GDT [RS #69] Rangers vs Winnipeg Jets — Nice Game

[Vodka Drunkenski]

If Rempe not being in the lineup is the reason we lost, then we have serious problems.

 

We lost because we played into their game and didn’t adjust.  We lost because we didn’t score on any of our big chances in the first.  We lost because we had 2 of our defensemen out. We lost because of a lazy turnover and lazy back checking.  With all of that, we were still a few inches away from tying it late.

Edited March 20 by Vodka Drunkenski

[Dunny]

That's almost certainly accurate, and a great synopsis, but it would be sweet to have the skull crusher crushing skulls.

[fletch]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

Who said they kept him out of the lineup to make a point? Nobody. Just fans. Maybe they kept him out of the lineup because they won three of four games without him?

 

Sorry but Rempe playing 6 minutes a night before getting kicked out is not the key to success for this team. They are more than capable of winning without him.

 

As far as what's going on in Philly, I'll take the team that's been in first in the Metro and top five in the league all season and not be impressed by a team that's struggling to make a wild card because they scratch their captain. 

 

Your quote pulls missed the part where Couturier was asked if it was communicated to him what he needs to do to get back into the lineup, and he said no. The staff didn't say anything to him other than "be better". That's not top notch coaching. And I'm a Torts fan.

 

No, I don't envy the Flyers because they're so cool they scratch their captain. 

I'm sorry you missed the main points of my post.  Over the years the Rangers have treated the young players different than the veterans.  Players like Laf, Kakko, Rempe have had TOI cut and/or healthy scratches because of play not meeting standards.  Vets like Kreider, Zib, Panarin, Trocheck, have largely escaped having TOI cut, or getting dropped from PP1 to PP2 or off the other power play, or other playing time consequences that would get their attention.  It's most important for your core veterans (especially those with 'A' on their chest) to set the standard of play and an example for the young players.

 

Torts has done an amazing job to have the Flyers in third place.  

 

I've isolated the main points of the Torts quote for emphasis on my point(s) below.

 

 

"For me, I don't care the name, the stature, veteran, especially this time of year," Tortorella said.  "I need him to be better, that's all."

 

The contrast I am drawing between Philadelphia and the Rangers is 

1. Tortorella is holding all players to his standard - he's not letting stars, veterans, or players with the most TOI get a free pass if their play doesn't meet standards.

2. Tortorella expects better from a player, so that player is a clean scratch.  He knows that Couturier is going to be key for the playoff push - so the time for corrective action is during the regular season.

Edited March 20 by fletch
typo

[Bugg]

1 hour ago, Dunny said:

That's almost certainly accurate, and a great synopsis, but it would be sweet to have the skull crusher crushing skulls.

Having Rempe plant his cro magnon frame in front of Hellybuck might have been the difference. Missing the  2 most physical D didn't help, though the defense wasn't bad. 

 

But if 20 and 93 want to have lovely open skate nights and prettiest pass competitions when the playoffs starts , this team will be in trouble. The stars have to play with some urgency. We've seen Panarin get that. These 2 well-paid numbskulls still disappear for long stretches. And disappearing would have been preferable to whatever the fuck Kreider was doing on that giveaway. Know their stats look nice, but it's not nearly enough. 

Edited March 20 by Bugg

[Ozzy]

1 hour ago, Vodka Drunkenski said:

If Rempe not being in the lineup is the reason we lost, then we have serious problems.

 

We lost because we played into their game and didn’t adjust.  We lost because we didn’t score on any of our big chances in the first.  We lost because we had 2 of our defensemen out. We lost because of a lazy turnover and lazy back checking.  With all of that, we were still a few inches away from tying it late.

 

...and there you have it, kids!

 

I wanted to see Rempe for selfish reasons!  LOL  I love the kid, but Vodka's right; he's not the reason we lost.  Would he have helped?  Who knows!

 

We had a stinker of a 2nd period and the effort wasn't "top notch" on more than a few plays.  We were literally 3 inches from sending it to OT in a game I feel we very little business being in, after the 2nd period.

 

What's lost in the sauce here is that Igor held us in there, making some huge saves to keep it at 3-1.  I thought it easily could've been 5-1 or even 6-1.

[Sharpshooter]

He should have played because he's Matt fucking Rempe with arms that are eight feet long and a pin cushion for a face.

[Albatrosss]

Seems like this team cant beat anyone good lately. But apart from Casual Kreider and a long-haired freak, team played fairly well. 

[phillyb]

3 minutes ago, Albatrosss said:

Seems like this team cant beat anyone good lately. But apart from Casual Kreider and a long-haired freak, team played fairly well. 

 

Losing to FLA, TBL, and WPG all within a 2-3 week period does indeed suck. They did beat CAR in that time span as well, but even with that small sample, you're right. Next two games are real important - BOS and FLA again. 

[Bugg]

3 minutes ago, Albatrosss said:

Seems like this team cant beat anyone good lately. But apart from Casual Kreider and a long-haired freak, team played fairly well. 

Still despite playing stupidly for stretches, they're in these games. Had a lead in the early 3rd period in Tampa, were an inch from tying it last night. Which is why the lack of focus by some of the players is so infuriating; they're right there. 

[Sharpshooter]

It's a game of inches. This stuff happens in the league. It is not Rangers exclusive. lol

[Albatrosss]

3 minutes ago, phillyb said:

 

Losing to FLA, TBL, and WPG all within a 2-3 week period does indeed suck. They did beat CAR in that time span as well, but even with that small sample, you're right. Next two games are real important - BOS and FLA again. 

Very important for their confidence but i wouldnt hold my breath with two of our top D out. It will take a lot of effort and Igor swinging his dick to get wins there. 

[Albatrosss]

2 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

It's a game of inches. This stuff happens in the league. It is not Rangers exclusive. lol

This post does not soothe me. It pisses me off. 

[phillyb]

FWIW - I'm not getting down on the team, just elaborating on the point that they're not beating good teams rn. 

[RangersIn7]

8 minutes ago, phillyb said:

FWIW - I'm not getting down on the team, just elaborating on the point that they're not beating good teams rn. 

They just beat Carolina, in Carolina , 1-0.

[RangersIn7]

18 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

It's a game of inches. This stuff happens in the league. It is not Rangers exclusive. lol

They played well last night. Had 40 shots and some grade A chances last night. Hellebuyck was excellent.

 

[Br4d]

4 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

They just beat Carolina, in Carolina , 1-0.

 

Igor beat Carolina in Carolina 1-0.  We know he can do that from time to time.

[phillyb]

10 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

They just beat Carolina, in Carolina , 1-0.

 

Buddy, I know. Here's a recap of the conversation you're getting involved in:

 

36 minutes ago, Albatrosss said:

Seems like this team cant beat anyone good lately. But apart from Casual Kreider and a long-haired freak, team played fairly well. 

 

31 minutes ago, phillyb said:

 

Losing to FLA, TBL, and WPG all within a 2-3 week period does indeed suck. They did beat CAR in that time span as well, but even with that small sample, you're right. Next two games are real important - BOS and FLA again. 

 

[Pete]

1 hour ago, fletch said:

I'm sorry you missed the main points of my post.  Over the years the Rangers have treated the young players different than the veterans.  Players like Laf, Kakko, Rempe have had TOI cut and/or healthy scratches because of play not meeting standards.  Vets like Kreider, Zib, Panarin, Trocheck, have largely escaped having TOI cut, or getting dropped from PP1 to PP2 or off the other power play, or other playing time consequences that would get their attention.  It's most important for your core veterans (especially those with 'A' on their chest) to set the standard of play and an example for the young players.

 

Torts has done an amazing job to have the Flyers in third place.  

 

I've isolated the main points of the Torts quote for emphasis on my point(s) below.

 

 

"For me, I don't care the name, the stature, veteran, especially this time of year," Tortorella said.  "I need him to be better, that's all."

 

The contrast I am drawing between Philadelphia and the Rangers is 

1. Tortorella is holding all players to his standard - he's not letting stars, veterans, or players with the most TOI get a free pass if their play doesn't meet standards.

2. Tortorella expects better from a player, so that player is a clean scratch.  He knows that Couturier is going to be key for the playoff push - so the time for corrective action is during the regular season.

You single out the Rangers for something every team does.

 

Yes, the standards for rookies are different than they are for veterans, as it should be. If you were at your job for 15 years, you wouldn't want to be treated like you've only been there for 15 days, would you?

 

Veterans have a body of work to lean on and that buys them a little extra leeway if they make a bad play or don't bring a certain level of effort every 10th game. 

 

I think it's rather ridiculous to expect players with 100 games to be treated the same as players with 1,000 games. 

 

Tortorella isn't coaching a veteran team. He's coaching a young team that sprinkled with vets. This is a veteran team that sprinkled with youngsters. It's not apples to apples.

 

 

Edited March 20 by Pete

[RichieNextel305]

I am in no way advocating I want the Rangers to slide out of the division lead, but would it really be the end of times? The top seed in each division is shooting for the 1 seed overall in the East, since the 2 gets you a likely date with Tampa. And again, you need to beat good teams to get where you want to go. But finishing 2 in the Metro gets you a date with one of PHI/WSH/NYI in Round 1. May not be the worst thing. I hate to be the “go the easiest route” person but I wouldn’t be all that mad. Obviously I’d rather just get the 1 seed overall and beat up on the WC2. But the 2 seed in the division may be a better situation.

[fletch]

With the remaining games in the regular season, the Rangers can work to be playing the right way entering the post-season - let's say the last 5 games of the regular season are the most important.  They can also maximize their home ice by finishing in the standings as high as possible. 

 

Our last meaningful data point is the Devils series in the playoffs.   Laviolette's main job is to help the Rangers more consistently achieve deep playoff runs, a failure of his predecessors.  I'm pointing the finger at Kreider and Zib.  A likely first round playoff opponent is the Lighting.  With what I've seen with Kreider and Zib in the Devils series and so far this year, I don't see us beating the Lightning with K & Z playing level from last year's post-season.  If we can't get Kreider and Zib to raise their game significantly in the playoffs, it's going to be a short post-season.  They failed in the Devils series, and we won't have another data point until this year's postseason.  If the coaches don't demand more from them, by default their performance is deemed acceptable.  And as leaders if their performance is acceptable, every other player can measure their own compete level against what is acceptable from the leaders.

[LindG1000]

9 minutes ago, RichieNextel305 said:

I am in no way advocating I want the Rangers to slide out of the division lead, but would it really be the end of times? The top seed in each division is shooting for the 1 seed overall in the East, since the 2 gets you a likely date with Tampa. And again, you need to beat good teams to get where you want to go. But finishing 2 in the Metro gets you a date with one of PHI/WSH/NYI in Round 1. May not be the worst thing. I hate to be the “go the easiest route” person but I wouldn’t be all that mad. Obviously I’d rather just get the 1 seed overall and beat up on the WC2. But the 2 seed in the division may be a better situation.

 

Picking your opponent by losing is a fools errand. We might like the round 1 opponent better, but you're getting the "easiest" R1 opponent by just winning games anyway. And that comes with the added benefit of more home games. I'll take that any day.

[Br4d]

10 minutes ago, RichieNextel305 said:

I am in no way advocating I want the Rangers to slide out of the division lead, but would it really be the end of times? The top seed in each division is shooting for the 1 seed overall in the East, since the 2 gets you a likely date with Tampa. And again, you need to beat good teams to get where you want to go. But finishing 2 in the Metro gets you a date with one of PHI/WSH/NYI in Round 1. May not be the worst thing. I hate to be the “go the easiest route” person but I wouldn’t be all that mad. Obviously I’d rather just get the 1 seed overall and beat up on the WC2. But the 2 seed in the division may be a better situation.

 

If the Rangers finish in the 2 slot after leading all season it will seem like they are playing at their worst headed into the playoffs.  I'd rather avoid that and get the Lightning in round 1.

[Scott]

They've strung a lot of wins together recently with Igor playing at a level we hadn't seen much earlier this season. The win in Carolina was huge. They've also  played some middle to bottom feeders and have struggled against some of the better teams. Most nights still searching for a 60 minute or close to it. They're once again being carried by primarily Igors hot hand and Quick. Along with a small handful of guys on offense who are much less consistent as a whole especially at even strength. Minus one line who's carried them for most of the season. Stinks that we still see some games when they look to have less interest than whoever they are playing. It's not the end of the world and I hope they can find the killer instinct of keeping their foot on the other teams throat rather than mailing games in or playing down to the level of the other team. The jets were good, have great goaltending so I'm not specifically talking about the opponent last night. I think IF the Rangers can bring it every game come playoff time they may just control their own destiny. If some of their top players decide they're going to have ugly games then they may find themselves at the mercy of other teams. 

[LindG1000]

Also, we really need to stop overreacting to every loss. 

 

We're a GREAT team. We've won nearly twice as many games as we've lost. We're right there with Florida, Carolina, Winnipeg, Colorado, and Vancouver (fuck off, Boston and your 29 losses and your 15 fugazi ass loser points). You can't not play the full 60 against these teams and expect to win, and Winnipeg played an excellent game. Hellebuyck was great, they had sticks in the lanes, and they defended brilliantly for most of the game. We did not play our best game last night, but it's nothing to overly concern ourselves with. 

 

Rest up, play a full 60 against Boston, and start gearing up for a long playoff run.  

 

 

[Scott]

13 minutes ago, LindG1000 said:

 

Picking your opponent by losing is a fools errand. We might like the round 1 opponent better, but you're getting the "easiest" R1 opponent by just winning games anyway. And that comes with the added benefit of more home games. I'll take that any day.

This! It's also not like you're strategically choosing to lose ground it's you're being outplayed. Your destiny is in your own hands and you were up what 6? pts not too many games ago. I would rather the go in blazing hot controlling their own destiny. 

 

Do disagree you can't play a full 60,although it doesn't guarantee a win, you're not going to win them all regardless. But taking stretches off sometimes entire periods shouldn't happen imo. 

Edited March 20 by Scott