Around the NHL: Part XXXIII

[RGY]

Islanders fans coming here trying to celebrate back to back ECF losses as some victory is really something….

But I guess when you suck for 30 years, losing in the playoffs becomes an achievement.

Also, its gona keep getting better? LMFAO HOW? They have a number of issues to be concerned with, some more near and pressing than others…

• Cap Issues
• Expansion Draft
• Cizikas is leaving among other pending UFAs
• Older Team
• No Farm System
• Missing 1st Round picks trying to go for it
• Not much offensive talent beyond Barzal

YEAH THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!

 

[NYSPORTS]

Linda Cohn[URL='https://twitter.com/lindacohn']@lindacohn[/URL]
9h
After all that the
@NYIslanders won just 1 more playoff game than they did a year ago. Playing without their injured Captain Anders Lee hurt them. Playing the #GoBoltsfor the 2nd straight postseason also didn’t help their cause to take the next step. #Isles #StanleyCup


lol

 

[will1066]

 

[NYSPORTS]

GOOD MORNING!!!!

 

[TomLaidlaw]

I really thought this was the Islanders year. Incrediblly well built, balanced team. They are going to immediately start to find themselves in a difficult spot keeping the team together with Cizikas being a UFA and Beauvillier and Pelech being RFA's. It's so hard to keep cores together in the NHL. Which is why it is so impressive what Tampa has done keeping that team together for the past several years. So many examples throughout the years of teams needing to grow together and suffer some adversity and losses to ultimately become champions. Look at what Tampa went through before winning the cup with this era of players. The salary cap makes it so tough to keep the team together to allow this process. If there was no cap this Islanders team would be a big problem for the league for the next 5-7 years.

I didn't watch a ton of Islanders games in the regular season outside of our games with them but I was blown away with how good Pelech is. I feel like he flies under the radar a bit but he is just a rock solid D-Man. What a great pick he was in the 3rd round for them.

That JT Miller trade was horrendous for us when it happened and continues to be horrendous to this day. It all seemed so rushed right at the end of the trade deadline. If you remember it all happened right at the 11th hour of the trade deadline window closing. The thing that always baffled me about the Miller trade was that we lived with all his growing pains and the signs were there that he was going to be a tremendous top 6 player and we moved him right as he was entering his prime. Especially for a dime a dozen player like Vlad. Just baffling. Immediately after the trade there was a lot of coping within our fan base regarding the ever mysterious post trade "Locker room problems" that JT Miller had. Just a huge swing and miss for us. Never understood why we traded Hayes and Miller at the time we did as they were both entering their primes. I understood moving on from some of our older players as we needed a retool but those guys could have been part of this.

 

[NYSPORTS]

That JT Miller trade was horrendous for us when it happened and continues to be horrendous to this day. It all seemed so rushed right at the end of the trade deadline. If you remember it all happened right at the 11th hour of the trade deadline window closing. The thing that always baffled me about the Miller trade was that we lived with all his growing pains and the signs were there that he was going to be a tremendous top 6 player and we moved him right as he was entering his prime. Especially for a dime a dozen player like Vlad. Just baffling.

i hated the trade. Mostly b/c the Rangers had so few draft picks who showed potential and this kid was in the 217lbs range coming into his prime. Granted, he’s been moved and could be on the move again yet felt the Rangers sold him on a low. Wearing that Pens hat was kinda strange.

 

[Synergy27]

How I feel this morning:

 

[Richard Banger]

And then we get smoked by Tampa again in the ECF and we all look back on this night scared about the monster we created

Nah this time we’ll have that elite talent that we lacked last time we played them in the ECF.

 

[Peltz]

McD is still an elite defensemen. He was incredible in game 7 and helped set up the game winning goal while shutting down the Islanders. I will always be a fan of him and a small part of me wishes we still had him. Defensemen like him do the little things so well.

Really happy for him in his continued success. To me, he was one of the stars of the game last night.

 

[itsPLkielbasa]

McD is still an elite defensemen. He was incredible in game 7 and helped set up the game winning goal while shutting down the Islanders. I will always be a fan of him and a small part of me wishes we still had him. Defensemen like him do the little things so well.

Really happy for him in his continued success. To me, he was one of the stars of the game last night.

Yep. I miss our former captain as well. He is rock solid on the blueline.

 

[Peltz]

I guess Trotz isn’t as good as we thought. He looks like just another guy who can take you into the playoffs but can’t win that big game when needed.

I don't know man... he got a lot out of this team. Lightning are far FAR more talented and balanced team and he got his rag tag group within a goal of advancing. How can you say he didn't do a great job?

This was a game of inches. Barzel had a clear look at a goal and the puck bounced over his stick. Thats the difference in this one.

I hate the Islanders, but Trotz turned them into a team that is very hard to beat.

 

[Kane One]

I guess Trotz isn’t as good as we thought. He looks like just another guy who can take you into the playoffs but can’t win that big game when needed.

He won them two series this year when needed. Why blame him for one game and ignore all the other games they stole?

 

[Peltz]

Yep. I miss our former captain as well. He is rock solid on the blueline.

He does his job so well, without bombastic flair. Just a hard worker with textbook defensive skills who is responsible with the puck. We still don't have a guy like that on our current roster since McD left, but I do think Lindgren could eventually become that if he continues to get better as he has been. He's still young and has that blue collar grit/intensity we need.

 

[Peltz]

He won them two series this year when needed. Why blame him for one game and ignore all the other games they stole?

Yea, really don't get it. Islanders did get outplayed in this one when you look at pure possession time, but they still gave up very few chances. And they were in this game the whole way through in a hostile environment.

Really, if you want to criticize Trotz, you can do so when comes to the power play. His PP unit scored one goal all series, and it also gave up a season ending short handed goal. You can't have a +/- on the PP unit of zero in a series and hope to win this deep into the playoffs.

It's why we never advanced to the finals under Torts. Our PP was terrible too, despite having maybe the hardest working team in the league.

 

[IronBloodedLion]

I think Trotz gets a lot out of that Islanders team. The roster is good, but he takes them to the next level. I don’t think they get as far as they do the last 2 years without him.

 

[AIexisLafreniereNYR]

Woke up and a giant smile on my face

 

[bl02]

Linda Cohn@lindacohn
9h
After all that the
@NYIslanders won just 1 more playoff game than they did a year ago. Playing without their injured Captain Anders Lee hurt them. Playing the #GoBoltsfor the 2nd straight postseason also didn’t help their cause to take the next step. #Isles #StanleyCup


lol

I like Linda but I don't wanna hear about Lee. If Boston was healthy they would have taken care of the Islanders in 6

 

[SRHRangers]

1. f*** the Islanders. Thank you Tampa.
2. Same goes for the Habs. They were never even in my top 5 most hated teams until I came to HF 14 years ago and met their fan base. I’d rather eat toenail shavings than watch them win a cup.
3. The revisionist history on the McDonagh trade is embarrassing. Most of you (and the posts exist to prove it) would have shipped JT Miller anywhere for nothing more than a bag of seeds and stems.
4. McDonagh in his last season with us was a shell of his former self. That contract could have gone either way. Scapegoating JG because he was handed a pile of dog shit by Slats is about as ridiculous as it gets.

I wasn't on this board yet, but I was fuming when I heard the McD trade.

Especially considering how much Tampa took us to the cleaners with the St. Louis trade.


Both on the return (at the time, I wanted Sergachev over Howden/Hajek), and the Miller part.

I knew Miller didn't have a future here, but that was a complete giveaway.

 

[will1066]

The Bolts really did a job last night with moving the puck cleanly. They hit the seams that any other mortal team wouldn't hit. The Isles dare you to try the lanes that seemingly are open but it's just part of their scheme to trap you. The Bolts did two passes and they were out of their D zone and flying through the neutral zone all night.

 

[Blueshirt Believer]

I don't know man... he got a lot out of this team. Lightning are far FAR more talented and balanced team and he got his rag tag group within a goal of advancing. How can you say he didn't do a great job?

This was a game of inches. Barzel had a clear look at a goal and the puck bounced over his stick. Thats the difference in this one.

I hate the Islanders, but Trotz turned them into a team that is very hard to beat.

I agree, Trotz did a fantastic job with that Islander team. Thats about the only compliment I can muster.

 

[AIexisLafreniereNYR]

It’s an absolute blood bath between Ranger and Islander fans on Twitter and I’m loving the salt.

 

[will1066]

So apparently Jordan Eberle is the Isles' version of our Ryan Strome

 

[JohnC]

Taking JT Miller out of the equation, the only part of the McD trade that still baffles me is that Libor Hajek was supposedly the key piece. Big time swing and a miss on that one. Brett Howden had very legit two-way 2C upside at the time, but was rushed into the NHL by a management team that was rushing players into the NHL like it was nobody’s business. He probably doesn’t become the disaster he is today with a year in Hartford IMO.

I think JT Miller’s worth is over glorified, but they still should have gotten more/better value out of him, rather than treating him as a throw in.

 

[Peltz]

The Bolts really did a job last night with moving the puck cleanly. They hit the seams that any other mortal team wouldn't hit. The Isles dare you to try the lanes that seemingly are open but it's just part of their scheme to trap you. The Bolts did two passes and they were out of their D zone and flying through the neutral zone all night.

Yep. They played a very north/south game and spent a ton of time in the Islander's zone. It's what Quinn was trying, but failing, to get our team to do in the regular season.

 

[TheTimTamSlammerMan]

What’s the rule on wearing neutral fan gear to the Stanley Cup lol. Might have prematurely bought game 7 tickets but don’t own Montreal or Lightning apparel. Here’s hoping for game 7