Rangers-Panthers — Eastern Conference Final General Series Thread

[Pete]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7fOzPayfEc/?igsh=MXV2cDNsZWRudGx4aw==

 

 

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

51 minutes ago, Pete said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7fOzPayfEc/?igsh=MXV2cDNsZWRudGx4aw==

 

 

"I fed him just like Rempe was feeding Tkachuk's mom in the back of a Hyundai" 

[siddious]

57 minutes ago, Pete said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7fOzPayfEc/?igsh=MXV2cDNsZWRudGx4aw==

 

 

That’s amazing lol

[phillyb]

Holy fuck hahahaha

[JJ in VA]

14 hours ago, RangersIn7 said:

Yes.

 

In the truly physical sports, aka… Football (American Football, not that game for twats that we call soccer), and hockey,…guys target each other and try to do damage.

And what happens afterwards… so be it. That is the mentality. 

 
It’s been there for years. 
 

I’m not taking a side… just saying it is real.

I got you.  I believe in the ferocious style and know the hits are intended to do damage and even intended to knock a player out (literally), but I think most guys at the end of the day don't want to maim.  What I've read about most hockey players is that they are salt of the earth types.   Maybe, I'm just being naive.

 

[Valriera]

12 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

Great find

No problem with either thing. You’re trying to hit guys. 

[Bugg]

7 hours ago, Pete said:

I think it's important to highlight that the organization feels Miller is a defenseman. The only people who want to move him to forward are fans and Ranger fans would have made Orr, Bourque, and Coffey wingers, too. 

Put it like this; wouldn't be the worst idea to have Miller be on PP2 right now over the various  ineffective forwards not named Lafreiniere. Wholesale shift to forward, today, that would be nuts. 

[BrooksBurner]

 

Guess that cheap late hit on Vesey I’ve already seen wasn’t where he actually got hurt. It was this other cheap hit that nobody talked about.

 

Makes you wonder how many other calls are not being made by the refs in Florida’s favor. Florida averaged 4.5 minor penalties a game this year. They’ve only been called for 8 across 3 games with multiple OT periods included.

Edited May 28 by BrooksBurner

[Valriera]

4 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

Guess that cheap late hit on Vesey I’ve already seen wasn’t where he actually got hurt. It was this other cheap hit that nobody talked about.

 

Makes you wonder how many other calls are not being made by the refs in Florida’s favor. Florida averaged 4.5 minor penalties a game this year. They’ve only been called for 8 across 3 games with multiple OT periods included.

The calls will almost certainly even out at some point. I'm more worried we won't score on the opportunities we get. Florida has figured out their powerplay this series without which we would not be talking about close games here. Ours has disappeared. Have to score on the opportunities, and it likely needs to happen tonight.

 

I'll call if the rangers score a PP Goal and at least one ES goal tonight, they win. If they don't, they lose. 

[Pete]

13 minutes ago, Valriera said:

The calls will almost certainly even out at some point. I'm more worried we won't score on the opportunities we get. Florida has figured out their powerplay this series without which we would not be talking about close games here. Ours has disappeared. Have to score on the opportunities, and it likely needs to happen tonight.

 

I'll call if the rangers score a PP Goal and at least one ES goal tonight, they win. If they don't, they lose. 

Oddly enough, the Rangers have been good at even strength, but the PK has not been stellar and the PP looks okay but not nearly dangerous enough. 

[BrooksBurner]

15 minutes ago, Valriera said:

The calls will almost certainly even out at some point. I'm more worried we won't score on the opportunities we get. Florida has figured out their powerplay this series without which we would not be talking about close games here. Ours has disappeared. Have to score on the opportunities, and it likely needs to happen tonight.

 

I'll call if the rangers score a PP Goal and at least one ES goal tonight, they win. If they don't, they lose. 

If there’s one thing I’m not concerned about it’s the PP. It’ll be fine with enough reps.

 

I’m more concerned that the 5v5 production difference isn’t sustainable.

Edited May 28 by BrooksBurner

[Valriera]

Well I was wrong

[Valriera]

Mika - 0 points

Kreider - 0 points

Panarin - 3 points

Barkov - 4 points 

Reinhart - 3 points

Verhaege - 6 points 

Tkachuck - 5 points

 

If this was different, you could overlook how bad Mika and kreider have been in our zone, but it’s not. They’ve been the worst forwards on the team. 0 points and just getting caved in 5v5, on the pk, you name it.

 

Panarin doesn’t draw the same ire because he’s not getting caved in on defense and is putting up points, but he should have another gear too. 
 

The only answer is for those two players to start playing hockey. They’ve been AHL level at best this series and we will lose if it doesn’t get fixed. It is only natural to fixate on Mika because of Kreiders legend moment, but he doesn’t need any more of those, just be an nhl player for a few more weeks. We have every ingredient to win the cup, but these two specifically need to get their shit together before it’s too late.

Edited May 29 by Valriera

[Mistercosmic]

I still feel down. Not because of the loss. 2-2 after four games with three overtimes against these tough Panthers team...I would have signed up for that before the beginning of the ECF. But the way we literally collapsed after a strong first period and had zero answers for the opponent's playing style is concerning. Honestly, to me this is not what a future Stanley Cup winner should look like in such critical moments. Our players don't have to win every game during the Playoffs. However, I want them to make me believe that they want to win the cup and that they're strong enough to win it. I love this team. But unfortunately I can't trust the core group since the debacle against the Devils last year. Something in me has been lost since then. Nothing would make me happier than when they prove me completely wrong. But failures like last night bring back these dark doubts. 

[RJWantsTheCup]

Might be time to try Edstrom on the 4th line with Goodrow & Rempe.  Wheeler and Brodzinski shouldn't be playing and Chytil isn't right at this point.  Go back to the top 3 lines that they were playing at the beginning of the playoffs.  No reason to panic.  It's 2-2 in the series.  

[Sharpshooter]

Winner of game five wins the series? Those are the vibes I'm getting right now. The Rangers really haven't looked that great since the Washington series, and that was a series everyone was expecting them to win anyway. Maybe the first couple of games against Carolina they were fine, but still, they have not been playing that well for awhile.

[Valriera]

I think they looked pretty good throughout against Carolina minus the game 5 at home, but unfortunately we’ve seen that game 5 in 3/4 games this series and that won’t be good enough. If we can fix that for the rest of the series I’m confident we will win, but it will need to start with Mika who I have no confidence in atm. You cannot get further than this without four lines rolling and we have three.

[Valriera]

Here’s my lineup for game 5. Strategy is abandon the Mika matchup into barkov because he’s losing so badly and hope a defensive checking line can get the job done against him:

 

Trochek line play these guys against tkachuck, they’ve been successful

Goodrow-Wennberg-Kakko - play these guys against barkov

 

Give these guys bottom six matchups

Kreider-Mika-Wheeler

Cuylle-Chytil-Rempe

We have home ice advantage and we’re going to need to use it imo. Maurice is cocky and will just roll the lines. I don’t think continuing to run Mika out against barkov is the answer it has been a disaster for all four games. 

[RJWantsTheCup]

Right now we have 3 guys playing well on offense.  Trocheck, Lafraniere & Goodrow.  That's about it.  

If Shesterkin let's anything questionable in they are in trouble.  Hard to win when you are your asking your goalie to steal every game.  Too many times in the series they look content just to get the puck out of their own end and let Florida come right back in.  Not a good recipe to win games.  That being said they need to win 2 out of 3 games which they are more than capable of doing.  

[Br4d]

The Rangers keep trying to find the guy that will complete the CK-MZ line.  So far nobody has done that.

 

Gotta get those two going.

 

I think there are two real options at this point:

 

1.  Move Laf to line 2 and solve the problem, making it line 1 in the process.

 

2.  Break-up Zib and Kreider and reorganize the 2nd line in the process.

 

If the Rangers go with option 1 they probably need to move Chytil up to RW next to Trocheck and Panarin. Line 3 is Cuylle - Wennberg - Roslovic.  Line 4 is Rempe - Goodrow - Kakko.

 

If they go with option 2 you probably wind up with Panarin-Trocheck-Laf, Cuylle - Zibanejad - Chytil, Kreider - Wennberg - Roslovic, Rempe - Goodrow - Kakko.

 

Wheeler was flying last night but still one of the slowest players on the ice.  He really does not fit against the Panthers because he makes their one flaw, lack of real speed, into a non-issue.

[Phil]

The whole team is slow compared to the Panthers. One player doesn't really help or hurt unless that player is an absolute game-breaker. Roslovic is very fast, for example, and accomplishes nothing. Speed doesn't matter if you don't know how to use it in the same way that a lack of it doesn't hurt you as long as you move the puck quickly.

 

The fundamental issue is that these teams are a true, to-the-bone mismatch. The Rangers' are getting smoked at evens and run out of the arena in most periods/games. They can't find time or space and aren't quick enough or skilled enough on the back end to create it. It's the Kings SCF match up all over again except this team has a much better power play.

[Br4d]

1 minute ago, Phil said:

The whole team is slow compared to the Panthers. One player doesn't really help or hurt unless that player is an absolute game-breaker. Roslovic is very fast, for example, and accomplishes nothing. Speed doesn't matter if you don't know how to use it in the same way that a lack of it doesn't hurt you as long as you move the puck quickly.

 

The fundamental issue is that these teams are a true, to-the-bone mismatch. The Rangers' are getting smoked at evens and run out of the arena in most periods/games. They can't find time or space and aren't quick enough or skilled enough on the back end to create it. It's the Kings SCF match up all over again except this team has a much better power play.

 

Blake Wheeler was trailing the play on the game-winning goal last night.  Just saying (again.)

[Pete]

1 minute ago, Phil said:

The whole team is slow compared to the Panthers. One player doesn't really help or hurt unless that player is an absolute game-breaker. Roslovic is very fast, for example, and accomplishes nothing. Speed doesn't matter if you don't know how to use it in the same way that a lack of it doesn't hurt you as long as you move the puck quickly.

 

The fundamental issue is that these teams are a true, to-the-bone mismatch. The Rangers' are getting smoked at evens and run out of the arena in most periods/games. They can't find time or space and aren't quick enough or skilled enough on the back end to create it. It's the Kings SCF match up all over again except this team has a much better power play.

Nah, the team played as well as they can play against the Kings and still lost. 

 

This team is not playing their best hockey right now. Some of it is what the Panthers are doing and some of it is what they're doing to themselves. 

[Blue Heaven]

3 minutes ago, Phil said:

The whole team is slow compared to the Panthers. One player doesn't really help or hurt unless that player is an absolute game-breaker. Roslovic is very fast, for example, and accomplishes nothing. Speed doesn't matter if you don't know how to use it in the same way that a lack of it doesn't hurt you as long as you move the puck quickly.

 

The fundamental issue is that these teams are a true, to-the-bone mismatch. The Rangers' are getting smoked at evens and run out of the arena in most periods/games. They can't find time or space and aren't quick enough or skilled enough on the back end to create it. It's the Kings SCF match up all over again except this team has a much better power play.

Julien Gauthier 2.0

[RangersIn7]

I lucked out and was there in person last night with my wife and daughter.

 I was shocked to see Wheeler in the lineup.

 

You think he looked slow all season?

You think he looked slow on TV last night?

Believe you me, in person, last night, after not playing for 4 months, he looked like he was in slow motion. 
 

That guy can’t be in the lineup.