Tomas Sandstrom

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! LET'S GO RANGERS!

So Jealous!!! I hear Elmo Rocks

You know, it's not unprecedented to have a Knicks game and a Rangers game at MSG on the same day, one around Noon / 1, and the other at night. Not saying that would happen, just saying potentially it could.

For the run we had 2 years ago, Before bed, I always had my daughter (at the time, 10), help me out with the "Let's Go Rangers" chant...she loves doing the "Ch, Ch, Ch-Ch-Ch" part between the words.

Degeneration X always gets it done...especially now with HHH in charge

Dare I say that the Rangers this year sort of remind me of when the Yankees swapped Buck Showalter for Joe Torre. The Yanks were good in '94 (strike year cancelled playoffs / WS) and '95 (lost to Seattle in Best of 5), but then when Joe took over, things just clicked. Sometimes the right leader can join an already good team and help them achieve greatness.

RJ Wants The Cup!

Hang in there, Ozzy...one way or another, this will all be over soon

This is negotiation...why wouldn't Pittsburgh ask for the moon? Doesn't mean the Rangers will pay it.... Deadlines make deals...often times, teams don't make their best (and final) offers until we get close to the actual deadline... Would love to see Guetzel added, he's a pain in the butt to play against...I thought he was Pittsburgh's best player not named Sid in our series a few years ago...The guy can score and he knows how to win. The way I view what gets traded away in deadline deals are in a many ways shaded by the results. For instance, I never thought the Rangers gave up "too much" in '94, even though they gave up (what turned out to be) good / great players. They won the cup. Nothing else matters. I kind of feel same way this year...if they go on to win the cup, I don't care what they gave up. Of course, no one can see into the future. If they go out in Round 1, and end up giving up a young guy who goes on to be a star, it will sting. In general, I trust Drury to make the right move(s) here. I think he probably has learned a thing or 2 from the past few trade deadlines, and all that experience should come into play.

That's not so bad, as I can think of a few things which would have been worse resting against your chin...

Don't know why I ever doubted Vodka Drunkenski....you were right all along, good sir!

Hot Damn, we should have a multi page thread about "the kids" before every game!

Agreed...and that's why I say please don't lump all 3 "kids" in the same boat. I think Chytil is way more in the "he is what he is" category, than the other 2. Chytil also was 18th overall selection in his draft. Still a (relatively) high pick, but not the same as 1 or 2 overall.

One more thought... A lot of times, it's not about ability, rather it's about atmosphere, coaching, and ultimately, confidence. I am having a real hard time trying to determine if these guys just can't score consistently, or if there are other factors at play here. I'm honestly not sure. Because they have had opportunities on the top lines, and they really didn't produce consistently. But, at the same time, all the yo-yoing between lines has to also mess with confidence, especially in young players. I am holding out hope that before this season is over, we see some sparks. Preferably in the playoffs. Hoping this line stays together, keeps working hard, and has some sustained success as the Rangers battle through the playoffs. I think we all sort of viewed Chytil differently after his strong playoffs last year. And we've seen some flashes also this year, but not as consistently as we'd like. Hoping we get similar from Kak and/or Laf this year. Confidence is crucial to build towards consistent success.

I hear ya, this is my internal struggle also. The way I see it, once they fired JD and Gorton, to me, that signaled the end of the build and the start of "Win Now". In Win Now mode, by definition, you do not prioritize developing the kids and putting them in the best position to grow. Does that totally excuse the lack of goal scoring from 1OA, 2OA, and 18OA picks? No. However, to say it has nothing to do with it is also not correct. The truth lies somewhere in between. Fact: If they had more PP time, and 1st or 2nd line minutes, they would probably score more. Also Fact: The way this team is currently built, and given that they are aiming to win the cup this year, they are not being asked to carry Line 1 or 2 scoring burden. Now, you can argue all day about this or that, but these are the facts. At the end of the day, I come back to the fact that these are still 21 (LAF) and just turned 22 year old (Kakko) kids. We've seen more bursts of scoring from Chytil, but he's also older with more time. And he was the old whipping boy until he had those hot steaks. Now it's just Kak and Laf getting whipping boy treatment. I agree that you want more from 1 and 2 overall picks. But, at least for the next year or 2, there's still time, still room to grow and improve. I think the prudent course of action is to be patient, take what you can get from them through the end of this season, and let's see what happens next year. Personally, I hope all 3 kids remain on the team, at least into next year, and I hope they get expanded roles next year to see if they can grow. I am hoping being around guys like Vlad and Kane, will rub off and they learn a thing or 2 about goal scoring.