Ghost of jas
Unsatisfied
This is a flawed division that people are overrating. There are a lot of flawed teams.
2021 Rangers Season Prediction
- Thread starter bobbop
- Start date
-
Xenforo Cloud will be upgrading us to version 2.3.5 on March 3rd at 12 AM GMT. This version has increased stability and fixes several bugs. We expect downtime for the duration of the update. The admin team will continue to work on existing issues, templates and upgrade all necessary available addons to minimize impact of this new version. Click Here for Updates
This is a flawed division that people are overrating. There are a lot of flawed teams.
TheBloodyNine
Pure Bred Soviet Savage
Including the Rangers.
Honestly, lots of ifs are needed for this team. IF Martin can help bring better defensive play, IF the young players can continue to take steps forward, IF this years rookies can step in, IF the vets can continue their play from last year.....
I also think that the sandpaper element will be more prevalent this year than in the near past. This is basically several series of round robin games to see who qualifies for the playoffs. Or said differently, there is a 56 game playoff tournament to get into the playoffs. The shortened season will allow some teams to really grind away at their opponents. One big injury can make all the difference in the world.
- Jul 20, 2005
- 4,924
- 2,330
If the system issues are addressed, the Rangers offense and goaltending are enough to counterbalance their bad defense and the Rangers make the playoffs pretty easily with some wiggle room.
If they aren't, the Rangers miss the playoffs and win the lottery and draft Owen Power.
KZB is one of the best lines in the league when Z is healthy and K is on his game. Buch puts up 50+ points without significant PP time.
The PSK line puts up crazy numbers but is a disaster defensively.
The kid line starts fast, fades but finishes strong. Laf ends up on PP1 and wins the Calder. Chytil misses significant time with injury but still puts up noticeable numbers.
The 4th line is a mess but we are all reassured because Brett Howden is still only 23 at seasons end.
Fox is still our best defenseman but struggles a bit which is in turn makes people think Lindgren is struggling.
Trouba is better than last year but isn't helped by playing with bad or developing partners.
Tony D puts up obscene point totals. His partner is awful but the pair is still a net positive.
Shesty and Geo basically split time and are both excellent.
If they aren't, the Rangers miss the playoffs and win the lottery and draft Owen Power.
KZB is one of the best lines in the league when Z is healthy and K is on his game. Buch puts up 50+ points without significant PP time.
The PSK line puts up crazy numbers but is a disaster defensively.
The kid line starts fast, fades but finishes strong. Laf ends up on PP1 and wins the Calder. Chytil misses significant time with injury but still puts up noticeable numbers.
The 4th line is a mess but we are all reassured because Brett Howden is still only 23 at seasons end.
Fox is still our best defenseman but struggles a bit which is in turn makes people think Lindgren is struggling.
Trouba is better than last year but isn't helped by playing with bad or developing partners.
Tony D puts up obscene point totals. His partner is awful but the pair is still a net positive.
Shesty and Geo basically split time and are both excellent.
Ghost of jas
Unsatisfied
Alright fun thread- even @RangerBoy is optimistic... when the rest of the world isn't. Cheers brother, you finally get that 1st overall pick in Ranger blue.
Bringing back the bullet points for this:
Bringing back the bullet points for this:
- Teams in the East have flaws with their goaltending- this is a year where fitness levels are going to be tested, and I think younger legs can get you more miles here-> Rangers make the playoffs, going back and forth from 1st to 6th to start, before finishing 2nd in the east, and losing in the 1st round.
- Shesty settles in once the team's defensive structure gets tighter in their own zone. Finishes as a top 5 goalie.
- Lafreniere is initially snake-bitten with his line-mates needing time to adjust to getting unexpected passes, but eventually clicks. Lafreniere's motor becomes infectious, and the Rangers start seeing more energy and enthusiasm on their 4th lines.
- Martin uses a similar rotation to the 2006 Sens team, Rangers get one of their apex predators out against a team's third pair pretty much every 3-4 shifts, resulting in the Rangers being a top 5 offense.
- Teams start slowing games down, and playing dump and chase hockey to counter that neutral zone pressure that the Rangers are very good at, this will force the Rangers to adapt their schemes to involve 5 in the picture on puck retrievals and breakouts.
- Trouba gets some snarl in his game back after spending a full training camp and off-season away from Brady. Goes back to blocking shots without worrying about how his legs are going to look.
- Lindgren, Key continue to show that they actually enjoy shutting guys down, and winning battles. Point totals aren't high, but they make life difficult for other teams.
- Chytil becomes a stronger shooter, and one that finishes plays. But more importantly, he becomes a stronger two way player.
- Gauthier makes Uncle Denis proud by throwing his weight around, playing a game that's similar to Josh Anderson. Gets a warning from the league after plastering a guy on a bang bang play.
- Bread is bread. But the Strome line ends up struggling in their d-zone since the Rangers don't end up getting good 4th line minutes until they are about a 1/3 of the way in.
- Rangers end up having to address their 4th line. Rooney wins a spot, Digi is out. Lemieux struggles and wonders why he isn't higher in the line-up. Howden struggles between his country boy roots, and city boy desires.
- Injuries/fatigue play a factor for all teams, but the Rangers depth allows them to rotate guys in and out of the line-up to get the kind of minutes that they need.
- Johnson is the primary whipping boy this year, followed by Howden.
- Rangers/Devils rivalry heats up, especially after Tom what's his face gets ticked off at the Ranger defensemen for railroading their center icemen's development.
- Buchie ends up being the glue that drives the top 6, seeing time with both KZB and Bread's unit.
- Fox doesn't fly under the radar anymore, and teams start targeting him more often.
- Tony D starts scoring goals at a faster pace, while being more aggressive physically, throwing a couple of highlight reel hits to round out his mix tapes.
Savant
Registered User
- Oct 3, 2013
- 39,338
- 11,978
This season comes down to two players for me. Rangers make the playoffs if Miller can stick with Trouba and it is effective.
Also a leap from Kakko would be a big swing.
Still don’t think this team can defend though. Still have doubts about Quinn’s ability to organize a team shape.
As many others have said this is a bubble team, but it can be a successful season either way if players develop, but most importantly I want to see this team develop some kind of an identity.
Also a leap from Kakko would be a big swing.
Still don’t think this team can defend though. Still have doubts about Quinn’s ability to organize a team shape.
As many others have said this is a bubble team, but it can be a successful season either way if players develop, but most importantly I want to see this team develop some kind of an identity.
HockeyBasedNYC
Feeling it
There is a lot more uncertainty with all of the teams in the league and even more so in the East. Things can be affected greatly by Covid and injuries from the rigors of a shortened camp and condensed schedule.
If certain teams have to play scrubs it could open the door for other teams who stay healthy. It could be a wild finish with some surprising teams in the playoff mix around the league.
My predictions:
• Panarin & Strome will get off to a slow start, similar to what we saw in the bubble. They get it going again in February. It will affect Kakko unfortunately.
• The Trouba Miller pairing comes out strong and then have a tough stretch. There is talk about separating them but Quinn sticks with it and they rebound for the rest of the season.
• Shesterkin does Igor things and wills his team to several wins on his own, including scoring his first career empty netter
• Georgiev has several bad outings and then flips the switch and does the same, when he gets the chance.
• Laffy has a decent start, shows he can play a physical game consistently but has a scoring drought. Then he takes off later in the season when the lines are changed.
• Buchnevich leads the team in goals, with several primaries from Lafreniere
• Lemieux & Howden have very good seasons
• The Rangers have a chance to make the playoffs but key injuries derail their effort.
If certain teams have to play scrubs it could open the door for other teams who stay healthy. It could be a wild finish with some surprising teams in the playoff mix around the league.
My predictions:
• Panarin & Strome will get off to a slow start, similar to what we saw in the bubble. They get it going again in February. It will affect Kakko unfortunately.
• The Trouba Miller pairing comes out strong and then have a tough stretch. There is talk about separating them but Quinn sticks with it and they rebound for the rest of the season.
• Shesterkin does Igor things and wills his team to several wins on his own, including scoring his first career empty netter
• Georgiev has several bad outings and then flips the switch and does the same, when he gets the chance.
• Laffy has a decent start, shows he can play a physical game consistently but has a scoring drought. Then he takes off later in the season when the lines are changed.
• Buchnevich leads the team in goals, with several primaries from Lafreniere
• Lemieux & Howden have very good seasons
• The Rangers have a chance to make the playoffs but key injuries derail their effort.
JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK
Twenty f*ckin years
- Oct 8, 2010
- 80,070
- 17,710
JCProdigy
Registered User
Comparing/predicting individual's (and team's) point totals across the league is going to be weird this year since their won't be any common opponents.
Edge
Kris King's Ghost
There's a Pier Six brawl for the two final playoff spots right down to the end of the season. The end result is a difference of maybe 6 points between the team holding the third playoff spot and a team entering the draft lottery.
The Rangers just sneak into the playoffs after a slower start and mid-season hiccup.
Lafreniere has very solid rookie season, but actually finishes second to Shesterkin for the Calder.
Kakko has a solid sophomore season.
Fox sees his point production and overall play dip slightly, but he finishes strong.
ADA more or less matches his scoring pace from last season, seeing a boost on the special teams.
Zibanejad, and Kreider see dips to their production, but it's not cause for alarm because of more offensive balance in the lineup.
Strome sees his production drop considerably, especially after the Chytil-Lafreniere line finds some chemistry. This impacts Panarin's production as well.
Buch has a solid and more consistent overall season and scores at close to a 60 point pace.
Miller and Trouba have games where they look really good, and games where it costs us in crucial moments.
Lemieux finds himself stuck in neutral, but Howden sees significant progress.
Gauthier struggles to find his niche in the NHL, but makes progress toward the end of the season.
Ryan Lindgren misses time with an injury, raising some concerns about durability. Smith and Johnson become a somewhat polarizing topic on here as they perform better than some expect, but not good enough for others.
Georgiev struggles in his role as a backup.
The Rangers just sneak into the playoffs after a slower start and mid-season hiccup.
Lafreniere has very solid rookie season, but actually finishes second to Shesterkin for the Calder.
Kakko has a solid sophomore season.
Fox sees his point production and overall play dip slightly, but he finishes strong.
ADA more or less matches his scoring pace from last season, seeing a boost on the special teams.
Zibanejad, and Kreider see dips to their production, but it's not cause for alarm because of more offensive balance in the lineup.
Strome sees his production drop considerably, especially after the Chytil-Lafreniere line finds some chemistry. This impacts Panarin's production as well.
Buch has a solid and more consistent overall season and scores at close to a 60 point pace.
Miller and Trouba have games where they look really good, and games where it costs us in crucial moments.
Lemieux finds himself stuck in neutral, but Howden sees significant progress.
Gauthier struggles to find his niche in the NHL, but makes progress toward the end of the season.
Ryan Lindgren misses time with an injury, raising some concerns about durability. Smith and Johnson become a somewhat polarizing topic on here as they perform better than some expect, but not good enough for others.
Georgiev struggles in his role as a backup.
