Around the NHL: Part XXI

[romba]

Holtby is f***ing Moses against the Rangers

Was it Carcillo who had that game 7 winner against Holtby? Beat him clean glove side. After the series Holtby had I was floored that that one was the winner. Also Holtby hasn't faced this offensive powerhouse in a PO series yet, defensively though, that matchup would be a nightmare.

 

[NYSPORTS]

I'm having a hard time caring about this potential playoff. Maybe I'll feel different when it actually starts


I agree. Whatever rhythm the team had prior to this whole situation is gone. They're basically starting over

I’m anticipating excitement or backlash depending on if the Rangers advance or not. We know how bipolar the fans get.

The rhythm, yeah, it’s gone and they are starting over. A hot goalie could be the difference in this tournament is my guess. Shev could make this interesting.

 

[romba]

All that defensive progress the team made will have to be hammered back in over the short preseason. Qunniypoo will have his work cut out for him.

 

[RGY]

I'm having a hard time caring about this potential playoff. Maybe I'll feel different when it actually starts


I agree. Whatever rhythm the team had prior to this whole situation is gone. They're basically starting over

I get what you’re saying but at the same time they are not completely starting over. The experienced gained by so many of the young players, especially Fox, does not go away. The growing pains and hard lessons already learned do not become forgotten. Learning the team system, understanding your coaches more and what they expect, that has all happened already.

While I don’t expect them to win the cup or even make it to the ECF, I do expect them to be a tough out. This isnt starting from scratch for them. They have grown together. Its pretty much been the same group all year with the exception of Skjei out, Gauthier and Diguiseppe in. And they are all healthy. Kreider, Buch, Igor. All fully healed.

 

[Dr. Ogrodnick]

recent? The scars from John Druce and Super Mario have been around for a while

The name of Druce shall be stricken from the record.

I was at the last game of that series as a boy. Of course the Rangers were the team that guy chose to be the greatest of all time for 6 games against.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

I get what you’re saying but at the same time they are not completing starting over. The experienced gained by so many of the young players, especially Fox, does not go away. The growing pains and hard lessons already learned do not become forgotten. Learning the team system, understanding your coaches more and what they expect, that has all happened already.

While I don’t expect them to win the cup or even make it to the ECF, I do expect them to be a tough out. This isnt starting for scratch for them. They have grown together. Its pretty much been the same group all year with the exception of Skjei out, Gauthier and Diguiseppe in. And they are all healthy. Kreider, Buch, Igor. All fully healed.

I would agree about giving the team time to heal up but as Steven @Amazing Kreiderman mentioned, with the team being this young I think it’s going to take them more time to get back to where they were playing previously.

But maybe I’m wrong

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

The cynic in me is also somewhat concerned about what effects the playoffs have on the draft

It would be standard Ranger luck to beat Carolina (which let’s be real, will probably happen), Toronto makes it through and somehow the team ends up with both of their picks in the early to mid 20s

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I would agree about giving the team time to heal up but as Steven @Amazing Kreiderman mentioned, with the team being this young I think it’s going to take them more time to get back to where they were playing previously.

But maybe I’m wrong

Let's put it this way:

- I don't think this long break hurts us per se, but
- I also don't think this long break gives us an advantage

As talented as we are, we are a top-6 team up front, with 1 defensive pair good enough to win a game. The only area where we are better than Carolina, is in net.

 

[nyr2k2]

I don't think the break benefits anyone. I think that whatever factor you can come up with that could benefit a team, you can come up with some other variable that could arguably hurt that team just as much.

It just creates a lot of [false] parity.

 

[Irishguy42]

Pond hockey playoffs, baby!

 

[Machinehead]

I like rivalries, this is how they form. You hate Washington more than any other team, I'm always thrilled to face my most hated team in any sport.

For better or worse, our current rivals are Washington and Pittsburgh due to the recent history.

Rivalries die when you just get sick of looking at them.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Rivalries die when you just get sick of looking at them.

This is why the league can benefit from a league-wide 1-16 seeding. Make it a 2-3-2 schedule. You generate rivalries with teams like Nashville, Anaheim, Vancouver. How great is that?! All of a sudden, that one road game on the west coast means a whole lot more to the fans

 

[Tawnos]

This is why the league can benefit from a league-wide 1-16 seeding. Make it a 2-3-2 schedule. You generate rivalries with teams like Nashville, Anaheim, Vancouver. How great is that?! All of a sudden, that one road game on the west coast means a whole lot more to the fans

If you want to generate rivalries, you need to create a situation where teams see each other multiple times in the playoffs. 1-16 will never do that. I think it's a point taken from @Machinehead that too much repetition starts to wear thin, but 1-16 is completely in the other direction and wouldn't do anything.

 

[Blue Blooded]

This is why the league can benefit from a league-wide 1-16 seeding. Make it a 2-3-2 schedule. You generate rivalries with teams like Nashville, Anaheim, Vancouver. How great is that?! All of a sudden, that one road game on the west coast means a whole lot more to the fans

This just means no rivalries will develop, because in general you won't face any single opponent with high enough frequency.

I'm for reducing the amount of regular season interconference games TBH (perhaps even eliminating them altogether), the teams are only in indirect competition with each other (so the stakes are always lower) and it creates a lot of extra travel and scheduling issues. Just have two conferences without divisions with 1-8 playoffs.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

If you want to generate rivalries, you need to create a situation where teams see each other multiple times in the playoffs. 1-16 will never do that. I think it's a point taken from @Machinehead that too much repetition starts to wear thin, but 1-16 is completely in the other direction and wouldn't do anything.

Can they at least get rid of the f***ing brackets?

 

[Tawnos]

Can they at least get rid of the f***ing brackets?

Brackets are great.

Honestly, I'm torn between the complaint about seeing the same teams *too* often and the basic fairness argument of playing the teams whose schedules you share first in the playoffs. The former would work best in a 1-8 bracket, which would really require re-seeding. The latter works best in a straight divisional format, for which bracketing is just the way it ends up.

 

[Boris Zubov]

The name of Druce shall be stricken from the record.

I was at the last game of that series as a boy. Of course the Rangers were the team that guy chose to be the greatest of all time for 6 games against.

Even worse all that carnage, 9 goals, was actually accomplished in just 5 games.

The frantic comeback in Game 4 with less than 5 minutes to go which ultimately ended up with a 4-3 OT loss still really F%$@%#% bugs me. Rod Langway, with all of 5 career playoff goals, scored the winner off a face off 34 seconds into OT. I just remember the caps getting every little break & every loose puck for the majority of that series.

 

[Machinehead]

1-8 was fine. It gave you a mix of rivalries and fresh matchups. I have no idea why they felt compelled to change it.

 

[UnSandvich]

Reposting from roster-building thread

 

[NYSPORTS]

This is why the league can benefit from a league-wide 1-16 seeding. Make it a 2-3-2 schedule. You generate rivalries with teams like Nashville, Anaheim, Vancouver. How great is that?! All of a sudden, that one road game on the west coast means a whole lot more to the fans

Unfortunately, it’s not great b/c the Nashville draw is not going to capture more eyes beginning at 10-10:30. Hockey fans would love anything but there are too many markets which would fail from a distance. Meanwhile, the West out East for an early start doesn’t max the market the West market. The Finals may work while the early rounds will result in diminished returns. That’s why we have Divisions and Conferences in the first place.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Unfortunately, it’s not great b/c the Nashville draw is not going to capture more eyes beginning at 10-10:30. Hockey fans would love anything but there are too many markets which would fail from a distance. Meanwhile, the West out East for an early start doesn’t max the market the West market. The Finals may work while the early rounds will result in diminished returns. That’s why we have Divisions and Conferences in the first place.

Hockey fans: Something has to change
Also hockey fans: Why did they change things?

 

[Thirty One]

The Rangers have faced the Capitals one (1) time since they moved away from the 1-8 playoffs.

 

[Thirty One]

I don't want to have to watch Rangers playoff games starting as late as 7 PM. Keep the playoffs in the same timezone.

 

[nyr2k2]

I hate West Coast games. I don't even like playing teams in the West.

I'd take a schedule where you just play your own conference plus one game each against teams from the other conference. And alternate home and away each season. Rivalries are with the teams you play all the time. The Washington rivalry really heated up when we played them in the playoffs every year, and then with realignment. Unless you can play a team 5-6 times per season or repeatedly in the playoffs, those rivalries rarely develop, or rarely last.

You could do things to try to force rivalries, but that's dumb. And again, f*** games on the West Coast.

 

[NYSPORTS]

Hockey fans: Something has to change
Also hockey fans: Why did they change things?

business - closer proximity increases brand awareness and the odds on the winner gaining a larger following including the fan base which lost head to head. The losing base doesn’t change affiliations but location increases the odds on those eyes continuing to follow. At a distance, the market is more likely to dismiss going forward.