Gravesy

I mean, I'm not here to be a white knight for Igor Shesterkin. But I think the problems run far deeper than that. Sure Igor hasn't been the same as in the regular season. He certainly hasn't come close to stealing one, which you're going to need in the playoffs at some point. But the core players on this team are being taken to the NHL Playoff Academy by the Penguins. The Zibanejad and Strome line are being straight up schooled. The Rangers forecheck is almost entirely ineffective. In the other end of the rink, the Rangers cannot deal with the Penguins forecheck. Bar Miller-Trouba the D pairs look completely out of their depth, and our ability to break out cleanly has been complete eviscerated. It's been complete panic stations for 4 out of 6 periods over the last two games. I feel like my fears that this Rangers team is built to be good in the regular season are about to be proven to have some merit. Interestingly enough, it's Vatrano who looks like he belongs in the top six of a playoff contender. Zibanejad, Panarin, Strome and - to a lesser extent - Kreider and Copp, look they wish they were playing the Coyotes on a Wednesday night in October. I really want to #believe, but I'd be lying if I said I was confident in a comeback from here.

I think the narrative around Igor is being massively over cooked personally. They were 4 freak goals and I honestly doubt I've ever seen a team have that amount of puck luck in a single playoff period. The first ones on Nemeth, the one where his catching glove hits Carters fat ass is a complete coincidence, the third (iirc) is just a couple of weird bounces that could've gone anywhere. Maybe he could've done better with the goal where Schneids coughed it up but imo the idea that he's losing his cool seems completely premature.

It’s about as must-ish win as it gets to be honest. I’ll be watching this from behind the couch. A huge game. I #believe though. Genuinely think they’ll take this back to MSG at two a piece.

He was called 2 minutes for goaltender interference?

No shit.

Absolutely. Obviously it's ridiculous to complain too much, but up until the last 15 minutes or so I caught myself thinking that Bread really isn't a playoff player. Not in terms of production of course, but in terms of being a bit lackadaisical, trying too many cute plays that don't come off, being prone to pretty egregious turnovers in dangerous situations and at times unacceptable levels of back checking. That stuff is fine on a Tuesday night visit to San Jose in November, but it could cost you in tight playoff games. Obviously the good massively outweigh the bad, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

Hopefully it's leg up time for Foxy.

Probably a bit harsh, but Chytil being out has an element of taking a coach's toys away. You look at the lineup with Zib/Strome/Goodrow/Rooney down the middle and not having to shoehorn Chytil as one of the centers, and it immediately looks more balanced and playoff ready to me.

Only watched the last 10 minutes. Looked like Laffy got buried again? Seemed like the 3rd line to close out the game was Chytil centering Goodrow and Motte.

Look… the Buch trade sucked. It did. Maybe it would suck less if Blais was healthy. But he’s not. They made the trade cause they knew big money extensions were coming to Zib and Fox I’m really not sure why you’ve quoted me there tbh

Yeah. Also, it took 1,5 months from Drury was hired until Buch was traded. In that time he fired his coach and completed the search for a new HC. Buch was traded a couple of weeks after Gallant was confirmed iirc. It's not crazy to suggest Drury wanted his new HC's input on that trade either.

1. Igor Shesterkin 2. Chris Kreider 3. Mika Zibanejad 4. Artemi Panarin 5. Adam Fox 6. Ryan Strome 7. Jacob Trouba 8. K'Andre Miller 9. Barclay Goodrow 10. Alexis Lafrenière +1 11. Ryan Lindgren 12. Frank Vatrano 13. Andrew Copp +1 14.Braden Schneider 15. Filip Chytil 16. Dryden Hunt 17. Ryan Reaves 18. Jonny Brodzinski 19. Alexandar Georgiev 20. Patrik Nemeth 21. Tyler Motte 22. Julien Gauthier 23. Libor Hajek 24. Justin Braun 25. Greg McKegg

9 points in his last 13 games. So the production has been there for a good stretch now. I think his overall game is getting better too, which obviously didn't take much. Still, good signs. And he's looking confident doing it, which is the most important thing.

Copp can play left wing, no problems with that. It's just that in Copp we finally have a legit 3c who can both drive play from that position and take on tough defensive assignments. It seems counter productive to play him elsewhere, and Chytils performance as a center isn't anywhere near enough to even consider it imo.

I mean, ideally we’re not moving Copp to wing in order to accommodate Chytil of all people

If you told me a week ago the Rangers would add.. -One of the better 3C's in the league -A middle six winger who can slot up in a pinch -A solid, veteran D with significant playoff experience -An unquestionable upgrade on the 4th line ..all whilst giving up next to nothing, I'd ask "where do I sign". I get the questions about addressing 5v5 scoring/a top 6 winger, but there weren't that many slam dunk options out there. And, tbh, I think there's something to be said for addressing the big needs whilst holding onto as many assets as possible. The Rangers will in all likelihood need to maneuver a fair bit to stitch things together for next season. You know what helps with that? Good prospects and 1st round picks. So my feeling is they struck a good balance between addressing needs whilst hanging on to assets that helps with flexibility for next season. B+

Pretty much. And that's a good season if that's how it plays out. The hot start shouldn't mask that, or lead to a first round exit being seen as some sort of disappointment. It'll be disappointing at the time of course, but making the playoffs was the target this season. Whatever happens when they're there will be a bonus. It would be nice to avoid a meek surrender like against the Canes, obviously.

Well, I said "forward", which sort of rules out Adam Fox. Also, Adam Fox - whilst not a speedster - is excellent on his skates. Stamkos was drafted almost 14 years ago, so I guess that sort of backs up my point.

Double post

I think the complete lack of any sort of foot speed is absolutely killing him. This is a kid whose game was built on hockey iq, playmaking ability and physique. But he's not particularly big or strong in the NHL, and you're not going to walk in and dominate a league full of high end athletes and wily veterans purely leaning on your elite mind. You're not going to go out there and outsmart everyone and see the ice better than guys who've done it for years. I don't necessarily agree there's "nothing" there. I think you see these little glimpses of passing, playmaking ability and vision where you can clearly see there's a real player in they're somewhere. It's obviously not happening with any sort of regularity and the Laf experience has been wholly underwhelming, but it's there. He's one of the best junior players of all time, of course he's mega talented. He simply doesn't have the speed, burst or even edge work to be consistently effective against NHL calibre opposition at this point. I don't think all is lost by any means, but I do think it's going to be a slow burner unless he can significantly improve his overall skating and speed. It leads me to wonder if the NHL has evolved to a place where you have to think long and hard about taking a forward without high end skating ability in the top 5. Kakko is a similar issue, and, even if he's improving, he's got a ways to go before you can say that was excellent use of a 2nd OA pick. I mean, who was the last kid to come out and dominate that is merely an average skater? Petterson comes to mind, but his edge work is good and he's got an incredibly special shot on him.

Trust them to do what, though? McIndoe doesn't trust them as one of the top five cup contenders. That's hardly controversial. I mean, coming into this season I would think most people would be pretty happy with the idea that the Rangers are a playoff team and will get their shot to make a run. Most likely failing, because this is a young team that probably needs a run or two before even thinking about winning a cup. The hot start shouldn't take away from the fact that making the playoffs this year will be a good result even if they fail to make a longer run.

Pronman did a redraft a couple of weeks ago and had Lafreniere 1st ahead of Stutzle, Drysdale, Byfield and Raymond iirc. Albeit on borrowed time and based on pedigree, not actual production. Make of that what you will.

Thoroughly enjoying the windmilling and projections to paint Drury as some sort of beastly gollum lumbering around the halls of MSG baying for fresh Russian meat tbh.

Hooray. Fucking outstanding news. Hopefully they find someone that makes the Rangers section of the Athletic relevant again.