ThirtyONE

ah, I think I confused the two tbh.

I imagine it's Wall considering Kincaid is in COVID protocol.

For some reason I thought we were playing the Aves tonight. Georgiev or not, this should be a W. And could put us in 1st in the Metro. Imagine that?

Are they? Houston has a lot of the same problems as Phoenix in terms of density and public transportation. Not to mention it's not a cold weather town where kids are pining to play hockey. Arizona -> Houston makes literally no sense to me, but I would imagine some kind of research has been done. MLS has been successful moving into niche markets and I wonder if the NHL should strike a balance between major and minor cities if relocation is in the cards. If not that, you still have a lot of choices in the US and of course Quebec.

Everyone in the org seems to think this kid is close to being a full timer at the NHL level. I don't think he's getting in the lineup in this stint, but I would be curious to see what he does with a solid run of playing time at some point.

I really do think the bones of the team are strong. As Phil said, it's about experience now. Most of these guys haven't even played an 82 game season, let alone made a deep run in the playoffs. IMO, they're a ways off from winning, but not because the team is lacking all that much, more so because they haven't even been to the dance. There are going to be lows this season. I'm curious to see how they handle those. I'm curious to see what happens when they have a COVID outbreak. Or a serious injury to a top player. These are all things that will make or break and open the door for Kakko or Lafreniere to truly step up. Shesty is talking about being nervous after 4 days off, lol. What's he gonna feel like game 1 on the road in some raucous environment?

They have been pretty consistent, IMO. I like them too. Somehow, someway, all the lines seem to finally be in a good place.

Good. You'd hate to see the lineup get jumbled just as they're starting to find their groove.

I love this team. Just sayin.

I'm pretty sure that rumor was a load of shit. Considering what Buch actually got in return, I'm also inclined to believe it was shit.

I think this speaks the the Devils level of desperation for a franchise player. I mean, the guy has hardly even played, let alone proven anything.

Glad to see Brendan doing well.

Boooooooo! Why do we have so many threads about players "we should have kept?" Who the fuck cares? What are you trying to prove, that you should be GM? That you were right over the summer? I said this about Reaves but it's relevant here too: nobody remembers nor gives a shit about anybody's summer takes. Which means that nobody remembers or cares about them now. To build a point off of "almost" is even more cringeworthy and make it even less salient. It's almost like there are fans who would rather the team be bad so they can wag their finger in the faces of the internet -- as if that would mean anything. The team's fun. Just enjoy what you have and stop trying to point out "I told you so" moments.

I'm not gonna cry about any of the players we lost over the last three years when the team is the best they've been since 2016.

I'm going to my first game at the garden in ten years in December and terrified I'm gonna be stuck watching Georgiev.

DQ's players did their own thing, scored at will, and lost games. GG's players (the same players) play the game he asks them to, score less, and win games. IMO there's really only one stat that matters: wins. And for a team that hasn't fully put it together yet, it's pretty insane how well they're doing.

Yeah, Goat's a beast. He's finally starting using his body too. Could be a massive part of the team moving forward. I always liked him, TBH. I'm happy he's making the most of the opportunity.

Fact is SOMETHING is different about the team. Everyone bitched that they got worse over the summer and yet here we are, tied for 2nd in the league 1/4 of the way through. Lot of work to do, clearly. But what gives? IMO Gallant deserves some credit.

Never forget when David Quinn decided there was a goalie competition to start last season, both guys were out of sync because of it, and the Rangers tanked the opening 10 games and therefore missed the playoffs. I haven't seen smoke and mirrors last 20 games but I guess there's a first time for everything. Kakko and Kreider are two players who sucked with the last coach. Most of us wanted Kreider demoted to the 3rd line if not bought out in the next few years. Yeah, the goalie has been very good. But there's no denying the team is a lot better as a whole than they were the last two years.

Is it too early? David Quinn took a lot of shit, and IMO rightfully so, but I don't know if anyone has seen Kakko's recent quotes, but it's obvious the players are enjoying a longer leash this year. There seems to be a very very positive feeling around the team and in the locker room. They have 10 more points this year than they had at the same time last year. Gallant seems to know how to protect his players in the media. He picks his words carefully. His players have seemingly bought in to everything he's trying to do and they've taken on a whole new persona as a group. So, when is it time to start praising the mustachioed man?

We don't need another starter, we need a competent goalie. Even if Kinkaid is slightly better, he's still better and that could be the difference in a win or loss.

Why doesn't matter this season? I think it does. He's almost an automatic loss every time he plays in a tough division where every win is important. I don't care what his salary is, he's not good enough to play for the NHL squad.

I like them. It's different. I think their normal logo is uninspired so good for them for trying something new. I could see Kevin Smith wearing this at all his public events for the next 20 years.

Yeah, in hindsight, they botched that. And I have no problem with Geo playing last night, either. He HAS to play at some point. If you can't start your backup against Buffalo, when are you supposed to start him? From my perspective, Gallant has give all the players rope to either succeed or hang themselves with and in Georgiev's case, it's the latter. At some point Drury has to pull the plug on the experiment and it seems like that time is coming.

Well, yes, technically but when the Rangers were making decisions, no one knew Hank had a heart defect. Georgiev looked decent in his first season but the longer he sits on the bench the worse he gets, which is not idea for someone playing behind Shesterkin. I didn't realize Huska's stats were so good. I'd still rather have Kincaid over everyone at the moment.