2021-22 Reports From the Rink

[BrooksBurner]

58 minutes ago, Pete said:

At 5v5 the Rangers are 18th in goal differential and 23rd in goals for.

 

That's not advanced stats. 

 

That's the Rangers having a great PP and sucking at 5v5 and everything else is Igor. 

Even if true about 5v5, so what? They are a wash at 5v5. Literally (0 goal diff). So if it’s a coin flip at 5v5, but they’re special teams and goalie are awesome, I think I like our chances. They find ways to win, which is largely what happens in the playoffs. I think @Keirik even showed that PP opps haven’t even been changing much in the playoffs. They have beaten the even strength kings in the Panthers two out of three. They have beaten Tampa twice. Split with Toronto. The Colorado games hardly count when they had to play less than quality backups in Huska and Georgiev. Carolina was their clunker of the group so far, in terms of games against legit Cup contenders. Maybe I’m forgetting one or two games, IIRC they sucked against Vegas. 

 

I dunno. I mean there’s truth behind what you’re saying. No denying that. They don’t blow you away 5v5, but they don’t bend over and give it up either. I just don’t see it as a big problem when they got some pretty big checkboxes you need in close games.

[BrooksBurner]

1 hour ago, Long live the King said:

Gauthier doesn't "deserve" shit.  Carolina gave up on him.  Two coaches here haven't put him in the top 6. 

 

AHL allstar, NHL nobody.  That's Gauthier.

He wasn’t even an AHL allstar. But he did know how to score goals. He has gotten himself in position enough to probably have 10+ goals this year. He has 3. Disappointing to say the least.

 

I would contend the finishing touch is in there somewhere and can come out at any time, maybe a late bloomer. I would also concede that the Rangers can hardly afford to wait any more to see if it happens, if there is clearly a better option to be had at a good price on the market. This is very much the same boat as Chytil.

 

At the same time, nobody is going to convince me that guys like McKegg or Hunt have actually outplayed Gauthier out of a spot. They’ve all managed to fail to produce. The only difference is Gauthier might have more to give. The others don’t.

[josh]

Omg I can't wait to mock fucking ugly ass mckegg carrying around the cup in a Rangers sweater 

[Pete]

37 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

Even if true about 5v5, so what? They are a wash at 5v5. Literally (0 goal diff). So if it’s a coin flip at 5v5, but they’re special teams and goalie are awesome, I think I like our chances. They find ways to win, which is largely what happens in the playoffs. I think @Keirik even showed that PP opps haven’t even been changing much in the playoffs. They have beaten the even strength kings in the Panthers two out of three. They have beaten Tampa twice. Split with Toronto. The Colorado games hardly count when they had to play less than quality backups in Huska and Georgiev. Carolina was their clunker of the group so far, in terms of games against legit Cup contenders. Maybe I’m forgetting one or two games, IIRC they sucked against Vegas. 

 

I dunno. I mean there’s truth behind what you’re saying. No denying that. They don’t blow you away 5v5, but they don’t bend over and give it up either. I just don’t see it as a big problem when they got some pretty big checkboxes you need in close games.

Go look at the 5v5 stats of every other team in their peer group. They're the outlier. 

 

If 2 games against Avs don't mean shit because we dressed Geo and Huska, then 2 games against Tampa don't mean shit when they dressed Elliot and Vassy off the clap. 

[Keirik]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Go look at the 5v5 stats of every other team in their peer group. They're the outlier. 

 

If 2 games against Avs don't mean shit because we dressed Geo and Huska, then 2 games against Tampa don't mean shit when they dressed Elliot and Vassy off the clap. 

Nope. You don’t get two kicks at the can. You can’t use the backup excuse then use the starter excuse because Zibanejad torched him that game.
 

 

[BrooksBurner]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Go look at the 5v5 stats of every other team in their peer group. They're the outlier. 

 

If 2 games against Avs don't mean shit because we dressed Geo and Huska, then 2 games against Tampa don't mean shit when they dressed Elliot and Vassy off the clap. 

I have. If I saw different I would have said something. I agree they are bottom of the barrel at 5v5 production amongst playoff teams. Is that sucking? I dunno. Maybe? Not sure it matters to me how it’s labeled exactly.

 

The reason I don’t seem to care, when normally I would, is that logic would dictate that the wins and record are not sustainable as a result. But I don’t think that rings true here. The logical conclusion is a red herring. I think we have something that stats on paper cannot predict well enough.

 

I think what we have here is 2014 Rangers kind of stuff. There are a lot of parallels. That team was an outlier. That team was carried by a goalie. At 5v5, that team was only 17th in GF and a +12 goal diff. That team also had a mediocre PP (18%, 15th). I believe that team was a good PP away from a Cup. They had 22 PPs in 5 games in that Finals by the way. They scored twice. I don’t know how many other times I walked away from a Rangers season, kicking dirt, saying if only they had a PP. Sadness.

 

This year’s team can be “good enough” to get there like the 2014 Rangers were. They’ve got a good defensive group. They’ve got the ace in the hole goalie. The difference is they have better high end talent capable of stealing more games where they may otherwise be on their toes, and an absolutely lethal PP (26%, 3rd). This is ultimately why I want to see them go for it at the deadline. Do not squander this opportunity. Solidify the group. Go to war.

[BrooksBurner]

Also, don’t you want to see Strome lift the Cup in a Rangers sweater before he goes and gets paid in Ottawa on a contract we can’t afford?

[Keirik]

21 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

I have. If I saw different I would have said something. I agree they are bottom of the barrel at 5v5 production amongst playoff teams. Is that sucking? I dunno. Maybe? Not sure it matters to me how it’s labeled exactly.

 

The reason I don’t seem to care, when normally I would, is that logic would dictate that the wins and record are not sustainable as a result. But I don’t think that rings true here. The logical conclusion is a red herring. I think we have something that stats on paper cannot predict well enough.

 

I think what we have here is 2014 Rangers kind of stuff. There are a lot of parallels. That team was an outlier. That team was carried by a goalie. At 5v5, that team was only 17th in GF and a +12 goal diff. That team also had a mediocre PP (18%, 15th). I believe that team was a good PP away from a Cup. They had 22 PPs in 5 games in that Finals by the way. They scored twice. I don’t know how many other times I walked away from a Rangers season, kicking dirt, saying if only they had a PP. Sadness.

 

This year’s team can be “good enough” to get there like the 2014 Rangers were. They’ve got a good defensive group. They’ve got the ace in the hole goalie. The difference is they have better high end talent capable of stealing more games where they may otherwise be on their toes, and an absolutely lethal PP (26%, 3rd). This is ultimately why I want to see them go for it at the deadline. Do not squander this opportunity. Solidify the group. Go to war.

Probably the difference is that many on that 13/14 roster were already battle tested. 

[VegasRanger]

25 minutes ago, rmc51 said:

Also, don’t you want to see Strome lift the Cup in a Rangers sweater before he goes and gets paid in Ottawa on a contract we can’t afford?

I don't care who is wearing a Rangers sweater, or where they end up next year, as long as they lift the Cup.

[The Dude]

2 hours ago, rmc51 said:

I have. If I saw different I would have said something. I agree they are bottom of the barrel at 5v5 production amongst playoff teams. Is that sucking? I dunno. Maybe? Not sure it matters to me how it’s labeled exactly.

 

The reason I don’t seem to care, when normally I would, is that logic would dictate that the wins and record are not sustainable as a result. But I don’t think that rings true here. The logical conclusion is a red herring. I think we have something that stats on paper cannot predict well enough.

 

I think what we have here is 2014 Rangers kind of stuff. There are a lot of parallels. That team was an outlier. That team was carried by a goalie. At 5v5, that team was only 17th in GF and a +12 goal diff. That team also had a mediocre PP (18%, 15th). I believe that team was a good PP away from a Cup. They had 22 PPs in 5 games in that Finals by the way. They scored twice. I don’t know how many other times I walked away from a Rangers season, kicking dirt, saying if only they had a PP. Sadness.

 

This year’s team can be “good enough” to get there like the 2014 Rangers were. They’ve got a good defensive group. They’ve got the ace in the hole goalie. The difference is they have better high end talent capable of stealing more games where they may otherwise be on their toes, and an absolutely lethal PP (26%, 3rd). This is ultimately why I want to see them go for it at the deadline. Do not squander this opportunity. Solidify the group. Go to war.

The thing is, a team like Detroit just showed us that if you stay out of the box against the Rangers, you beat the Rangers.

 

They need help to boost their 5v5. I think that's all people are saying. It will only improve their situation. Can't just leave the roster as is. Going for it would mean they are looking to add offensive help to boost even strength numbers and put more pressure on other teams. It may even help draw more PPs. 

[Pete]

6 hours ago, rmc51 said:

I have. If I saw different I would have said something. I agree they are bottom of the barrel at 5v5 production amongst playoff teams. Is that sucking? I dunno. Maybe? Not sure it matters to me how it’s labeled exactly.

 

The reason I don’t seem to care, when normally I would, is that logic would dictate that the wins and record are not sustainable as a result. But I don’t think that rings true here. The logical conclusion is a red herring. I think we have something that stats on paper cannot predict well enough.

 

I think what we have here is 2014 Rangers kind of stuff. There are a lot of parallels. That team was an outlier. That team was carried by a goalie. At 5v5, that team was only 17th in GF and a +12 goal diff. That team also had a mediocre PP (18%, 15th). I believe that team was a good PP away from a Cup. They had 22 PPs in 5 games in that Finals by the way. They scored twice. I don’t know how many other times I walked away from a Rangers season, kicking dirt, saying if only they had a PP. Sadness.

 

This year’s team can be “good enough” to get there like the 2014 Rangers were. They’ve got a good defensive group. They’ve got the ace in the hole goalie. The difference is they have better high end talent capable of stealing more games where they may otherwise be on their toes, and an absolutely lethal PP (26%, 3rd). This is ultimately why I want to see them go for it at the deadline. Do not squander this opportunity. Solidify the group. Go to war.

The difference is those teams were scrappy at 5v5, they were able to score greasy, playoff type goals.

 

This team is not that. That's what their bottom 6 needs to be, and isn't. That's why guys like Chytil and Gauthier need to go. 

[Sharpshooter]

Yeah, those really grindy types of teams have given the Rangers fits all year because they just don't have an answer for it. Even a team like Seattle, not super talented, but they played the Rangers very hard in the two games and could easily have won both if not for stellar goaltending.

[BrooksBurner]

10 hours ago, Keirik said:

Probably the difference is that many on that 13/14 roster were already battle tested. 

They’ve got guys who are not new to the playoffs, but yeah certainly there’s generally credence to being “through the wringer” together.

[BrooksBurner]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

The difference is those teams were scrappy at 5v5, they were able to score greasy, playoff type goals.

 

This team is not that. That's what their bottom 6 needs to be, and isn't. That's why guys like Chytil and Gauthier need to go. 

I think this team is capable of scoring greasy goals and has scrappiness. Kreider makes a living in the paint sniffing out deflections, rebounds, etc. In fact, he is the best in the league at it. From a scrappy perspective, guys like Goodrow and Hunt I think fit that mold, but they have been forecfully elevated out of their intended roles due to a myriad of things. I think the solution is to make sure those guys get pushed down to where they need to be…and McKegg is ultimately forced out for good.

[Pete]

1 hour ago, rmc51 said:

I think this team is capable of scoring greasy goals and has scrappiness.

But evidence shows they aren't.

Quote

Kreider makes a living in the paint sniffing out deflections, rebounds, etc. In fact, he is the best in the league at it.

Yes...On the powerplay.

Quote

From a scrappy perspective, guys like Goodrow and Hunt I think fit that mold, but they have been forecfully elevated out of their intended roles due to a myriad of things. I think the solution is to make sure those guys get pushed down to where they need to be…and McKegg is ultimately forced out for good.

100% on the bold, but Hunt has 3G and 9pts.

 

The change needs to come on the third line, and it's identity and style. Chytil, Gauthier out, less "cute" players in. Get pucks dep, get pucks to the net effectively, change of pace from top 2 lines. Still hasn't been addressed from last year. third line is just guys that didn't make top 6.

[siddious]

Why the hell do the rangers play like once a week now?! 

[Sod16]

5 on 5 kinda tends to matter in the third period of playoff games and OT, when the whistles are put away for the most part.

[josh]

1 hour ago, siddious said:

Why the hell do the rangers play like once a week now?! 

fucking union, man 

[Blue Heaven]

10 hours ago, siddious said:

Why the hell do the rangers play like once a week now?! 

B/c today was originally suppose to be the first game back from the olympic break.  The previous 3 games were all make up games that were cancelled.  Rangers didnt lose too many games due to Covid like the Islanders.  

[siddious]

1 minute ago, Blue Heaven said:

B/c today was originally suppose to be the first game back from the olympic break.  The previous 3 games were all make up games that were cancelled.  Rangers didnt lose too many games due to Covid like the Islanders.  

well it sucks 

[Pete]

34 minutes ago, Blue Heaven said:

B/c today was originally suppose to be the first game back from the olympic break.  The previous 3 games were all make up games that were cancelled.  Rangers didnt lose too many games due to Covid like the Islanders.  

File this under "reasons not to stop your regular season for a senseless tournament that no one will watch." 

[Ozzy]

We have 3 in 4 nights now....and I'm very happy about that.  I've been scouting other teams since there isn't a blessed thing on to watch.  ....and I still suck at scouting!!  LOL

 

I did like watching Ryan McLeod on Edmonton though. 

[Sharpshooter]

I welcome three in four nights now after not having a whole lot of Rangers hockey the last 2-3 weeks. Let's get back to it!

[Ozzy]

Threw off my whole "trip to 7-11" schedule!! 

 

("...I hope they still have those Zima's")  LOL

[RJWantsTheCup]

1 hour ago, Ozzy said:

We have 3 in 4 nights now....and I'm very happy about that.  I've been scouting other teams since there isn't a blessed thing on to watch.  ....and I still suck at scouting!!  LOL

 

I did like watching Ryan McLeod on Edmonton though. 

Would be big to win the next two.