LindG1000

Avs gonna bring in Tony DeAngelo to solve this problem.

15 minutes ago, RichieNextel305 said:

I would have loved to see the odds on DraftKings for him to score the first goal. I’m trying to look for Tuesday now just to get an idea but they don’t post props like that until the day of. All that’s up is an anytime goal at +800. There are 10 guys below him which is really kind of surprising to be honest. 

 

Gotta remember that odds aren't meant to be predictive; they're meant to be enticing enough that people put down their money. +800 for the cult hero to score a goal? Sure, throw that into your parlay or throw $10 on that. House probably wins that one 9 out of 10 games.

2 hours ago, siddious said:

I think part of the problem for Ranger fans (myself included) is that we dont ever get to draft high and see those guys turn into stars so its all uncharted territory for us.

 

Its also such a typically Rangers thing to have those high picks either be rushed or be busts which doubly makes us desperate.

 

I love that they havent rushed Othmann.. especially since seemingly theres no spot for him. I feel like in the past they would have put him on the 4th line or something.

 

 

 

I think that's part of it. I'd add a few things:

 

1- Not all first-round picks are equal, and we're not calibrated that way as fans. Once you hit 10 or so in the draft, success is completely re-defined. Any "playoff team" pick that gives you a middle-of-the-lineup to top 9 players is a hit, anything in the second round that gives you a playable NHLer is a hit, and anything beyond that gives you "NHL Games" is a hit. In case I need to provide context - Alexander Wennberg was 15th overall - and a successful one. For some additional context, our 2020 draft class will go down as our best draft class in literally two decades. I don't even need to wait to say that - we've got a star player, a regular top4 D, a regular mid-line wing, a likely backup goalie, and two bottom 6 wings (assuming Berard cracks a lineup in the next two years). That's a bonkers as fuck draft class.

 

2 - It is extremely rare that the whole league misses on a guy of Perreault's talent to the point that they fall to 23. It does happen - David Pastrnak comes to mind (oddly enough, because when he was drafted, he was 165 pounds soaking wet), but he's the exception that proves the rule.

 

3 - We tend to overhype our own, and we tend to be disappointed when we do. So when we finally have a guy worth the hype, we temper expectations and pick apart his flaws.

 

 

I'm a little confused by the Ryan Leonard talk. Wouldn't bringing him in burn a year of his ELC? Surely, this isn't the spot to do that.

1 hour ago, Kick save and a beauty said:

Tom Wilson is an effective player on the ice and so in any penalty scenario and if fighting is involved we need to have players of lesser on-ice skills going into the box from our side.

 

If Tom Wilson is allowed to smash Panarin's head into the ice again then we have already lost no matter how many minutes he is assessed for such an assault.  That means Trouba, Cuylle,  Rempe, Goodrow, and Schneider (amongst others) need to be ready to dive in no matter what.  I did not mention Lindgren because he always stands ready to do what is necessary for a team mate no matter who the opponent is or what the situation might be.

 

If anything Panarin is even more critical to the Rangers prospects this time around.

 

I think the difference this time around is that four or five guys on the team would spear him and start wailing on his face like Donkey Kong if he tried.

 

You think Rempe won't immediately go for him? Cuylle would do it. Trouba would do it - he wasn't in the game where it happened. Ditto Lindgren. Goodrow would too - he wasn't there last time. 

 

We're a different team.

8 hours ago, RichieNextel305 said:

Listening to Checketts reasoning made a lot of sense. At the time, Gretzky was coming off a year where he was 3rd in the NHL in scoring, Leetch won a Norris, Richter was coming off a playoff in which he was maybe better than he even was in 1994 and we made this run, don’t forget, with Kovalev missing the entire run with a major knee injury. So we also had the prospect of him coming back, plus also Graves coming off a 30+ goal season. If Sakic ended up in the fold, they would have lost 5 1sts but it may have been worth it. The pivot was LaFontaine, who played well but was gone after less than half a season. If Sakic were there, the stench of Messier wouldn’t have been there really. And they likely end up with Pavel Bure a year later as a real all-in move, as by then I don’t think Smith would have been prospect hugging the way he did with Vancouver when he was available.

 

Just a wild change of events. It was entertaining to see Checketts involvement with the Colorado backstory and how he and Charlie Lyons were able to put it all behind them after all those years.

 

The funny part is thinking about the sheer impact of what losing those 5 1sts would have meant.

 

No Manny Malhotra. Probably no 7th overall that year either though.

No Marc Savard to Calgary trade and no Sundstrom/Cloutier to Tampa trade, because we're not making that stupid push for Brendl and Lundmark after a disaster season that never happened (and also, no pick to trade Tampa in 2000 anyway.

Without Brendl, no Lindros trade.

No Dan Blackburn

No Pavel Bure trade

 

Basically, no dark ages if not for Air Force One. Fundamentally shifts the franchise in multiple directions to simply not have those assets. Not to mention Sakic-Gretzky being almost impossible to compete with

 

I'm convinced that whomever they hire doesn't matter. Adams is a decent enough GM, but they will never be a good team so long as the Pegulas own the team.

2 hours ago, Parsley said:

The league is a mess with regards to the points. Yea, it’s been this way for years but it needs to be changed. Isles and Caps in is sort of a joke. Not to say they can’t steal a series but neither really earned it IMO. 

 

Bring on the 3-2-1 point system or change OT/and dumb shootout point awarding. 

 

There are two playoff teams in the Eastern Conference with sub-500 records. The Caps are one of them - 40-42 with 11 failure points, and the Islanders are the other - 38-43 with an astonishing 16 failure points. 

 

The truth of the league is that the 7th best team in the East is probably either the Sabres or the Devils. Neither is in the playoffs.

 

Regardless, let's just run over the Caps and the bevy of "who the fuck are these guys" beyond their second line.

 

Flyers need 2 goals in regulation to stay alive, else it's the Caps spot.

13 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

Gallant made plenty of mistakes and his style and approach to coaching isn’t conducive to actually win a Cup.

 
But when they hired him, he was the coach they needed at the time. 

 

The coach they needed at the time had literally one job - develop the kids, don't alienate the veterans.

 

By the year 1.5 mark, he'd stagnated Lafreniere, he'd stagnated Kakko, he'd stagnated Miller, he had Schneider swimming underwater, and he'd stagnated Chytil. By the end of that year, he had Kreider looking like someone shot his dog, Mika looking more vacant than usual, made Trocheck look awful, and had Panarin convinced he had demons living in his hair.

 

I just don't think that's a good 22 months. 

3 minutes ago, Flynn said:

Washington and a bunch of 2-1 and 1-0 games doesn't seem like fun- I have a suspect stomach, I don't need the extra acid. 

 

Throw the ESPN+ app on your phone or iPad and get a cushion for the porcelain throne, my dude.

14 minutes ago, Ozzy said:

I just keep thinking that he just didn't like playing for Gallant.

 

I watched one of those MSG shorts before a game one night and it was the one with Lindgren.  Michelle asked Lindy who the biggest jokester on the team was, and he said something to the effect that Laff "doesn't have a serious bone in his body".  I can see Gallant like a drill sergeant, and not digging Laff's personality.  I can also see Laff being like "Fuck off, limp dick!"

 

Not that I was even close to being a professional player, but being a supreme goof ball myself, I know there are some people I rub the wrong way with my devil-may-care attitude on life.  I could seriously give a fuck, but they don't, and they make it a point to try and piss in your corn flakes whenever possible.

 

I'm not saying all the work he did over the off-season didn't help immensely, but I'll bet he had a lot more motivation to be "The Laff we see now", as opposed to "I can't wait to get out of this fucking guy's lineup".  I love the way Laviolette handles these guys.  He's created a team unity that I can almost feel.

 

That shit they do at the end of a game isn't just by accident.  These guys really seem to like one another, and play pretty fucking hard for one another to win.  They want it all, and they deserve it! 

Laff deserves a lot of credit for shutting his ears to the "Bust" label he was given and his critics, and then going out and doing what he did this year.  I'll always be behind that kid, and I hope he breaks every record the Rangers have.  @RichieNextel305's right too;  with a little luck, he could easily have 35 goals.  He was robbed more times than a stagecoach in the old west.

 

Keep it rollin' Laff!

 

Hindsight is 20/20, but every passing day with Laviolette makes me angrier and angrier about Gallant. And it's not the attitude mix you're calling out. It's that he was so obviously the wrong coach for that team at that time, and it cost this franchise a lot. And look, maybe it was a necessary growing pain and half the team had a "Fuck you Jobu, I do this myself" moment (and damn, does it sure feel like that was the case for Panarin, Trocheck, Lafreniere, Braden Schneider, and a few others), but I can't shake how Gallant fucked up so badly with the kids and basic ass game management. I think there's an argument that a better coach manages to beat the Lightning in 2022 and possibly win the Cup. I also think there's an argument that a better coach outs the Devils in 5 last year and moves on to god knows what. And, I think there's a very strong argument that a better coach finds this version of Lafreniere, a better version of Kakko, of Chytil, of Miller, of Schneider - far sooner than it's taken.

 

Lafreniere has a bright, bright future in this league, and he plays a playoff-tested game. We should be very, very excited for what we've got here.

Will Cuylle becomes this generation's Stephane Matteau with two OT goals in the playoffs, including a series clincher.

We don't know who our opponent will be. It might be the fuckin Caps. It might be the fuckin Pens. It might be the fuckin Wings. It might be the fuckin Flyers (okay, it's probably not the Flyers), but we know that no matter who we face and in what series, we get four home games and they're going to be the "fuckin whatevers"

 

We're back. Ballsy Predictions, 2024 edition, which brought you such classics as...

 

Actually. fuck this bit. I looked back at the thread from last year, and I'm not bringing ANYTHING from that tire fire of a series back into the world. Some things need to stay where they are after you crack them over the head with a shovel and bury them deep in your soul. 

 

Rules:

1. ONE PREDICTION about this New York Rangers team for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 
2. You may not steal anyone else's prediction. If it's out there, it's out there.
3. All predictions must be made before the puck drops in game one.

 

Have at it, folks.

Happy end of the regular season, folks. Let's see how we did!

On 9/11/2023 at 1:23 PM, Pete said:

Blake Wheeler scores 30+ goals and 70+ points.

Certainly ballsy. Blake Wheeler played 51 games this season, scored 9 goals, had 21 total points. 

On 9/11/2023 at 1:36 PM, RJWantsTheCup said:

Panarin breaks the Rangers single season scoring record with 130 points.

Goddamn man. Ballsy to call a 130 point season, and that it feels like this was even CLOSE is worthy of recognition. Take a bow, and honestly, take rep for this one.

On 9/11/2023 at 2:29 PM, Ozzy said:

Oh Awesome...got here in time before someone stole my thunder!!!

 

Kakko: 33 goals - 42 assists for 75 points!!!

 

 

Certainly ballsy, but much to our chagrin, off by 20 goals and 36 assists.

On 9/11/2023 at 2:51 PM, Albatrosss said:

Shesty with 13 Shutouts.  

Ballsy, my dude, but off by 9.

On 9/11/2023 at 3:13 PM, LindG1000 said:

K'Andre Miller leads Rangers defensemen in PPG

Ballsy for sure. K'Andre Miller had....zero PPG.

On 9/11/2023 at 3:20 PM, Phil said:

I see we're already back to everyone not understanding that ballsy ≠ completely implausible.

 

K'Andre Miller with the nicest 69 points.

The Hog had a great season, but he finished 39 points short.

On 9/11/2023 at 3:31 PM, BlairBettsBlocksEverything said:

Kakko and Laf both have at least 70 points

 

Drury has been instructing coaches to keep them cheap so they don't have to get paid big $ until the cap goes up a lot. Now its time they finally get unleashed

 

 

Ballsy, but nope. Kakko missed by 51, Lafrenire missed by 13

On 9/11/2023 at 3:46 PM, RichieNextel305 said:

Filip Chytil, in the role of 2C on a line with Panarin, finds a home and clicks instantly with Bread. And he gets over 40 goals for the first time in his career.

This one never had a chance. 

On 9/11/2023 at 4:00 PM, BlairBettsBlocksEverything said:

also in keeping with my silly prediction from last year regarding a Hajek GWG in the playoffs

 

Jake Leschyshyn wins game 5 in the first round for the rangers to win a series 4-1

 

 

I guess, technically, you're still alive, but technically, you also predicted out-of-bounds.

On 9/11/2023 at 4:04 PM, Drew a Penalty said:

Adam Sykora makes the team out of camp.

The rare "ballsy and dead before the puck drops" prediction!

On 9/11/2023 at 6:05 PM, BrooksBurner said:

Panarin no more than 16 goals and 69 points

Panarin OVERPACED this by 33 goals and 51 points, or as we call it, an entire season of Chris Kreider powerplay production. 

On 9/11/2023 at 7:24 PM, Flynn said:

Rangers trade for Tyler Motte at the deadline

Jack Roslovic is like upmarket Tyler Motte, but he isn't Tyler Motte

On 9/11/2023 at 9:27 PM, Long live the King said:

Zib sets the franchise record for goals in a season, scores over 100 points, and wins league MVP.

The ballsy! Zib had a great season, but did none of this things

On 9/11/2023 at 9:42 PM, Blue Heaven said:

Igor Shesterkin scores more goals than Aaron Rodgers throws complete passes this season. 

It's a push! They both managed...goose egg

On 9/12/2023 at 5:55 PM, The Dude said:

Kreider hits 50 goals again. 

Not bad! But, 39 isn't 50.

On 9/13/2023 at 8:55 AM, Cash or Czech said:

Gustafsson puts up 45 points and fuels a resurgence in the 2nd PP unit. We lead the league in PP%.

Gus put up 30, so not a bad pull here, but 30 ain't 45. We had a great PP (heh), but not league leading

On 9/13/2023 at 11:41 AM, Morphinity 2.0 said:

The Rangers will set an NHL record with a regular season PP% of 34.3%.

....and not 34.3% good either.

On 9/25/2023 at 12:41 PM, Keirik said:

Alexei LaFreniere has more goals than Artemi Panarin 

Kudos for the Laf call, but Panarin went nuclear this season.

On 9/25/2023 at 1:25 PM, phillyb said:

Shesty not only pots one, but it ends up being the GWG. 

Just as an underscore, this is the ballsiest prediction possible. This has only been done once in the history of the NHL. 

On 9/25/2023 at 1:29 PM, Valriera said:

The rangers are above 50% in the faceoff dot for the first time since my balls dropped

This happened. Ballsy in context, not so ballsy in that 15-17 teams are probably over 50% every year.

On 9/25/2023 at 11:18 PM, Karan said:

I'll stick with the theme of my prediction from last season...

 

Quick gets at least 20 wins this season. 

I think we gotta give this to you. Quick got 18 wins in 26 starts, and since this prediction came almost true without a Shesterkin injury, I think we give the props and kudos here.

 

Let's get some rep over to @Karan, @Valriera, @RJWantsTheCup, and if you want to give a bit of shit to @BrooksBurner for that anti-mush pick, go for it. We'll see you for the playoffs, folks.

5 minutes ago, The Dude said:

Sam's going to go into a presidential alzheimers spell, then snap out of it thinking there was a brawl, when he sees all the players with no jerseys on. 

I knew Sam was a third party candidate.

What a season. President's trophy. Over 200 points from the defense. Panarin 49/71/120. Kreider and Trocheck and Zibanejad all over 70 points. Lafreniere breaks out. Cuylle and Schneider and Miller all taking big steps.

 

Real games begin this weekend. 

Here's 50 for Bread, lets go

JIMMY HUSTLE LETS GO

Gotta let Bread kill this.

2 minutes ago, jsm7302 said:

Pens are out??

No, they also won. 

Washington has beaten Boston. Islanders have clinched playoffs. Wings and Habs in OT

HE IS RISEN!!!!!!

Just now, Scott said:

No doubt Sam called that game in 1932.

I'm at least 85% sure that they explicitly told him not to call Ivan Johnson "Ching"