Playoffs 2023-24 ECF #4: Rangers vs. Florida Panthers — Confidence

[Pete]

31 minutes ago, siddious said:

This is just plain wrong. the rangers have been one of the more physical teams in the nhl all season long. If anything I think we’re holding up perfectly fine in that aspect. 
 

Florida is a fucking great team. I took a future on them to win the cup back in September. It’s ok to admit they’re a great team without diminishing everything the rangers are too. 
 

the series is tied 2-2. We’re not down 3-0. It’s the playoffs. Sometimes you get ugly wins. Sometimes you lose. It’s a long series. That’s what this team has been doing. 

tied 2-2 in the ECF with home ice advantage and somehow this team is done? 
 

 

 

I'll be worried when they play their best hockey and still lose. They're clearly not playing their best hockey, this might have been their worst game in the playoffs in terms of inability to even complete a pass. Everything was sloppy and casual. 

 

They'll be better. 

[BrooksBurner]

The Rangers played their best hockey in game 2 and it was an evenly played game that went to double OT. The best case scenario for the Rangers is that they keep it relatively even and find a way to make "the play". They are incapable of dominating Florida like Florida has dominated the last 2 games. Game 3 was a stolen win.

Edited May 29 by BrooksBurner

[BrooksBurner]

[Pete]

Good thing they don't need to dominate Florida the way Florida dominated them. Going into last night's game Florida was winning the low percentage battle, but high danger chances are much closer. 

 

The Rangers played their worst game of the series last night and it went to overtime. The margins are thin. The special teams are also letting them down. 

 

All very fixable stuff.

[SomthingRangersRelated]

3 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

Gives ya that warm and fuzzy feeling for tomorrow, ya know?

[Br4d]

9 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

This is trivia.  Last game 5 they lost was nearly a decade ago.  Just saying.

[BrooksBurner]

16 minutes ago, SomthingRangersRelated said:

Gives ya that warm and fuzzy feeling for tomorrow, ya know?

They’re due!

[JJ in VA]

Yikes that was bad.  Flush it.

The feel-good BW return story is over.   Flush it.

Take a day Blake.  Peter can now breathe a sigh of relief as that decision is over.  Fil, you're up !

3rd/4th Line carried the play (again).   Add in Laffy and NYR almost pulled another rabbit out of their arse.

Back home boys.   Back to work !  

 

LGR.   Get Game 5 and all is well.

[SomthingRangersRelated]

21 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

This is trivia.  Last game 5 they lost was nearly a decade ago.  Just saying.

it was actually 2022 against the Bolts. It's in that list but you have to expand it to see it. Honest mistake

[Br4d]

Just now, SomthingRangersRelated said:

it was actually 2022 against the Bolts. It's in that list but you have to expand it to see it. Honest mistake

 

I never expand lists!  That's the tyranny of social media when you do that!

 

[Pete]

List is worthless, The only guy on the team for even a handful of those losses was Kreider...oh, wait ...

[SomthingRangersRelated]

4 minutes ago, Pete said:

List is worthless, The only guy on the team for even a handful of those losses was Kreider...oh, wait ...

 

Lists are only fun when they're FOR us and not against us. Where's the 94 comparison list again? 

[Karan]

43 minutes ago, Pete said:

Good thing they don't need to dominate Florida the way Florida dominated them. Going into last night's game Florida was winning the low percentage battle, but high danger chances are much closer. 

 

The Rangers played their worst game of the series last night and it went to overtime. The margins are thin. The special teams are also letting them down. 

 

All very fixable stuff.

 

Yup first time this series I think that the HD chances have been that lopsided. I mean, just yikes. Still can't quite fathom what the hell happened to the team after the first 20.

 

 

 

[JJ in VA]

21 minutes ago, Pete said:

List is worthless, The only guy on the team for even a handful of those losses was Kreider...oh, wait ...

Are you saying he's the longest tenured loser?   Shame on you.   Heresy

[RichieNextel305]

I think the thing that sucks is Igor was tracking pucks incredibly well all night. That guy super locked in. And you can see it was really beginning to fluster Florida. They were starting to overpass. You can see he was getting in their heads. If we were able to see any of our top guys step up offensively to take even a little bit of pressure off him, we’d be in even better shape. Cannot waste this performance. Igor is having himself maybe the best stretch of his career here and is giving us a real chance even with our big guys being terrible right now. Don’t waste this chance.

[Bugg]

5 minutes ago, RichieNextel305 said:

I think the thing that sucks is Igor was tracking pucks incredibly well all night. That guy super locked in. And you can see it was really beginning to fluster Florida. They were starting to overpass. You can see he was getting in their heads. If we were able to see any of our top guys step up offensively to take even a little bit of pressure off him, we’d be in even better shape. Cannot waste this performance. Igor is having himself maybe the best stretch of his career here and is giving us a real chance even with our big guys being terrible right now. Don’t waste this chance.

First 2 goals; Miller inexplicably fucking with a puck Igor appeared to have, and  Rube Goldberg-like miracle puck off Lindgren's helmet that Verhaege bunted into the net. 

[RichieNextel305]

1 minute ago, Bugg said:

First 2 goals; Miller inexplicably fucking with a puck Igor appeared to have, and  Rube Goldberg-like miracle puck off Lindgren's helmet that Verhaege bunted into the net. 

Yep. Two flukes. He was as good last night as I’ve ever seen him play. He was super locked in.

[Bugg]

Just now, RichieNextel305 said:

Yep. Two flukes. He was as good last night as I’ve ever seen him play. He was super locked in.

He's getting pissed at the refs 

 

[Pete]

39 minutes ago, Karan said:

 

Yup first time this series I think that the HD chances have been that lopsided. I mean, just yikes. Still can't quite fathom what the hell happened to the team after the first 20.

 

 

 

Yea last nights game should be firebombed. But again, Florida playing their best and Rangers playing their worst still needs OT.

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

Say what you want about him on the ice, but this is real leadership. Takes responsibility for something that wasn't even his fault. Zibanejad should learn something.

[BrooksBurner]

4 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

Say what you want about him on the ice, but this is real leadership. Takes responsibility for something that wasn't even his fault. Zibanejad should learn something.

 

100%. Stand up guy.

 

Meanwhile we've got Zibanejad with a casual "that's sports" after the game

[Pete]

8 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

Say what you want about him on the ice, but this is real leadership. Takes responsibility for something that wasn't even his fault. Zibanejad should learn something.

Sorry, maybe I'm missing something, but didn't Zib say he should have made a different decision? I don't mind that he said there's nothing he can do about it now, shake it off is the right thing to do.

 

There's also a real difference answering the question 10 minutes after the game and the next morning.

 

Either way I don't think Zib blamed anyone else. Wheeler is a real stand up dude, good for him.

[MuddyInTheMiddle]

2 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

Not sure what the significance of that statistic is when 90% of the team was not even born when the first loss occurred and Kreider was the only one on the team when the fifth loss did.

[Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc]

1 minute ago, Pete said:

Sorry, maybe I'm missing something, but didn't Zib say he should have made a different decision? I don't mind that he said there's nothing he can do about it now, shake it off is the right thing to do.

 

There's also a real difference answering the question 10 minutes after the game and the next morning.

 

Either way I don't think Zib blamed anyone else. Wheeler is a real stand up dude, good for him.

Depends on how you look at it I suppose, but I would've liked to see more accountability from our star player who just cost us the game. If he played a great game and had one bad mistake then fine, but he was horrible the entire game, he's not been good enough since game 2 against Canes and now a rookie mistake to cost us a really important game. I would like more than "I made a decision, maybe I should've made another decision. That's how it is. Next time I'll try to make another decision".

 

Of course all is forgotten if he comes out a man possessed next game, but I won't be holding my breath.

[Bugg]

10 minutes ago, Zuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc said:

Depends on how you look at it I suppose, but I would've liked to see more accountability from our star player who just cost us the game. If he played a great game and had one bad mistake then fine, but he was horrible the entire game, he's not been good enough since game 2 against Canes and now a rookie mistake to cost us a really important game. I would like more than "I made a decision, maybe I should've made another decision. That's how it is. Next time I'll try to make another decision".

 

Of course all is forgotten if he comes out a man possessed next game, but I won't be holding my breath.

Nobody is happy with 93 and 20's series, including themselves. Can't get worked up about that they said, when they said it. Talk is cheap. What happens over the next few days is going to shape their legacies one way or another. They can't be passengers for the Rangers to have a shot.