Fixing the Rangers Formulaically

[Br4d]

So this is an attempt to fix the Rangers based on things that we know to a high probability.  I'll use the following symbols to represent things we know:

>< = Not a good pairing, <> = Good pairing, !- = Too much ice, !+ = Not enough ice

 

Things we know

 

Panarin >< Trocheck,  really bad at 5v5.
Miller >< Trouba,  on ice for a significant number of bad events.
Lindgren <> Fox
Vesey !-, not in the top 6 please.
Trouba !-, needs to give some ice time based on play so far.
Gauthier !+, works hard and plays RW
Chytil !+
Lafreniere !+
Schneider !+

 

Solutions

 

Kreider - Zibanejad - Panarin, best players on line 1 any pass Panarin makes goes to somebody who can put it in the net reliably.

 

Lafreniere - Chytil - Gauthier, big line plays at similar speeds and all work hard at that speed.  All 3 young players that need more minutes.

 

Blais - Trocheck - Kakko, not giving up on Kakko, quite the contrary, Trocheck is a good two-way player and Blais has some real scoring potential.  Kakko might find himself as the playmaker on this line.
  
Call up a kid - Goodrow - Kravtsov/Vesey, the best way to send a message to the vets and the kids is to bring up somebody who might take a job.  Put him on the line with Goodrow who is an excellent babysitter and probably Vesey who is sound.  Kravtsov would be great but he'll undoubtedly nut himself on his own stick and miss two weeks (nad miss two weeks?)

 

Lindgren - Fox, don't fix what's not broke
Miller - Schneider, Schneider needs more minutes and Trouba really needs less ice time until whatever is bothering him heals
Hajek - Trouba, gives the Rangers a big 3rd pair which can be useful at times.

 

Not sure how you fix this group of under-performing players but I think a shake-up of the level above is a logical step given what we know.

[BrooksBurner]

I’ve been wanting to see certain line combinations too, but I’m pretty convinced at this stage that the problem isn’t to be cured by a new line combination or defensive pairing. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. This is down to coaching and leadership. Mostly coaching, because it’s gotta be pretty damn hard to be a leader on a team where nobody knows where to be on the ice.

[cupalife]

2 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

I’ve been wanting to see certain line combinations too, but I’m pretty convinced at this stage that the problem isn’t to be cured by a new line combination or defensive pairing. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. This is down to coaching and leadership. Mostly coaching, because it’s gotta be pretty damn hard to be a leader on a team where nobody knows where to be on the ice.

You really believe that NHL hockey players just forget how to play positionally?  The real problem with Gallant is the same problem they had with Quinn and AV.  They do not hold players accountable for their play, effort, or smarts.  Yeah sure they are all quick to hold Gauthier, the kids, or a marginal player to task.  The guys like Trouba, Mika, Kreider, Panarin etc have all been begging for a healthy scratch and they lose no ice time ever and get rolled out on pp1 no matter the effort.  Nobody is asking to banish any of them to the press box for good but a message sent to that group would go a long way.  

 

Vesey is not the problem here folks.  He competes and gets ice time because he's the best they have.  Not to harp on Panarin but that effort on the game winner last night should be a moment to send a message for GG.  Scratch his ass today and call him out.  Send the message that half ass efforts by anyone on this team will not be tolerated.  

[Br4d]

If Vesey's contribution is what it seems to be he needs to be in the bottom 6.  I get that it's not his fault but he makes Frank Vatrano look like Mike Gartner by comparison.

[Sod16]

Not bad ideas, but Blais has significant scoring potential?  Perhaps insofar as in his next 37 games he has the potential to score one instead of none.

[BrooksBurner]

21 minutes ago, cupalife said:

You really believe that NHL hockey players just forget how to play positionally?  The real problem with Gallant is the same problem they had with Quinn and AV.  They do not hold players accountable for their play, effort, or smarts.  Yeah sure they are all quick to hold Gauthier, the kids, or a marginal player to task.  The guys like Trouba, Mika, Kreider, Panarin etc have all been begging for a healthy scratch and they lose no ice time ever and get rolled out on pp1 no matter the effort.  Nobody is asking to banish any of them to the press box for good but a message sent to that group would go a long way.  

 

Vesey is not the problem here folks.  He competes and gets ice time because he's the best they have.  Not to harp on Panarin but that effort on the game winner last night should be a moment to send a message for GG.  Scratch his ass today and call him out.  Send the message that half ass efforts by anyone on this team will not be tolerated.  

In Gallant’s year and change here, have you seen sound team defense structure? I have not. This isn’t about the player’s forgetting if it didn’t exist to begin with. It’s not like they were a well-oiled machine and it’s a case of just not trying hard enough now.

[RichieNextel305]

Blais looked like a totally different player pre-injury than now. He didn’t score before the injury, but the puck was like a magnet on his stick. He was strong along the boards and created chances. I get that it takes time to get back to being yourself after such a catastrophic injury, but he looks nothing like that guy and his scoring is still just non-existent. I’m sorry, but he has played in every game this year so far I believe. No goals? None? Nothing? I see no reason why as of right now his spot in the lineup should be guaranteed; he’s doing nothing for us.

[BrooksBurner]

14 minutes ago, RichieNextel305 said:

Blais looked like a totally different player pre-injury than now. He didn’t score before the injury, but the puck was like a magnet on his stick. He was strong along the boards and created chances. I get that it takes time to get back to being yourself after such a catastrophic injury, but he looks nothing like that guy and his scoring is still just non-existent. I’m sorry, but he has played in every game this year so far I believe. No goals? None? Nothing? I see no reason why as of right now his spot in the lineup should be guaranteed; he’s doing nothing for us.

It’s because Drury traded a cheapish 30 goal PPG player for him. He needs him to succeed in some capacity because the return on investment for that trade is at the level of fireable offense.

[Pete]

10 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

It’s because Drury traded a cheapish 30 goal PPG player for him. He needs him to succeed in some capacity because the return on investment for that trade is at the level of fireable offense.

Or, maybe a player who works hard gets a chance to get his game back after a significant injury. 

 

That said, I see no world he should be on the third line right now. 

Edited December 3, 2022 by Pete

[Phil]

2 hours ago, rmc51 said:

I’ve been wanting to see certain line combinations too, but I’m pretty convinced at this stage that the problem isn’t to be cured by a new line combination or defensive pairing. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. This is down to coaching and leadership. Mostly coaching, because it’s gotta be pretty damn hard to be a leader on a team where nobody knows where to be on the ice.

 

Exactly this. The fundamental change needed is coaching, with an emphasis on Xs and Os. Specifically, defensive structure.

[BrooksBurner]

16 minutes ago, Pete said:

Or, maybe a player who works hard gets a chance to get his game back after a significant injury. 

 

That said, I see no world he should be on the third line right now. 

He didn’t really have much game here before the injury either, did he?

[Pete]

46 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

He didn’t really have much game here before the injury either, did he?

Who can say, for sure? 

 

[Br4d]

The Blais position on line 3 might be a placeholder if the kid called up plays well enough to get promoted to line 3.

 

I guess the real answer is the Rangers really need to get the kids jumpstarted and having Lafreniere and Chytil get line 2 minutes is a step in that direction.  I just like Gauthier's energy and I think he probably is the best fit for them.

[goondman]

4 hours ago, Br4d said:

So this is an attempt to fix the Rangers based on things that we know to a high probability.  I'll use the following symbols to represent things we know:

>< = Not a good pairing, <> = Good pairing, !- = Too much ice, !+ = Not enough ice

 

Things we know

 

Panarin >< Trocheck,  really bad at 5v5.
Miller >< Trouba,  on ice for a significant number of bad events.
Lindgren <> Fox
Vesey !-, not in the top 6 please.
Trouba !-, needs to give some ice time based on play so far.
Gauthier !+, works hard and plays RW
Chytil !+
Lafreniere !+
Schneider !+

 

Solutions

 

Kreider - Zibanejad - Panarin, best players on line 1 any pass Panarin makes goes to somebody who can put it in the net reliably.

 

Lafreniere - Chytil - Gauthier, big line plays at similar speeds and all work hard at that speed.  All 3 young players that need more minutes.

 

Blais - Trocheck - Kakko, not giving up on Kakko, quite the contrary, Trocheck is a good two-way player and Blais has some real scoring potential.  Kakko might find himself as the playmaker on this line.
  
Call up a kid - Goodrow - Kravtsov/Vesey, the best way to send a message to the vets and the kids is to bring up somebody who might take a job.  Put him on the line with Goodrow who is an excellent babysitter and probably Vesey who is sound.  Kravtsov would be great but he'll undoubtedly nut himself on his own stick and miss two weeks (nad miss two weeks?)

 

Lindgren - Fox, don't fix what's not broke
Miller - Schneider, Schneider needs more minutes and Trouba really needs less ice time until whatever is bothering him heals
Hajek - Trouba, gives the Rangers a big 3rd pair which can be useful at times.

 

Not sure how you fix this group of under-performing players but I think a shake-up of the level above is a logical step given what we know.

One word: accountability. Something GG doesn't know how to administrator

[josh]

Not reading anything from someone putting Kravtsov on the 4th line. 

[Br4d]

14 hours ago, josh said:

Not reading anything from someone putting Kravtsov on the 4th line. 

 

Well the other alternatives are probably a conditioning stint in Hartford or another injury.

 

Kravtsov was the Ranger's hope at RW on line 1 or 2 this year and he's been a rolling disaster all season long.

[The Dude]

22 hours ago, Br4d said:

If Vesey's contribution is what it seems to be he needs to be in the bottom 6.  I get that it's not his fault but he makes Frank Vatrano look like Mike Gartner by comparison.

It's purely coincidence that the entire teams body language has become what it is ever since Vesey was given the top 6 job. 

 

Just saying...

 

EDIT- Then again Reaves getting dealt really pushed them into mouse mode in post game interviews.  

Edited December 4, 2022 by The Dude

[The Dude]

Just wanted to share this somewhere.  But it totally reminded me of Zibanejads post game interviews lately. There were other sketches that I couldn't find with these recurring characters,  but I guess it gets the point across. 

 

 

[Ozzy]

23 hours ago, rmc51 said:

I’ve been wanting to see certain line combinations too, but I’m pretty convinced at this stage that the problem isn’t to be cured by a new line combination or defensive pairing. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. This is down to coaching and leadership. Mostly coaching, because it’s gotta be pretty damn hard to be a leader on a team where nobody knows where to be on the ice.

 

20 hours ago, Phil said:

Exactly this. The fundamental change needed is coaching, with an emphasis on Xs and Os. Specifically, defensive structure.

 

I'm getting in line with this...

[Br4d]

Vesey is getting top 6 play over any of the kids.  I mean WTF is up with that.  That's a firing offense.