we're quick to shit on players and coaches for poor play so here's my attempt to shower them with praise: great fucking job by everyone involved.

 

LGR! :cheers:

 

Good post and couldn't agree more. :cheers:

I'm not a huge fan of Quinn, but credit where it's due. They've done a brilliant job and the players seems to be coming along for the most part.

I still think this team will have a few stretches where they suck bad, but this season is taking shape and looks like it could be a really good development season. And that's all we need this year.

The future is looking bright, no doubt. Being smart with contracts, and patient with young players will get us back to where we wanna be.

They were doing fine before, but the win in Montreal and then following it up with Minnesota is the hallmark of the season and just huge for this team. The only thing this team needs to get better at under Quinn is getting off to better starts. This has been a thing since last season where before you blink it seems like they're done 1-0 or taking penalties (discipline also kind of being a problem too). They have shown resilience, there is good vibes amongst the players, they just need to shore that part of their game up.