Disrespected

[Steve]

I live outside of New York.  I'm a news junky and a long time Ranger fan since 1971 when we got cable TV in our Long Island community.  I've subscribed to one version of NHL hockey or another over the years so I can watch the Rangers when they play.  This year I've watched the Rangers storm through the season, overcome adversity with injuries to top players, and I've been a critic on this board - rightly or wrongly (probably mostly wrongly); I've watched personal and team records be attained nightly, especially as of this past week.  Yet, with all of the things happening, the only "top of the fold" coverage the Rangers seem to get nationally involves the fights Rempe has or the team had against New Jersey the other night. 

 

In all of my years of watching the Rangers this is the first year where I feel that the national sports media is missing the stories and disrespecting my team - the number one team in the NHL.  Today I scrolled through Google Sports after a milestone win and more personal records were set last night.  There were articles on the Bruins, Blackhawks, Capitals, Devils, Islanders, Red Wings, Flyers, Avalanche and the Blues to name a few teams.  There were article on Carlson, Wyatt Johnston, Tortorella, Werenski, to name a few players/coaches.  They all deserve some attention, but I could not find a single article on the Rangers team or players until I scrolled all the way down past the other "top stories."  Yahoo Sports was a little better, but not by much, today.  AP Sports had two Ranger articles as numbers 3 and 4 of their top stories after the Stars, Blues and Predators.  The Score had nothing on the Rangers except for a short video of the great Zibanejad to Panarin goal from last night.  In fact, this year I have to google the Rangers just to get summaries of most games along with players' and coachs' quotes, etc. from the local New York papers.  But the coverage of the other teams - teams with losing records and their players - has been abundant to the point of nauseating.

 

Over the years the number one team in the NHL, their players and their coaches, were covered as top stories regardless of the news source.  Not this year; and it is really pissing me off.  This is the Rangers year.  From the front office to the bench, lines one to four, defensive pairings from one to three, goalies one and two, and healthy scratches whoever they may be. As the season winds down they are getting little to no respect for their accomplishments.  And it pisses me off.

 

I'll take the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup this year but mostly what I want is for the Rangers to stomp the shit out of their opponents along the way.  And, as they are doing the stomping, I want them to do the "Muhammed Ali to Ernie Terrell" shuffle on the press by asking "what's my name" as they pummel their opponents.  

 

 

[Flynn]

The Canes media love affair is about reach critical mass

[Ozzy]

I'm actually digging the "underdog" mentality this year @Steve.  All the times we were picked to win, so to speak...I think it puts unnecessary pressure on a team.

 

All I know is that there are going to be a TON of "analysts", and critics that are going to have to kiss our sweet asses when we turn the corner down the Canyon Of Heroes this June!

 

I wouldn't sweat it my man.  I like being the "Worst kept secret that everyone knows, but won't admit".  Hang tough my brutha!!

[LindG1000]

I think it's actually really simple. We're not news-worth right now. We've been in the playoffs since St Patricks Day, and the WC2 in the East is a war. Same for the Central.

 

The Rangers win again is a ho-hum story that's been told 53 times and counting. We'll be briefly newsworthy later this week when we set the franchise win record, then clinch the division, conference, and Presidents Trophy, and then it's going to be a wave of stories about how we're going to be a hard out for anyone.

 

 

 

[RichieNextel305]

23 minutes ago, Flynn said:

The Canes media love affair is about reach critical mass

I think it’s absurd. The reasoning is they’ve paid their dues, learned their lesson and are ready to roll.

 

Can’t the same be said about the Rangers though?

[Pete]

Pretty sure Google Sports is personalized using search algo, so if you don't see Rangers news it's because you're not Googling enough. 

 

Boston is the 2nd best team in the NHL and they get the same treatment.

 

That said, 32 Thoughts spent some time on how Panarin is criminally under mentioned in MVP convos. 

[Bugg]

Doesn't matter. What they do in the playoffs matters.

 

Team blew 2-0 series leads 2 years running. It's hard to do statistically, 2 years back to back, fosters doubt. Could blame Gallant for not having a plan, but again, details. It's why they're getting no respect right now. Gallant what ever his failings wasn't on ice for that, these core guys were. 

 

Last night, even against a weak sister, was very positive. Didn't get frustrated by a young goalie styming them for 30 minutes, and then their big guns did the job. Panarin is a beast, Laffy is a player, Troceck a great season, Kreider and Mika appear to be waking up; all good. Like to think the Devils series last May plays out very differently with Laviolette, but that's hopeful speculation. Do know when they get a lead this season they go 1-3-1 alot, even if it's not 100% foolproof. 

 

Larry Brooks and everyone elese  can write articles all day celebrating crybaby Crosby and badmouthing Ovechkin. It's details that don't matter .

 

16 wins. Starting in about 2 weeks throught summer. That's it. 

Edited April 8 by Bugg

[LindG1000]

6 minutes ago, Bugg said:

Doesn't matter. What they do in the playoffs matters.

 

Team blew 2-0 series leads 2 years running. It's hard to do statistically, 2 years back to back, fosters doubt. Could blame Gallant for not having a plan, but again, details. It's why they're getting no respect right now. Gallant what ever his failings wasn't on ice for that, these core guys were. 

 

Last night, even against a weak sister, was very positive. Didn't get frustrated by a young goalie styming them for 30 minutes, and then their big guns did the job. Panarin is a beast, Laffy is a player, Troceck a great season, Kreider and Mika appear to be waking up; all good. Like to think the Devils series last May plays out very differently with Laviolette, but that's hopeful speculation. Do know when they get a lead this season they go 1-3-1 alot, even if it's not 100% foolproof. 

 

Larry Brooks and everyone elese  can write articles all day celebrating crybaby Crosby and badmouthing Ovechkin. It's details that don't matter .

 

16 wins. Starting in about 2 weeks throught summer. That's it. 

 

I think the difference a coach makes is absolutely screaming at us at this point. And let me tell ya, this crow? Fantastic. I was a straight-up detractor of the Laviolette hire, and man, he deserves so much credit for the work he did this year. He helped unlock beast-mode Panarin, he figured out Lafreniere, he seamlessly integrated multiple rookies and new faces (like, we haven't even talked about Will Cuylle's extraordinary rookie year!), he's got the bottom 6 working well, he's even starting to help Kakko crack the code. And the things you're listing - the not getting frustrated by a hot goalie, the blown series leads, the structure? That's coaching, mate.

 

[Br4d]

The Rangers have had this going on at least since '21-'22.

 

I remember watching games that year on the national networks where it felt like the analysts were all unhappy when the Rangers won a game.  It was like we'd win and the analysts would be totally chapped afterwards talking about how the Rangers power play and Igor were the only reasons the team was winning.

 

Last year we loaded up at the deadline and then fell flat on our faces, so I understand the skepticism there but this has been going on longer than that.

 

I think the NHL should look at the TV contracts and see who could be jettisoned from the broadcast teams with no harm done.  Ray Ferraro is a joke and should definitely be canned.

[jsm7302]

Disrespect us, doubt us.....that's the fuel that keeps them running. I love it. Call or disrespect or whatever but don't start rolling out the red carpet for this team who has A LOT to prove after last year's train wreck. Put the rest on pedestals so we can knock em down. Love it.

[Pete]

25 minutes ago, Br4d said:

talking about how the Rangers power play and Igor were the only reasons the team was winning.

It was the truth.

[RodrigueGabriel]

Head down, focused, eyes on the prize. Doesn't matter what anyone else is saying. 

[Abe Froman]

54 minutes ago, Br4d said:

The Rangers have had this going on at least since '21-'22.

 

I remember watching games that year on the national networks where it felt like the analysts were all unhappy when the Rangers won a game.  It was like we'd win and the analysts would be totally chapped afterwards talking about how the Rangers power play and Igor were the only reasons the team was winning.

 

Last year we loaded up at the deadline and then fell flat on our faces, so I understand the skepticism there but this has been going on longer than that.

 

I think the NHL should look at the TV contracts and see who could be jettisoned from the broadcast teams with no harm done.  Ray Ferraro is a joke and should definitely be canned.

Absolutely. His bias against the Rangers is very obvious. Get rid of that clown Subban too.

Edited April 8 by Abe Froman

[Albatrosss]

does it really matter what coverage this team gets?  How cares? IF anyone would sleep better at night knowing that there's one or two more articles about the rangers success, then you gotta get your priorities straight.   See like @RodrigueGabriel!  Be like @RodrigueGabriel!

[RodrigueGabriel]

3 hours ago, Albatrosss said:

does it really matter what coverage this team gets?  How cares? IF anyone would sleep better at night knowing that there's one or two more articles about the rangers success, then you gotta get your priorities straight.   See like @RodrigueGabriel!  Be like @RodrigueGabriel!

My wife, who thinks I have the attention span of a puff of smoke in a tornado, got a good chuckle out of this.

Edited April 8 by RodrigueGabriel

[Sharpshooter]

I felt like last season everyone was kissing their ass saying they're a real contender, they'll make a deep run, they're a big threat, etc. They get dumped in the first round. This year, well, we know what they've done and this is their most complete team in a long time, but now they are frauds. lol But generally, there has almost always been anti-Ranger bias in national broadcasts. It's New York, it's New York City, a lot of people don't like any of that, including the announcers. I've always said the only people who like the Rangers are Rangers fans.

 

These TV personalities are just talking heads that feed the easily brainwashed. If you actually really watched this team (or any team, really), you would know the real story. If you take everything Spittin' Chicklets says at face value, then yeah, you're really not paying attention whether they actually like the Rangers or not.

[RodrigueGabriel]

17 hours ago, Albatrosss said:

does it really matter what coverage this team gets?  How cares? IF anyone would sleep better at night knowing that there's one or two more articles about the rangers success, then you gotta get your priorities straight.   See like @RodrigueGabriel!  Be like @RodrigueGabriel!

I've just been hugely impressed and generally over-the-moon happy with how focused and no-bullshit the whole team has been so far. They're saying and doing all the right things and, frankly, it feels very un-Rangerlike to me. I'm basically terrified that any ripple in the hockey cosmos will throw them out of the balance that they've kept for the vast majority of the season. If expectations have been low all year, they're at the right level because the team has achieved the right result.

 

Dom L at the Athletic pisses me off as much or more than anybody else and I have to go to the basement after I read his weekly power rankings to scream profane insults at the wall. (Like two weeks ago, they had the Rangers 7th?) While it genuinely pisses me off that he's wrong and his model blows donkey-dick, it has been part of the fabric all year - if not through the entire rebuild. Thus, it is a component of the general gestalt and overall groove that has gotten the team to this point and I don't want it to change.

 

I do think there is an anti-Ranger bias around the league that stems from a team that has outsized fan representation in every arena that is hugely annoying to the home team, is always lauded for its "rich history" as an Original 6 team, and gets waaayy too much attention for having only won ONE STANLEY CUP in the nearly 60 years of the modern era of the NHL. I think among the broad hockey media there is a general feeling that Rangers have good and bad waves over time but they're really probably not going to win the Cup. Their record argues against investing a lot of predictive capital in them.

 

Fuck 'em, because something special was afoot in '94 and proved that it could happen. I'm getting those vibes much more this time around than in '14. So, steady as she goes.

 

This post does, however, remind me of my old girlfriend shrieking "don't tell me how to feel!"  

[Kick save and a beauty]

None of the self styled experts had the Rangers in the elite group of teams before the season began.  None of them.  Those self same experts have been using confirmation bias ever since and greeted every dip in form, no matter how minor of short-lived, as a way to show that they were right all along and that the Rangers are a fluke.

 

Unless we go to the conference finals at least, the same folks will continue with the narrative that the record is not really what the record is and the Rangers finally revealed their true selves by losing.

 

Otherwise they might have to actually admit that they were wrong.

 

As others have said, the team should embrace the underdog label and use it to go out and prove a point. 

[Br4d]

The Rangers were in the out-crowd back in the day when the NHL was totally corrupt and favoring 3 teams over the other 3.  That's never really changed because in Toronto they still have one foot stuck in that tradition.

[Long live the King]

21 hours ago, Br4d said:

The Rangers have had this going on at least since '21-'22.

 

I remember watching games that year on the national networks where it felt like the analysts were all unhappy when the Rangers won a game.  It was like we'd win and the analysts would be totally chapped afterwards talking about how the Rangers power play and Igor were the only reasons the team was winning.

 

Last year we loaded up at the deadline and then fell flat on our faces, so I understand the skepticism there but this has been going on longer than that.

 

I think the NHL should look at the TV contracts and see who could be jettisoned from the broadcast teams with no harm done.  Ray Ferraro is a joke and should definitely be canned.

 

You've said all year the team isn't good and is just luckily winning 1 goal games.

[siddious]

Can’t be disrespected when you’re skating around the ice with lord Stanley’s cup. That’s all that should matter at this point. 

[Br4d]

57 minutes ago, Long live the King said:

 

You've said all year the team isn't good and is just luckily winning 1 goal games.

 

The Rangers have gotten a tremendous amount of puck luck this year.  They're also the best team going into the playoffs.

 

Both things can be true.

[Pete]

There are people on this board who predicted this team wouldn't make the playoffs, so there's that.

 

Anti-Ranger bias would be the pundits either openly shitting on the Rangers (some are, but not many), or sitting in room discussing how to shit on them or plotting to exclude Panarin from MVP voting etc.

 

There is no anti-Rangers bias. A lot of the media just thinks other teams are either better, or have better storylines, so that's what they focus on. The Rangers are a no-drama team. They didn't buy big at the deadline. Their coach is even keel. The highest profile stories are Panarin and the resurgence of Quick, and that stuff is a *yawn* nationally.

 

Just because it's important to Rangers (fans) doesn't mean it's a top headline in a sport where we have a guy pushing 70G and another pushing 100A, Torts doing Torts things, etc.

[Pete]

11 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

The Rangers have gotten a tremendous amount of puck luck this year.  They're also the best team going into the playoffs.

 

Both things can be true.

Weren't you in another thread bitching at me about how I don't back my stances up with data (laughable, BTW), but here you are...Talking about puck luck. Please quantify that.

[Br4d]

7 minutes ago, Pete said:

Weren't you in another thread bitching at me about how I don't back my stances up with data (laughable, BTW), but here you are...Talking about puck luck. Please quantify that.

 

One goal wins vs losses.

Games won when the other team scores first.

Third period comebacks.

 

The numbers say the Rangers have been one of the luckiest teams in Rangers history.