Game Analysis: #1 - 10/3/13 | New York Rangers @ Phoenix Coyotes Analysis

[aufheben]

Will say this: Why can't our guys finish chances down low or something? Don't say "they don't have the killer instinct", that's what a 3 year old answers. They get their chances but seem to not be able to take the final few steps, and then the puck's going the other way before we know it. To start, I think some players' ice position during these chances helps to either ruin them or not... EX: Puck going back down ice with what seemingly is a long time before we get it back, or no guys in front of the net or near it when needed.

We don't have a lot of finishers. One of them is out, too. Mike Smith was great, can't blame it all [not you] on the Rangers.

 

[sark76]

We don't have a lot of finishers. One of them is out, too. Mike Smith was great, can't blame it all [not you] on the Rangers.

I agree with this...the only thing i want to add though is the heart / intensity that was lacking too and that shouldn't have any bearing on a having new coach. I still think we need to dump some of the invisibles and replace them with high energy guys...even if that mean these energy guys have less raw hockey talent. Because that talent hasn't and will never amount to anything here in NYC.

 

[aufheben]

I don't think intensity is the problem, I think their tendency to take momentum-killing penalties, always at the worst times, is the bigger problem. Hagelin and Callahan are the two major spark plugs for this team. That's the job of the captain, to get the team going when they're looking tepid.

They came out flying, somewhat sloppy, but creating chances; Dumb penalty.

The sloppiness, the PK, Hank, this will improve; My only concern is can they get a decent amount of points out of this trip while ironing out the creases? Everyone wants to see change, but no one wants to actually watch it happen.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

It is disheartening to me that a lot of our guys did not have that "here we effing go, first game of the season/first step to the playoffs, lets go out there and ruin these guys home opener!!!" intensity that you would expect from a professional athlete. Look at the Capitals against Chicago in the season opener. Not only was it in Chicago but it was their banner raising. Sure, Chicago won, but the Caps gave them hell and Ovechkin was ripping shots right out of the gate like a man on a mission. Where is that on this team? That's one thing I think we've missed since Dubi left. He was the only person with a fire in his belly that this team has had in a while. I just want to see that jump and intensity out of the gate. I hate hearing that NYR is the country club of the NHL and I don't believe it's true but I wish our boys would do something to help prove it.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

I don't think intensity is the problem, I think their tendency to take momentum-killing penalties, always at the worst times, is the bigger problem.

They came out flying, somewhat sloppy, but creating chances; Dumb penalty.

But then that just means the slightest adversity causes them to crumble. In the example I just gave about WSH/CHI, Chicago scored first, early, in their building, on their banner night and Washington didn't deflate. They looked like they were going to win until late in the game and gave Chicago all they could handle.

 

[aufheben]

But then that just means the slightest adversity causes them to crumble. In the example I just gave about WSH/CHI, Chicago scored first, early, in their building, on their banner night and Washington didn't deflate. They looked like they were going to win until late in the game and gave Chicago all they could handle.

It doesn't cause them to crumble, they have to play catch-up. Washington has a generational player, who also happens to be a manic freight train on the ice. I'm sure Caps fans have plenty of their own concerns. They have to play like that because of their defense and goaltending. If the Caps aren't a threat offensively, they're nothing. How "intense" were they at the start of last year? And how intense would they be without Ovechkin?

 

[JohnC]

I want a Backstrom and an Ovechkin too

 

[OverTheCap]

This has been an issue for some time now - instead of building off a goal and continuing to apply pressure, the Rangers usually let up after they score a goal.

The Rangers got pinned in their own zone immediately after the PP goal and then took a bad penalty as a result. They can't let that happen, they have to continue to bring the intensity. One of the best examples of them doing this was Game 7 against the Caps a few months ago - they kept building momentum after each goal and took the crowd out of the game. It's shame they don't play like that more often.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

It doesn't cause them to crumble, they have to play catch-up. Washington has a generational player, who also happens to be a manic freight train on the ice. I'm sure Caps fans have plenty of their own concerns. They have to play like that because of their defense and goaltending. If the Caps aren't a threat offensively, they're nothing.

But they did crumble. The second and third periods were atrocious. Any jump they came out with they never recovered and their game really seemed to get worse (not individually but as a whole) as the game went on. Having a generational player isn't a free pass. Is Ovie 5x the player Nash is or something? We have a top scorer here too. There's no denying, from my viewing and therefore in my opinion, that the team deflated and never got it back. Nobody was going hard to the net or corners or winning battles. We did lack intensity. There's plenty of other issues that either will sort themselves out or can be addressed but this is something I feel our team has displayed for the past 2 years, and even before that, with the exception being Dubi would get riled up and bring out greater intensity in his teammates, Cally and Boyle in particular. IMO.

Edit: the WSH game was just an example. Trust me, I watched the whole thing. It wasn't all Ovie being intense. Chimera, Fehr and Ward were a great energy line. The point was just that they could have gotten deflated by CHIs energy and quick start but their whole team came out ready to play 60 minutes. Are we really arguing that the Rangera have had problems doing that the past few years?

 

[JohnC]

But they did crumble. The second and third periods were atrocious. Any jump they came out with they never recovered and their game really seemed to get worse (not individually but as a whole) as the game went on. Having a generational player isn't a free pass. Is Ovie 5x the player Nash is or something? We have a top scorer here too. There's no denying, from my viewing and therefore in my opinion, that the team deflated and never got it back. Nobody was going hard to the net or corners or winning battles. We did lack intensity. There's plenty of other issues that either will sort themselves out or can be addressed but this is something I feel our team has displayed for the past 2 years, and even before that, with the exception being Dubi would get riled up and bring out greater intensity in his teammates, Cally and Boyle in particular. IMO.

I take Ovi over Nash 6/7 days of the week factoring in an off day

 

[Samuel Culper III]

I take Ovi over Nash 6/7 days of the week factoring in an off day

Obviously. How is that even a question? That wasn't my point at all.

 

[aufheben]

But they did crumble. The second and third periods were atrocious. Any jump they came out with they never recovered and their game really seemed to get worse (not individually but as a whole) as the game went on. Having a generational player isn't a free pass. Is Ovie 5x the player Nash is or something? We have a top scorer here too. There's no denying, from my viewing and therefore in my opinion, that the team deflated and never got it back. Nobody was going hard to the net or corners or winning battles. We did lack intensity. There's plenty of other issues that either will sort themselves out or can be addressed but this is something I feel our team has displayed for the past 2 years, and even before that, with the exception being Dubi would get riled up and bring out greater intensity in his teammates, Cally and Boyle in particular. IMO.

Uh, not 5x, but one just won a Hart trophy. Does Nash hit everything like Ovechkin? I don't see the comparison when the Caps have their captain playing and we don't. Seriously how intense would the Caps look without him?

 

[Samuel Culper III]

Uh, not 5x, but one just won a Hart trophy. Does Nash hit everything like Ovechkin? I don't see the comparison when the Caps have their captain playing and we don't. Seriously how intense would the Caps look without him?

In MY opinion, more intense than we did. Like I said, if you watched the game all of their lines were winning battles and crashing the corners. They got good energy from everyone. Yes they had a leader to bring that out of them but that's just another example of not handling adversity well. Can't get yourself up for a game if captain Cally doesn't do it for you?

And I'm not comparing Nash and Ovie at all. The only point meant to be made is one was hyper visible and one was invisible. There shouldn't be THAT much of a discrepancy.

 

[aufheben]

In MY opinion, more intense than we did. Like I said, if you watched the game all of their lines were winning battles and crashing the corners. They got good energy from everyone. Yes they had a leader to bring that out of them but that's just another example of not handling adversity well. Can't get yourself up for a game if captain Cally doesn't do it for you?

And I'm not comparing Nash and Ovie at all. The only point meant to beads is one was hyper visible and one was invisible. There shouldn't be THAT much of a discrepancy.

Washington is not comparable to us. Besides the fact that their teams strengths/weakness's are polar opposites of ours, they have a generational player who is coming off a Hart trophy, and aren't adjusting to a new coach. You should be looking at last year's Caps, not this years.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

I'm really not comparing the two teams. You're way too caught up in the comparison. I'll just pick a different team who came out with jump on the road. The point was only an EXAMPLE of a team with odds stacked against them not playing soft and being ready to bring it. They were playing the defending champs, on the road, on banner night, got scored on early, etc. The only comparison I was making was the reaction to adversity. It's not even difficult to realize that was my intention. I'm not expecting Nash to be Ovie or us to be WSH and that should be clear. The only point I was making was intensity, jump, jam, enthusiasm, readiness, whatever you wanna call it, was missing in our game. And blaming it ALL on our adversities or an early penalty killing momentum is just making excuses.


I mean, why are we acting like complaining about poor intensity to start games, lulls in intensity during games and an inability to turn in a 60 minute effort is some new thing that "haters" just invented to complain about after one game? I'm on this board almost 7 years and I think we've been complaining about the Rangers inability to play 60 minutes and their lack of intensity for 3 or 4 of those years. Are we really denying that this is an ongoing issue and trying to act like I'm just "nitpicking" a one game sample? This has been years of poor or inconsistent compete level and a lack of jump.

 

[ImIdaho]

Saw some of the comments last night and it was reminiscent of last season.

Which was a bad thing.

There will be a few more growing pains as this team comes to grasp with the new system. I liked seeing these guys being more up tempo, the D pitching in on O, and I lost count how many times we attempted one timers. ONE TIMERS!!

Sure, a lot of shots were wide and what not, but give me what I saw last night vs. corralling the puck, waiting a second or two to raise the stick and let the opposing D get into position to block the shot, a shot which is a lameass wrister.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Saw some of the comments last night and it was reminiscent of last season.

Which was a bad thing.

There will be a few more growing pains as this team comes to grasp with the new system. I liked seeing these guys being more up tempo, the D pitching in on O, and I lost count how many times we attempted one timers. ONE TIMERS!!

Sure, a lot of shots were wide and what not, but give me what I saw last night vs. corralling the puck, waiting a second or two to raise the stick and let the opposing D get into position to block the shot, a shot which is a lameass wrister.

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting 4-1 losses in Rangers history

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Some people are longing for Torts after 1 loss.

Longing for Torts? No. Thinking that the issues might not have been solely a coaching issue? Yes.

 

[ImIdaho]

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting 4-1 losses in Rangers history

Things really broke apart come the 3rd. But those two periods, hey, I liked what I saw. Give credit to Mike Smith as well. Guy not only played the puck well but at times came up big for the Coyotes in making some key saves.

 

[Calad]

Zooks beat Smith clean. If that puck goes in instead of hitting the crossbar we may have had a different game at 2-2.

Some people are longing for Torts after 1 loss. Ironically on the Vancouver board some people are not optimistic about Torts after they lost 4-1 as well.

Grass is always greener on the other side...

 

[Dagoon44]

Here is my 2 cents
Hank was blah and first goal was a direct result of a bad play. The last goal was terrible puck location and he was out played by smith. He was also a victim of horrible d at times

Bright spots
Staal was fantastic great to see
Second line was flying bass and BP need to finish to win games like last night

Good job by Nash sticking up for DS.

Pyatt is beyond useless and I feel bad for anyone that plays with him, he is the weakest big man in hockey

 

[Gardner McKay]

the 2nd paragraph is a complete mindset that a player or set of players have to have.

You have to WANT to engage the opposition to win those battles.

I'm not sure the Rangers have the heart for it.

I see to many players that are not willing enough to kill or die for a loose puck and that is a problem.

the team is full of soft minded individuals.

Bingo. That has nothing to do with a system or adjustments or lack of playing. There is no excuse that can be made for their lack of effort. That is what concerns me. I didn't see them hustling. I didn't see them forechecking hard. I saw the Coyotes do it. They were hungry. We weren't.

 

[JohnC]

I don't wanna see any player killing anyone over the puck because murder is WRONG

 

[Callagraves]

I hope Cally and Hags get back soon and make a difference. They're our two best forecheckers, sparkplugs, and both very physical players.

Last night was bad. Really bad. It's a long season, and I expect growing pains, but I think the identity of the team is completely gone. What are we?

Are we an offensive team? God I hope not, we don't have the shooters for it.

Are we a defensive rock? It didn't look like it. We have the personnel, but the system we're seeing is miserable defensively.

Are we a tough 'em out team? Well, obviously not.

We used to be the blue collar blueshirts. Wear em down, out-work, out-battle, want it more, prepare harder. It's the best thing we had going for us. Then the trades started. And they kept going. The expectations changed, the culture changed, the coaching changed.

Maybe it'll be better with our two hardest working forwards, but, and it's a bad cliche, but we need our top guys to be our top guys. I'm already sick of Nash. He ended up making a good pass for our only goal, but my god was he disengaged last night. I watched other games, and saw other teams #1 guys go out and make a difference. I watched Nash try to rack up some highlights like a 12 year old who discovered one-touch dekes.

I'm one of the most optimistic on this board, but I'm very unsettled by this.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

I hope Cally and Hags get back soon and make a difference. They're our two best forecheckers, sparkplugs, and both very physical players.

Last night was bad. Really bad. It's a long season, and I expect growing pains, but I think the identity of the team is completely gone. What are we?

Are we an offensive team? God I hope not, we don't have the shooters for it.

Are we a defensive rock? It didn't look like it. We have the personnel, but the system we're seeing is miserable defensively.

Are we a tough 'em out team? Well, obviously not.

We used to be the blue collar blueshirts. Wear em down, out-work, out-battle, want it more, prepare harder. It's the best thing we had going for us. Then the trades started. And they kept going. The expectations changed, the culture changed, the coaching changed.

Maybe it'll be better with our two hardest working forwards, but, and it's a bad cliche, but we need our top guys to be our top guys. I'm already sick of Nash. He ended up making a good pass for our only goal, but my god was he disengaged last night. I watched other games, and saw other teams #1 guys go out and make a difference. I watched Nash try to rack up some highlights like a 12 year old who discovered one-touch dekes.

I'm one of the most optimistic on this board, but I'm very unsettled by this.

I personally couldn't agree more. I'm not in "sky is falling" mode. I'm not even particularly plussed, about this one game, but being here for years, I can say I agree with every word you wrote and it's not a "one game" thing. It's been on going and the identity that we worked to build, culminating in our ECF appearance, is now a lingering reputation that's not accurate or deserved. I try to make my analysis with the long view in mind, including the recent past, and the biggest concern that always comes to me when doing so is not "can we score?" or "is this system going to expose our defense too much?" it's "what is the design of this roster? What kind of team are we? Is there a blueprint here?".