Playoffs Rangers-Hurricanes Round Two — General Series Thread

[Blue Heaven]

That hockey hotbed of Carolina has Game 7 tixs available on Ticketmaster. 

[Pete]

8 hours ago, Valriera said:

If you told me we’d be game 7 second round against canes and probably deserved to win the series in 5 or 6 if not for some kakko whiffs and general inexperience I’d say that is pretty great. Game 7 - anything can happen

Exactly. And no matter what happens on monday, I don't want to hear the forum whining about blown chances... Every team moving on to the next round or playing their first round of golf had blown chances, games they should have won and they lost, it's part of the process.

 

It's nothing to be angry about, nothing to be ashamed of.

 

That said... Going to be real weird rooting against Ryan McDonagh. 

[RichieNextel305]

I hope someone on the Rangers takes a page out of the Bruins playbook in 2011 when the Bruins and Canucks traded home wins, and puts some ice melted from MSG in a water bottle and spray it on the ice at PNC Arena tomorrow night.

 

What a run, man. We’re going to have some bright days with this group.

[Gravesy]

Game 6 could hardly have gone better. Their goalie having a wobble, a comfortable win, several Canes losing their cool and, as a team, looking fucking rattled by the end of it.

I totally agree with the idea that, whatever happens, this has been a great experience and learning process.

But I’m not really thinking about that right now. We’re going down there to beat those fucking peasants. Bring on Tampa.

 

[Cr00zng]

If you take away the EN goals, the Canes outscored the Rangers 6-2 in Raleigh. Flip the location, the Rangers outscored the Canes 11-4. Can the Rangers beat the Canes in game seven in Raleigh?

 

Of course they can, don’t be ridiculous…

 

The Rangers are 4-0 in elimination games during playoff games this season vs. 1-0 for the Canes. They had more than enough experience to get by the Canes tomorrow night.

 

That’s my believe and sticking to it…

 

LFGR!!!

[Blue Heaven]

Tomorrow night is the night that Chris Kreider has to show team why he is Captain material. He needs to be fully engaged and have the team follow him. 
The entire team needs to be involved in getting into the dirty areas and grind this team down from the first shift to the last shift. 
 

GG has to find a way for the team to break out of the masterful matchups Brindamour puts out having the last line change. Play the kid line more, especially if they start off well maybe makes Brindamour put out the Staal line vs them and frees up the Mika and Strome lines for more of an offensive push? 
 

and…..

Edited May 29, 2022 by Blue Heaven

[RangersIn7]

1 minute ago, Blue Heaven said:

Tomorrow night is the night that Chris Kreider has to show team why he is Captain material. He needs to be fully engaged and have the team follow him. 
The entire team needs to be involved in getting into the dirty areas and grind this team down from the first shift to the last shift. 
 

GG has to find a way for the team to break out of the masterful matchups Brindamour puts out having the last line change. Play the kid line more, especially if they start off well maybe makes Brindamour put out the Staal line vs them and frees up the Mika and Strome lines for more of an offensive push? 

I don’t know that he would put the Staal line out vs the kids. 
That Staal line has been fantastic for them, not only in this series vs Zib’s line, but all season in general. But actually there’s been an exception to that somewhat in this series, when Staal’s line has played the kid line, they actually haven’t looked good. They saw their fair share of them last night, and the Kid Line outplayed them. Pretty noticeably. I think that’s a much less favorable and possibly outright unfavorable matchup for Brind’Amour, and I think he knows it and will go with what has worked for him, which is the Staal line and Skjei/Pesce vs Zib’s line, and playing Slavin vs Panarin. Both of Carolina’s top 2 lines have outplayed Strome/Panarin. 
I don’t think he can go away from that in all honesty as those matchups have worked so very well for him in the games in Raleigh when he’s actually had the ability to deploy his guys that way. Rangers need to find a way to neutralize that advantage. 
 

But i agree the kids should play more. They’ve really showed significant improvement and growth this postseason. They’ve earned some more ice time. 

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

Wont happen, but I think this lineup would be a good counter to the matchups:

Kreids - Mika - Motte

Panarin - Strome - Goodrow

Kids

Hunt - Copp - Vatrano

 

Well balanced lineup. All lines are defensively responsible and capable of scoring goals. We’ve scored 2 goals in 3 games in Carolina so far…

[Pete]

1 hour ago, Blue Heaven said:

Tomorrow night is the night that Chris Kreider has to show team why he is Captain material. He needs to be fully engaged and have the team follow him. 
The entire team needs to be involved in getting into the dirty areas and grind this team down from the first shift to the last shift. 
 

GG has to find a way for the team to break out of the masterful matchups Brindamour puts out having the last line change. Play the kid line more, especially if they start off well maybe makes Brindamour put out the Staal line vs them and frees up the Mika and Strome lines for more of an offensive push? 
 

and…..

 

1 hour ago, RangersIn7 said:

I don’t know that he would put the Staal line out vs the kids. 
That Staal line has been fantastic for them, not only in this series vs Zib’s line, but all season in general. But actually there’s been an exception to that somewhat in this series, when Staal’s line has played the kid line, they actually haven’t looked good. They saw their fair share of them last night, and the Kid Line outplayed them. Pretty noticeably. I think that’s a much less favorable and possibly outright unfavorable matchup for Brind’Amour, and I think he knows it and will go with what has worked for him, which is the Staal line and Skjei/Pesce vs Zib’s line, and playing Slavin vs Panarin. Both of Carolina’s top 2 lines have outplayed Strome/Panarin. 
I don’t think he can go away from that in all honesty as those matchups have worked so very well for him in the games in Raleigh when he’s actually had the ability to deploy his guys that way. Rangers need to find a way to neutralize that advantage. 
 

But i agree the kids should play more. They’ve really showed significant improvement and growth this postseason. They’ve earned some more ice time. 

I have to say, I have a feeling if they lose G7 it'll be because of coaching...Not being able to get goo matchups on the road...But that's GGs job. It won't be because they don't "show up"

[Valriera]

Yeah minus game 5 this team has shoes up to almost every game this season it’s not going to be bc a lack of effort

[RangersIn7]

4 minutes ago, Pete said:

 

I have to say, I have a feeling if they lose G7 it'll be because of coaching...Not being able to get goo matchups on the road...But that's GGs job. It won't be because they don't "show up"

I have that feeling too. Gallant needs to find a way to either:

A) Get certain guys/lines away from the matchups that have worked against them.

B) Get those guys to win the matchup in 1 road game. 

[RangersIn7]

29 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

Wont happen, but I think this lineup would be a good counter to the matchups:

Kreids - Mika - Motte

Panarin - Strome - Goodrow

Kids

Hunt - Copp - Vatrano

 

Well balanced lineup. All lines are defensively responsible and capable of scoring goals. We’ve scored 2 goals in 3 games in Carolina so far…

He’s not dressing Dryden Hunt over Reaves in a Game 7. 

[BrooksBurner]

3 hours ago, Blue Heaven said:

That hockey hotbed of Carolina has Game 7 tixs available on Ticketmaster. 

Yes they do. Can get in for under $200. Debating

[The Dude]

59 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

Wont happen, but I think this lineup would be a good counter to the matchups:

Kreids - Mika - Motte

Panarin - Strome - Goodrow

Kids

Hunt - Copp - Vatrano

 

Well balanced lineup. All lines are defensively responsible and capable of scoring goals. We’ve scored 2 goals in 3 games in Carolina so far…

[Pete]

29 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

Yes they do. Can get in for under $200. Debating

For that price, why wouldn't you? 

[Pete]

52 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

He’s not dressing Dryden Hunt over Reaves in a Game 7. 

Or changing the entire lineup, or spreading the 4th line across the other 3 lines, making them weaker. 

[RangersIn7]

2 minutes ago, Pete said:

Or changing the entire lineup, or spreading the 4th line across the other 3 lines, making them weaker. 

I’d honestly rather him play Rooney over Reaves and run his 4th line of Motte/Goodrow/Rooney, but he’s not going to do that. 

[Kick save and a beauty]

Game-7 potential differences from Game-5

• 80%-85% of Goodrow is a huge upgrade
• A little Bread is good for the table
• Chytil.... Who knew?
• Carolina continuing to be more stupid about penalties because we are in their (pin)heads now
• We will also be in Raanta's head now. Or better yet they start Freddie (and give us a Penguins game-7 storyline redux?)

[Keirik]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

 

I have to say, I have a feeling if they lose G7 it'll be because of coaching...Not being able to get goo matchups on the road...But that's GGs job. It won't be because they don't "show up"

[Dr. Jimmy]

3 minutes ago, Kick save and a beauty said:

Game-7 potential differences from Game-5

• 80%-85% of Goodrow is a huge upgrade
• A little Bread is good for the table
• Chytil.... Who knew?
• Carolina continuing to be more stupid about penalties because we are in their (pin)heads now
• We will also be in Raanta's head now. Or better yet they start Freddie (and give us a Penguins game-7 storyline redux?)

I was thinking a lot about this exact thing, being in their heads etc....

 

I thought it was interesting that Raanta got pulled when he did, it was like 3:30 into the second, pretty close to 40 minutes of game left.  Either:

- Brind'amour had no confidence his guys were gonna get chances let alone score since they've been pretty ineffective, plus Shesty.

- No confidence Raanta could stop the bleeding, which is nuts because it was only 3-0 with almost two full periods to go. That type of lead can vanish within minutes.

- He saw something with Raanta either physically or mentally that led him to pull him and have him start resting for game 7, all but conceding this game (or hoping for Domingue pt. 2).

 

 Any one of these reasons plants a seed of doubt, either in Raanta, who looked completely shell shocked on the bench, moreso than I've ever seen a pulled goalie look, or the team itself seeing their goalie pulled and not being able to rally around their third string guy.  

 

On top of all this, I don't know if you all know this but Carolina hasn't lost at home yet during these playoffs.  Of course you know this because everyfuckingbody mentions it every 4.7 seconds, the booth guys, the studio guys, the concession guys, the hooker on 43rd, the backup zamboni repairman etc....... Most importantly the Canes know it.  Just like a pitcher throwing a no-no the pressure getting heavier as the innings move along (on him and the team) with each game in Raleigh the pressure to keep the streak going intensifies, they know they're not gonna win every home game, the shoe is gonna drop at some point, but when?  You can see it last night, they're already looking tense, obviously the crowd and the Rangers play had a lot to do with it, but watching your goalie get yanked at such an odd moment and their own inability to generate much definitely adds to the noise in their heads. This all led them to resort to the garbage we saw at the end of the game, which we need to stay away from, let them fuck themselves. Remember also, this is a Canes team that a bunch of writers and pundits predicted to win the ECF and make a strong run at the Cup, so there's that pressure as well.  

 

Game 7 is gonna be a wild one........

[phillyb]

I can’t fucking wait for tomorrow night. Jfc LGR! 

 

We need to play well on the road here. Game 5 was just abysmal. 

[Sod16]

All eyes will be on Raanta at the start.  I hope we will not just throw anything we can on goal.  That will just give him some easy stops and build his confidence.  Make the first shot a good one.  If it goes in, he'll be spooked.

[Ranger Lothbrok]

All I say is this: every game we've played in their building was a nail biter for them. Every game they played in ours was a dominant showing for us. How we've only managed one goal in Carolina every game is beyond me. 

 

That said, I think we have to get in their faces early. It's clear they can't play the buffoonery game with us. A couple hits and some grind and they freak out. Come out the way we did in Game 1 against the Pens and we have a shot. 

 

Carolina has to lose at home eventually. Whether Game 7 is that game, I have no idea. The Game 1 whiffs really sting right now, but as people have pointed out already, every team has blown chances. It's what you do when your back is against the wall that matters.

 

My gut feeling is that we play a close game but lose a heartbreaker late or in OT, but I'd honestly rather lose 10-0 than lose like that. I just don't see any way after Game 5 where we were absolutely smothered offensively that we can take one in their building, especially with Panarin and Kreider being largely invisible if not outright bad (in Panarin's case, the turnovers have been pretty egregious). 

 

BUT....Ben Bishop shut us out at MSG in a Game 7. A goalie playing as well as Shesterkin can steal a game. Really anything can happen, but we gotta get on the board early and get over the 1 goal hump. If we can score two goals by the time the second period ends, I might be a believer. 

 

This is the second youngest team in the league. Everyone is singing Vasilevskiy's praises, but he has a seasoned defense in front of him and a team that's not prone to coughing up golden opportunities. Before we anoint him the better playoff performer, let's see what Igor does when his defense has an average age over 25. 

 

I'm proud they've even forced a Game 7 after having to come back from down 3-1 against Pitt and after everyone saying the Canes would sweep. These guys are eminently beatable. I just don't know if we want it bad enough yet to do it. 

 

No matter what, we've come further than anyone would've predicted, and gained some huge experience. The fact that we're even in a position to move on to the ECFs when everyone on this board deemed everything after the Penguins as "just gravy" is incredible. This is exactly the type of run a young team needs before they eventually win it all. Just an incredible season for this team all around. The experience alone has been worth it. 

[RangersIn7]

Anyone else think we could be due an Igor shutout?

 

Hoping for that. 
 

And the fact that they’re due a break on a 50/50 call or one that gets reviewed?

 

 

Theyre I believe 0 for 5 on those calls thus far. 
 

Getting one, if it occurs, in a Game 7 on the road could be immense.

[Myusername]

Will each passing game it's becoming more and more clear that the Canes are lacking the sort of elite talent that you need to advance far in the playoffs, let alone win a cup. Aside from Aho there is not one forward on that team that really scares me. It doesn't help that a lot of their depth has pretty much been completely negated (Svechnikov, Kotkaneimi).

 

They play a very structured game and are coached well but you need those players that can individually affect an outcome of a game and they don't really have that otherwise they would have stepped on our throat long ago.