JHS

8 hours ago, JHS said:

You can watch the Rangers confidence literally evaporate.  Really time for them to remember they won the damn Presidents Trophy.  They know how to win

This is the clear takeaway from this game.  It was not pretty, it was not consistent, it was basically one guy who decided this was his legacy game but there is a reason why this team won a lot this year.  They really do know how to win!!

It’s really unreal.  Like I want to be mad but I’m just numb.  

You can watch the Rangers confidence literally evaporate.  Really time for them to remember they won the damn Presidents Trophy.  They know how to win

6 minutes ago, Dem said:

They have to scheme a way to enter w puck on tape n beat the trap. They have been stymied 2-1/3 games now w o zone entry

Nah- that entire period they were not attacking as 5- it has nothing to do with what Carolina is doing.

The offense is totally out of sink.  It all starts with actually having the puck.  The problem is the rangers are spending most of each shift chasing the puck around the ice and then when they actually get it they simply can only dump it and make a line change.  They continue to chase the game.  Soul searching time in the locker room-  where is the speed? Where is the grit?  This team came back over and over again this year- it’s time to show it now!

Another great period by…wait there is no one of the list of players who had a great first.  Devils series 2.0

8 minutes ago, RangersLEETCH said:

If the Rangers blow this series heads have to roll. Breadman, Mika, Fox, Miller…. This is the 2nd coach to experience the same SHIT!! These guys are making Gallant look innocent. They need to wake the fuck up and skate for A FULL 60 MINUTES ….

Yes-  This is exactly right about killing coaches and guys unable to close out series.  But it's not really fair to call the top 6 out-  they've been incredible all series.  The number one culprit is Trouba-  He's been awful all series and his post game comments after last game were far too normalizing of an absurdly bad showing.  That was the time for him to say straight away " You can't just fall into a shell and play defense for the entire game and expect to win against a team like Carolina.  We need to get back to what got us here."  Instead he said words like " we sat back too much and the other team is good...blah blah blah.."  

His captaincy is looking like a huge mistake-- he seems like a great guy and an awesome community member but it's looking like he's not really a leader in big playoff spots.

Biggest concern I have is there was literally no offense generated by a team that prided itself on being a skilled team.  This is exactly the way the Devils series last year went.  Concerning too is how once Trouba scored they literally refused to even try an dgenerate offense-  like they treated the puck like a hand grenade and as soon as it got on their stick they just flipped it away.  I can't stand that style of play in which they just fend off attacks.  In game 6 I want to see a sustained offensive attack for 60 minutes even if(when) they get the lead.

This one is on the coaches.  How can you send the team out there with a mindset of “just defend for 20 minutes”. Inexcusable 

Rangers need to  hold onto the puck more.  Way too much flipping the puck out and fending off Carolina attacks.  Skate and pass the puck please!!

The no Rempe experience should end and he should be back bringing the much needed energy.  Both games he did not play the team came out slow.  I believe his biggest asset is getting the into the game that first shift he’s out there.

This is exactly why this group has largely been unsuccessful in the playoffs.  If they play against a team who tightens up defensively they can’t get the ugly goal and seem to just never catch a break.  It’s a joke if they lost this game but this is a case study in why this group seems to come up short in exactly these kinds of games.

Country club effort tonight from a team that hopefully won’t be playing at their country clubs till end of June.

Trouba is a bad hockey player right now.  Like really bad- and if he does not wake up from the comma level effort he’s giving most shifts this team is in big trouble.  He looks like a defensive liability out there and he’s anything but an effective defender right now.

What is up with Miller tonight?  Outside of that one nice stick he had deflecting Rust’s shot he’s been atrocious.  I usually love his game but tonight he’s looked particularly out of it.

Just now, Kick save and a beauty said:

I thought Scanlin was worse

He was but expected as a first NHL game guy!

Fox is a hero!  What an incredible effort from him tonight!  Chad Ruhwedal is terrible!  He needs to not play again.

This is such an odd game.  Rangers mostly taking this one off which has not been common for this team.  Just no spunk, sharpness or even crisp passing.  

What a relief both for us as fans but more importantly for him as a player!  Lindy is such a warrior if anyone can come back sooner than expected I’d suspect it will be him!

1 hour ago, Flynn said:

Kakko has not lived up the the billing he had. Kakko is not the right guy to play RW on the 1st line.. 

 

But I see a lot of chatter about his being non existent.. That I can't agree with. He's not scoring, but he's noticeable. he chases the hell out of the puck, he will use his body (the reverse hit last night was a beauty). Different position, but he gives me a lot of the same vibes as Manny Malhotra. Not a star by any means, and not what you thought you were drafting. But the guy does do things that winning hockey teams need.   

 

If you can turn him into a great asset, do it in a heartbeat. But ignoring what he can add rather than focusing on what he will never became is the wrong lens IMO. Just because he isn't going to be a 40 goal scorer doesn't mean he can't fill a very valuable role. All that said, if someone wants to overpay in trade, I'll help pack his shit. 

This is very true-  when I say he's non existent or invisible I mean it from a point production standpoint-- and for a second overall pick, the expectation is points.  He's an infinitely serviceable bottom 6 guy but those are not second overall picks most of the time.  That's why I say his value is most heightened by trading him now while some organizations may think he can live up to his second overall status before he proves to everyone that he is not worth taking a flyer on!

5 hours ago, Phil said:

 

This is only true if your primary focus is maximizing his value as an asset. Even I'm not there, and I don't even like this player very much at all.

 

The focus should be on winning a Cup, because that's the focus of the team. He can definitely help them win there... just not as a top-six player.

He can help them more by not being on the roster and bringing them back a top 6 wing.  He’s basically been completely invisible again tonight in the first half of the Florida game tonight.  Like he’s done absolutely nothing.

15 minutes ago, Pete said:

Like I said, I respect where you're coming from, but I disagree. His value will never be lower than it is now, anyway. So there really is no reason to trade him especially when the team is lacking RWs anyway.

I don't think you are right about your assumption.  Here's the thing-  I imagine there are several GM's who still believe Kappo has some excuses left for why he has not produced like expected( rookie season, not given a real chance with top 6 forwards...) but now that those excuses are going away he's slowly revealing how bad he is-- so from that standpoint, he may have some value left.  If they play him in a top 6 role and he gets maybe 25 points than he's exposed and those GM's who may think he can do something in the top 6 role on their team won't be able to justify taking a chance.  The time to trade him is now.

43 minutes ago, Pete said:

I just think there's a lack of perspective here. I respect your opinion but I completely disagree. 

The perspective is he's already had multiple seasons with the team and he *might* get 25 points this year.  He's a second overall pick.  I get that points are not the only measure of "talent" but there is just nothing about hsi current game that stands out in anyway.  The main issue is also as a tradeable commodity, the longer he goes as being essentially useless the lower return we get.

13 hours ago, Pete said:

I don't get what this has to do with it. There were 3-4 goals directly as a result of him making plays and taking shots.

 

He's developing. He took steps back this year. Development isn't linear. 

He's developing?  What exactly is he doing that indicates he's gotten better at any aspect of the game?  He's slower, less impactful and seemingly more invisible each game this season.  3 to 4 goals directly because of his actions is exactly my point around such low standards!  The guy is the second overall pick, not some late round pick.  Can honestly anyone say that Matt Rempe in the 7 or so games he's played has not been a more impactful player than Kappo Kakko has been all year?? 

He's had time to develop and he's developed into a highly replaceable winger.

5 hours ago, Pete said:

I feel like you've got this completely backwards.

 

Mika line is where RWs go invisible because he and Kreids are to enamored with each other. 

 

Kakko was pretty much responsible for driving the third line and the main reason they were successful. As soon as Vesey went there, They disappeared. 

He has less than 25 points( not goals- points) all season.  What exactly was he “driving?.”  
 

The standards are so low for Kappo that right now if he has meaningful contributions in a game we are all happy.