Br4d Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 1 minute ago, mbob said: Couldn’t agree more. If the kid is our future I want him at his best thus my previous LW stack and poor construction comment. I can’t make out the lines when I move him back over lol. Same problem here. I don't know what the answer is. It's the same problem the Rangers have had since they drafted him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 (edited) I see nothing wrong with Lafrenière besides production at the moment . Maybe he's lost a step or is getting too comfortable? He's consistently involved with the offense and isn't coughing up the puck. I don't see an issue. Leave him be. Panarin/Trocheck seems to have become the new Kreider/Zibanejad bromance. They seem to be concentrating on feeding each other, with Lafrenière as an afterthought of some kind. That hasn't made Lafrenière not try though. He's always down low and dies set up his linemates with some good opportunities. IMO, he's better as a RW. His skills seem to shine through when he's on the right. His passes are better, his thought process is faster, his shot is better... These are things that were missing prior to this season and prior to the switch to the right. Edited December 14, 2023 by The Dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Br4d said: I hate Laf at RW and I suspect he hates RW also. His great passes go left to right and that backhand on the move from the right side isn't terrible but it doesn't get to it's target very often either. He's on the RW because the Rangers have no RW's and too many LW's. That's a terrible reason to have him there. He's playing his best hockey of his pro career. Why do you hate him on the right? Why would you think he hates it there? Everyone is off his back and people are talking him back up from the bust talk. He's not going to be a superstar. He looks extremely serviceable as a top 6 forward though. This couldn't be said when he was a LW. If this is a byproduct of Panarin or not, I really don't care. Leave him be. Don't disrupt the leaps he has taken in this process. He's pretty good right now. Let him glow until he doesn't. If the Rangers can ride with Kreider and Zibanejad as a combo for 5 years, why the hell not Panarin/Lafrenière? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Br4d Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 Early on the Panarin/Lafreniere combo was fresh and good. Lately it looks a lot like Laffy is deferring too much to Panarin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 1 hour ago, Br4d said: Early on the Panarin/Lafreniere combo was fresh and good. Lately it looks a lot like Laffy is deferring too much to Panarin. I'm not getting how people think these guys are robots and they will play at the same pace all season. It's a small rut and it's really not affecting his play. He's still busting his ass and is putting in the work. The results aren't going to be automatic. The Rangers are going to switch up the plays. They aren’t going to go out there every shift and do the same thing. They certainly aren't going to score on every attempt. I shit on Lafrenière for years because of his lack of effort and commitment. I like production, but I also like seeing quality chances generated. They're getting shots off. They're working defenders into the ground. The constant pressure is something that always gets overlooked and discounted. I mean look at their 4th line. Its nothing special, but they are able to pin teams in their own zone and wear them down. It's part of the puzzle. It needs to be done. When a line doesn't constantly generate quality chances, that's when you get concerned. It's not like they are flat and not keeping defenders on their heels. Relax. This isn't EA sports. They're not going to score on every shot. They're not going to do the same play over and over. Let him defer to the hottest player in the game right now. As long as he's not doing that damn curl along the boards upon entry like years past, IDGAF if he's trying to feed the hot hand in many different ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siddious Posted December 15, 2023 Share Posted December 15, 2023 On 12/14/2023 at 11:04 AM, Pete said: Almost every major player in the league is streaky as fuck. There are maybe 4-5 that are going to get you a point, nightly...2 are in Edmonton. 2 in Pitt. 1 in Tampa. If you watched 82 Panther games you'd have similar complaints about Tkachuk, Barkov, etc. I’m not saying they have to score every game but they all seem to go on these stretches when they don’t score for a while and the team sucks. Then one of them gets hot again and suddenly the team looks good. in panarins case specifically when he’s not scoring he’s not doing much else. Maybe streaky isn’t the right word. Maybe it’s a depth scoring issue. If it ain’t panarin and zib it’s no one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Br4d Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Rangers need to find a way to get Laffy untracked. He's slowing down again as his results slow down. It's like he's either on a roll or in the dead doldrums and the dead doldrums seem to stretch on forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valriera Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 He was fine tonight, not so much before tonight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Br4d Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 5 minutes ago, Valriera said: He was fine tonight, not so much before tonight He was ok tonight but I don't think he was fine. He's been losing the puck a lot more lately. It's like he's a little bit slower and people are getting their sticks out and disrupting him easier than they were early in the season. Maybe it's just the book on him now. Press him hard and he'll lose the puck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJWantsTheCup Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Should’ve traded him when he was hot. But seriously he isn’t as good as he started the season and not as bad as he has been in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravesy Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 I feel like the only real difference is pucks that went in for him during his hot start aren’t at the moment. That is likely to revert to some form of median over the season. I thought he was visible and involved. No real issues with him at the moment bar end product. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangersIn7 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 His play has still been very good. Still very much noticeable and impactful 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 He was good last night. Unless you're moving him to Zib's line, it would be the worst possible time to shuffle him. It would send a terrible message that production outweighs playing the right way. He's playing good hockey, leave him be. 1 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangersIn7 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 14 minutes ago, Pete said: He was good last night. Unless you're moving him to Zib's line, it would be the worst possible time to shuffle him. It would send a terrible message that production outweighs playing the right way. He's playing good hockey, leave him be. Yeah. Leave them alone. That whole line has been good. Whether it was Chytil or now Tro in the middle. Dont screw with that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsm7302 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 23 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said: Yeah. Leave them alone. That whole line has been good. Whether it was Chytil or now Tro in the middle. Dont screw with that. Nailed it. Lines will go through ebs and flows. They are still playing excellent hockey together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieNextel305 Posted December 17, 2023 Author Share Posted December 17, 2023 I think he is passing the eye test, something he wasn’t doing while not producing in the past. That line is rolling. And he’s had his chances, some bad puck luck. But he blends well with that line, which has easily been our best 5v5 line all year as far as sustaining consistent offensive zone pressure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangersIn7 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 57 minutes ago, jsm7302 said: Nailed it. Lines will go through ebs and flows. They are still playing excellent hockey together. The whole team is going through the proverbial ebb and flow right now Yet they’ve now won back to back games off of losing 3 of 4, and sit atop the division. All while not at full strength and not playing their best hockey. All good things 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 37 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said: The whole team is going through the proverbial ebb and flow right now Yet they’ve now won back to back games off of losing 3 of 4, and sit atop the division. All while not at full strength and not playing their best hockey. All good things After New Year, we have to also flip the page from "They haven't played their best hockey, they haven't hit their stride" to "when are they going to hit their stride? It's halfway through the season and there's still plenty to clean up...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangersIn7 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 16 minutes ago, Pete said: After New Year, we have to also flip the page from "They haven't played their best hockey, they haven't hit their stride" to "when are they going to hit their stride? It's halfway through the season and there's still plenty to clean up...." I agree. January and February should be heavily progressing in that direction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsm7302 Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 1 hour ago, Pete said: After New Year, we have to also flip the page from "They haven't played their best hockey, they haven't hit their stride" to "when are they going to hit their stride? It's halfway through the season and there's still plenty to clean up...." I mean they started out the gate pretty well and I'd say at 21-7-1, how can anyone say they haven't hit their stride? They have battled most nights and had more comeback wins then any recent Ranger team (not an official stat, but from memory). They are never going to win out a whole season. I think all in all, this product is officially the best we could ask for with what we knew we had, #2 in the league and have beat #3 twice recently. All of this with SIGNIFICANT injuries up and down the lineup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Br4d Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 We've beaten Boston twice, Detroit twice, Philadelphia, Vancouver and LA. The only top teams we haven't beaten are Vegas and Toronto and we're getting another chance against the Leafs on Tuesday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 1 G in 15 games isn't a small sample though. He's had chances, it's bad puck luck, he looks better, sure. 1 in 15 is bad for a big stretch for a team going into last night tied with 2 other teams for 2nd from the worst in the league in 5x5 G's. You could just as easily say shit he was being carried by Panarin and Tro since day one. Not saying either one is the sole issue imo. The longer it goes on without some consistent production the bigger the issue becomes. Continuing to be crap @ 5x5 leads to a fun regular season and odds of coming up short in the end. Also see: Another year of overpassing. Of course they're being carried by being 2nd in the league in PP goals, again. We can also start other threads to say whatabout this other guy....but this one is Lafs. Let's go kid it looks like you did the work, now get back to finishing the chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Br4d Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 It's a really big scoring drought for Laffy at this point. It has put him back near his historical goal-scoring pace and given this is his 4th season that's a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 2 hours ago, jsm7302 said: I mean they started out the gate pretty well and I'd say at 21-7-1, how can anyone say they haven't hit their stride? They have battled most nights and had more comeback wins then any recent Ranger team (not an official stat, but from memory). They are never going to win out a whole season. I think all in all, this product is officially the best we could ask for with what we knew we had, #2 in the league and have beat #3 twice recently. All of this with SIGNIFICANT injuries up and down the lineup. You can't always pay attention to the record, and I was always saying it during the GG era. They still need to improve their five on five scoring. Also, even a lot of the players like Miller admitted that they could be playing better. The headline is that they are inconsistent despite the record. They need to be consistent in their effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted December 17, 2023 Share Posted December 17, 2023 Sometimes it's not always about production. The line itself is producing. It's sustaining tons of pressure and getting lots of chances. Lafrenière is apart of all of what is good about that line. He's not an issue what so ever. Much like Wheeler isn't a problem on line 1. It's working. Leave it be and it will only improve. A lot of us gave Kakko a pass for playing the right way and showing improvement despite the lack of production. Lafrenière is mostly doing everything we wanted. I'd rather he play better hockey than put up the empty stats like he did in the past. This is stuff I mentioned last year. He lead the team in ES goals last year, but played dogshit hockey. He wasn't good. He's good NOW and may still only put up mediocre 3rd liner type of point totals... But he's playing better. This version of Lafrenière is what we want. He's very, very serviceable right now. Oh course I want him scoring more, but it isn't an issue I want to make a big deal about. If he was doing absolutely nothing, I'd have an issue. He's not a sinking anchor. Then again I did see him do his pussy bitch curl along the boards upon entry move 2 games ago.. Fuck it. Trade him . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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