[RS] (#35) Rangers v. Washington Capitals // Let's Not Get Stormed

[High and Wide]

 

REGULAR SEASON GAME #34 — 3/28/21

 

v.

 

Location: Madison Square Garden - New York, NY

Time: 7:00 PM

TV: MSG, NBCSWA

Radio: 98.7 FM, 107.1 FM, 710 AM, Sirius XM

 

USEFUL LINKS:

 

Coverage: @NYP_Brooksie • @RickCarpiniello • @ColinSNewsday • @vzmercogliano

 

Team Official: @NYRangers • NYR on Instagram

 

Official Team Websites: rangers.nhl.com • capitals.nhl.com

 

GameCenter - here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standings:

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]RECORD:[/td]

[td]15-15-4 (34 Points)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]POSITION:[/td]

[td]6th – MassMutual East[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]ROW:[/td]

[td]14[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]P%[/td]

[td].500[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]HOME:[/td]

[td]7-6-3[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]AWAY:[/td]

[td]8-9-1[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]S/O:[/td]

[td]1-1[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]LAST 10:[/td]

[td]5-4-1[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]STREAK:[/td]

[td]L2[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Team Statistics:

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]DIFF:[/td]

[td]+15 (12th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]GF/GP:[/td]

[td]3.12 (12th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]GA/GP:[/td]

[td]2.68 (11th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]PP%:[/td]

[td]18.4% (23rd)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]PK%:[/td]

[td]85.2% (5th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]Corsi For (CF)%[/td]

[td]48.2% (24th)[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Team Leaders:

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]Goals:[/td]

[td]Chris Kreider (17)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]Assists:[/td]

[td]Adam Fox (26)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]Points:[/td]

[td]Ryan Strome (32)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]+/-:[/td]

[td]K'Andre Miller (+11)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]PIM:[/td]

[td]Brendan Smith (28)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]TOI/G (D):[/td]

[td]Adam Fox (24:32)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]TOI/G (F):[/td]

[td]Artemi Panarin (20:18)[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Starting Lineup:^

 

Chris Kreider A / Mika Zibanejad A / Pavel Buchnevich

Artemi Panarin A / Ryan Strome / Kaapo Kakko

Alexis Lafreniere / Filip Chytil / Julien Gauthier

Phil Di Giuseppe / Kevin Rooney / Colin Blackwell

 

Ryan Lindgren/ Adam Fox

K'Andre Miller / Jacob Trouba A

Libor Hajek / Brendan Smith

 

^ Subject to change

 

 

Starting Goaltender:

 

Igor Shesterkin

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]GS[/td]

[td]15[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]REC[/td]

[td]7-8-1[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]SV%[/td]

[td].924[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]GAA[/td]

[td]2.34[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]SO[/td]

[td]0[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Healthy Scratches:

 

N/A

 

 

Taxi Squad:

 

Tony DeAngelo, Vitali Kravtsov, Anthony Bitetto

 

 

Injuries, Suspensions, Misc:

 

[F] Brett Howden [DTD] - Quinn-Based STD

 

[D] Jack Johnson [iR] - PITA removal; Out for season

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standings:

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]RECORD:[/td]

[td]22-7-4 (48 Points)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]POSITION:[/td]

[td]1st - MassMutual East[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]ROW:[/td]

[td]20[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[tr]

[td]P%[/td]

[td].727[/td]

[/tr]

[td]HOME:[/td]

[td]12-4-2[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]AWAY:[/td]

[td]10-3-2[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]S/O:[/td]

[td]1-2[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]LAST 10:[/td]

[td]9-1-0[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]STREAK:[/td]

[td]W2[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Team Statistics:

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]DIFF:[/td]

[td]+20 (8th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]GF/GP:[/td]

[td]3.44 (3rd)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]GA/GP:[/td]

[td]2.85 (16th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]PP%:[/td]

[td]23.5% (10th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]PK%:[/td]

[td]81.0% (10th)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]Corsi For (CF)%[/td]

[td]49.3% (18th)[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Team Leaders:

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]Goals:[/td]

[td]Alex Ovechkin (18)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]Assists:[/td]

[td]Nicklas Backstrom (23)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]Points:[/td]

[td]Nicklas Backstrom (36)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]+/-:[/td]

[td]Justin Schultz (+16)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]PIM:[/td]

[td]Brenden Dillon (33)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]TOI/G (D):[/td]

[td]John Carlson (23:50)[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]TOI/G (F):[/td]

[td]Alex Ovechkin (20:20)[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Starting Lineup:^

 

Alex Ovechkin C / Evgeny Kuznetsov / Daniel Sprong

Conor Sheary / Nicklas Backstrom A / Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana / T.J. Oshie / Richard Panik

Carl Hagelin / Nic Dowd / Garnet Hathaway

 

Brenden Dillon / John Carlson A

Dmitri Orlov / Justin Schultz

Zdeno Chara / Nick Jensen

 

^ Subject to change

 

 

Starting Goaltender:

 

Vitek Vanacek

 

[table=width: 300, class: grid, align: center]

[tr]

[td]GS[/td]

[td]23[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]REC[/td]

[td]14-5-3[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]SV%[/td]

[td].910[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]GAA[/td]

[td]2.67[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]SO[/td]

[td]1[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

 

 

Healthy Scratches:

 

N/A

 

 

Taxi Squad:

 

Garrett Pilon, Daniel Carr, Craig Anderson, Michael Sgarbossa

 

 

Injuries, Suspensions, Misc:

 

[F] Lars Eller [DTD] — Lower-body injury

 

 

 

 

QUOTE(S) TO NOTE:

 

[table=width: 630, align: center]

[tr]

[td=align: center]

“I literally just said ‘Hi’ to him this morning for the first time. We have so much going on here, we haven’t talked in depth about what the plan is. The plan is obviously for him to continue to practice, and when we feel he can help, we’ll get him in there.”

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

— Coach Quinn on getting Kravtsov into the mix

 

 

KRAVTIME

 

 

[Vodka Drunkenski]

Fuck you beat me to it

[Sharpshooter]

Is the Battle of the GDT a new thing now? lol

[josh]

“I literally just said ‘Hi’ to him this morning for the first time. We have so much going on here, we haven’t talked in depth about what the plan is.

 

That's literally your job. And you were sitting at home for the last 10 days. Seriously - wtf?

 

This is the kid-communicator we've been told about?

[Sharpshooter]

Seriously. That quote is not really a good look.

[Ozzy]

Igor back in there....

 

I'm wondering where JD and Gorton stand on this Kravtsov plan of "No attack".

 

Whatever...Lets see something outta Miller, Fox, Kakko and Laffy tonight!

[BrooksBurner]

What's the rush on Kravtsov? We can't honestly expect him to be some kind of savior for the team, especially with a coach that will probably ruin him anyway

[Ozzy]

What's the rush on Kravtsov? We can't honestly expect him to be some kind of savior for the team, especially with a coach that will probably ruin him anyway

 

Just eager to see him play. I've seen enough Howden and DiGuesseppe...I don't know what the big deal on NOT having him play is. Why not? I actually believe this kid is going to help Laffy immensely....that's my call anyway...(I've been wrong before!) LOL

 

I'm not buying that "he doesn't know the system" shit, either. I'm not sure if it's contractual though; maybe if he plays a certain amount of games, we'd have to protect him in the expansion draft...or something like that. The guys would know more on that contract status thing than I would though.

 

Either way, I'm still trying to see if I need to add anymore "Man Rules" in the Bar Room forum! :rofl:

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

That's literally your job. And you were sitting at home for the last 10 days. Seriously - wtf?

 

This is the kid-communicator we've been told about?

 

“We’ve got so much going on here. We haven’t talked in-depth yet about what the plan is. The plan is for him to continue to practice and when we feel he can help we’ll get him in there.”

 

How the fuck do they not have a plan for a top 10 pick that has been in the org for 3 years? Seriously? And just said hi to him? What has DQ been up to the last 2 weeks? "so much going on here" - you've been at home for 2 weeks ffs.

 

"When we feel he can help", he's a kid playing his first NHL game, he's not here to help or save anyone. He's here to learn and eventually be able to help.

 

I guess Howden will be right back in the lineup when he's back. He hasn't helped the team since his first 20 games.

[4EverRangerFrank]

I wanna’ see Kravtsov pull a Messier when he finally gets into the lineup and ‘guarantee a win.’ That would show bowling ball sized balls. LOL

[Pete]

“We’ve got so much going on here. We haven’t talked in-depth yet about what the plan is. The plan is for him to continue to practice and when we feel he can help we’ll get him in there.”

 

How the fuck do they not have a plan for a top 10 pick that has been in the org for 3 years? Seriously? And just said hi to him? What has DQ been up to the last 2 weeks? "so much going on here" - you've been at home for 2 weeks ffs.

 

"When we feel he can help", he's a kid playing his first NHL game, he's not here to help or save anyone. He's here to learn and eventually be able to help.

 

I guess Howden will be right back in the lineup when he's back. He hasn't helped the team since his first 20 games.

Yes, I'm sure when they drafted him 3 years ago, their plan was to also draft 2 other top wingers, have him come over and shit the bed so hard that when he went home, he got demoted again and then just for extra credit they came up with the plan to prepare for everyone's seasons and leagues getting fucked up by a global pandemic... You're totally right, they should have this all figured out from the second he got to his first prospect camp.

 

In reality, Quinn's job is to deal with the roster players on his team and what's in front of him, and until a week ago Krav was in Russia and not Quinn's purview.

 

What would really make Rangers fans heads explode is the observation that given role, position, and ice time... The player who should be getting scratched for Krav is Lafreniere... Being that Kravtsov isn't a 4th liner and has nothing at all to do with Howden.

[Vodka Drunkenski]

Laf should definitely be scratched for him, light a fire under his ass

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

Yes, I'm sure when they drafted him 3 years ago, their plan was to also draft 2 other top wingers, have him come over and shit the bed so hard that when he went home, he got demoted again and then just for extra credit they came up with the plan to prepare for everyone's seasons and leagues getting fucked up by a global pandemic... You're totally right, they should have this all figured out from the second he got to his first prospect camp.

 

In reality, Quinn's job is to deal with the roster players on his team and what's in front of him, and until a week ago Krav was in Russia and not Quinn's purview.

 

What would really make Rangers fans heads explode is the observation that given role, position, and ice time... The player who should be getting scratched for Krav is Lafreniere... Being that Kravtsov isn't a 4th liner and has nothing at all to do with Howden.

 

Everyone and their mom knew that Kravtsov would come over after the KHL season ended. Its been a known fact for atleast a couple months now. Never did I say they should've made a plan 3 years ago, but saying they have no plan and the coach just saying hi to a guy that's been in the org for 3 years and we KNEW would come over is not a good way to manage a young prospect. You cant seriously disagree with that?

 

And I dont care, take out Laf (or Gauthier) or who ever. I mentioned Howden because DQ said we had to wait untill Kravtsov could come in and "help the team", when Howden is his favourite boy playing every game he can without helping anything.

 

Kravtsov is not here to help the team win. He's here to develop with Kakko, Laf, Chytil and the rest. I dont think Quinn understands that, and thats scary.

[Pete]

Everyone and their mom knew that Kravtsov would come over after the KHL season ended. Its been a known fact for atleast a couple months now. Never did I say they should've made a plan 3 years ago, but saying they have no plan and the coach just saying hi to a guy that's been in the org for 3 years and we KNEW would come over is not a good way to manage a young prospect. You cant seriously disagree with that?

 

And I dont care, take out Laf (or Gauthier) or who ever. I mentioned Howden because DQ said we had to wait untill Kravtsov could come in and "help the team", when Howden is his favourite boy playing every game he can without helping anything.

 

Kravtsov is not here to help the team win. He's here to develop with Kakko, Laf, Chytil and the rest. I dont think Quinn understands that, and thats scary.

Quinn's job is to manage the players in front of him, not to think about where he might slot players in if they wind up coming over whenever their season might happen to end.

 

That's something fans do, salivate over players who aren't on the team and fantasize about line combinations.

 

Kravtsov b will get his chance to play. If you think the only way to develop is by playing in a game, there are tons of coaches out there who will disagree with you.

[Vodka Drunkenski]

Speaking of Chytil, he’s come back to reality as usual.

[Kevin]

That's literally your job. And you were sitting at home for the last 10 days. Seriously - wtf?

 

This is the kid-communicator we've been told about?

Seriously. This has me scratching my head. Welcome to NY kid! The coach clearly doesn't give a fuck about you.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

[Kevin]

What's the rush on Kravtsov? We can't honestly expect him to be some kind of savior for the team, especially with a coach that will probably ruin him anyway

He was in game shape coming off a strong khl season. I don't see why you wouldn't get him in there as soon as possible.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

[Kevin]

Just eager to see him play. I've seen enough Howden and DiGuesseppe...I don't know what the big deal on NOT having him play is. Why not? I actually believe this kid is going to help Laffy immensely....that's my call anyway...(I've been wrong before!) LOL

 

I'm not buying that "he doesn't know the system" shit, either. I'm not sure if it's contractual though; maybe if he plays a certain amount of games, we'd have to protect him in the expansion draft...or something like that. The guys would know more on that contract status thing than I would though.

 

Either way, I'm still trying to see if I need to add anymore "Man Rules" in the Bar Room forum! :rofl:

With ya, Ozzy. We're a team in 6th place, 5 pts out of a playoff spot (and Boston has 3 games in hand). Realistically we could be 9 pts out with only 22 games left. Shelter him or whatever but i think this is as good a time as any to start seeing what the future holds with kravstov. Who knows, maybe you catch lightning in a bottle and he helps you make a run.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

[Sharpshooter]

I don't know if they'll have enough to catch Boston, but it's still pretty incredible that they're only five points behind them. Give the injuries and a fair share of drama around the team this year, it's pretty incredible, also factoring in they're playing in one of the toughest divisions.

[Valriera]

Laf should definitely be scratched for him, light a fire under his ass

 

Quite obviously the right move - Laf can use a game or two off to watch which is completely normal for rookies, and VK could use a game or two in the lineup to get his feet wet. Not sure what the downside is

[Ozzy]

With ya, Ozzy. We're a team in 6th place, 5 pts out of a playoff spot (and Boston has 3 games in hand). Realistically we could be 9 pts out with only 22 games left. Shelter him or whatever but i think this is as good a time as any to start seeing what the future holds with kravstov. Who knows, maybe you catch lightning in a bottle and he helps you make a run.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Blueshirts Brotherhood mobile app powered by Tapatalk

 

That's really my thinking too, Kev!

 

I've been very patient with these guys, and especially with Quinn pretty much most of the year. I've never even considered these guys a playoff contender from day 1. I mean, if they make it, that's great! We'd be way ahead of schedule, but let's face it....they're not!

 

Basically I'm watching these games as if it's a 56 game tryout for next year. Wins and losses aside, these guys need NHL experience, playing time, and veteran support.

 

I also don't buy into Quinn "ruining" anyone. If a Scotty Bowman was put behind that bench, you'd see sparks fly out of players' asses! LOL

[Sharpshooter]

That's really my thinking too, Kev!

 

I've been very patient with these guys, and especially with Quinn pretty much most of the year. I've never even considered these guys a playoff contender from day 1. I mean, if they make it, that's great! We'd be way ahead of schedule, but let's face it....they're not!

 

Basically I'm watching these games as if it's a 56 game tryout for next year. Wins and losses aside, these guys need NHL experience, playing time, and veteran support.

 

I also don't buy into Quinn "ruining" anyone. If a Scotty Bowman was put behind that bench, you'd see sparks fly out of players' asses! LOL

 

That's kind of how I'm looking at it too. To add to that, they have quite a bit of money coming off the books. I think this is a pretty big offseason upcoming for this organization. I don't know if they'll make any big moves necessarily, but they'll really have some wiggle room to optimize the roster more.

[Drew a Penalty]

 

 

 

As expected, no Kravtsov quite yet. Take a deep breath, folks.

[Sharpshooter]

I'm not impatient, just antsy. :D

[Ozzy]

That's kind of how I'm looking at it too. To add to that, they have quite a bit of money coming off the books. I think this is a pretty big offseason upcoming for this organization. I don't know if they'll make any big moves necessarily, but they'll really have some wiggle room to optimize the roster more.

 

I was just posting that in the other thread, Sharpy! Yeah man, we're gonna have some wiggle room for a change, and that $13 million is going to help hang on to a few controlled RFA's like Buch, Chytil, Goat, Igor and Lindgren.

 

After reading through the Eichel thread, and watching the teams around the league, I'd kinda be happy hanging on to the kids we have, develop them and then in 3 years bring in my boy MacKinnon when he hits UFA status!

 

Oh Christ! Could you imagine him as a Ranger??? ;)