Post-Game Talk: Big Willie Style

[McRanger92]

Just curious, but why?

The Rangers are essentially there in points at the moment and just need to out-do the teams around them. Is there some freakish expectation that all the teams in the bubble around the Rangers will play .680 hockey the rest of way out, when they've all been low to mid .500s all season, where the Rangers need to be above .680? Cuz only two teams have consistently played above .680 all season and I don't think it's a given any of the teams the Rangers are competing with have the skill to play at that level for 20+ games.

Because people weirdly assume teams like Detroit, Columbus and Ottawa are going to streak to the finish with no missteps, so we have no margin for error. I will believe these also-ran teams are a threat when they prove it for more than 3 weeks stretches at a time. The team with the track record the other wild card teams should be concerned about is the Rangers. If we play our game down the stretch, we'll make it. I personally have my eye on the 3 seed in the Metro. I also think Drury has another trick u his sleeve before Friday passes.

A lot of people really wanted Roy as coach here. I'm not blaming Roy but it is noteworthy.

Tbh I don't think Roy is the problem. I think the Isles have an even worse country club situation than we do. They need to get younger, faster and hungrier ASAP. I think Grandpa Lou wears what happened to them given the state of the roster.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Drury moved out Kakko, Chytil and Vesey. Kreider and Edstrom are injured. Smith and Kaliev are healthy scratches and still this forwards group looks pretty solid (new Kakko has been too finnish, maybe let Brodzinski be a center there while he acclimates).

I think adding Borg was an underrated move this season so far. Our defense was so slow and soft. He just helped change that makeup.

Id give the new center a few more chances to adapt.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Gotta give Zibanejad some major praise. He has looked completely revitalized lately. Maybe he can be part of the solution.

Perhaps ultimate praise to Miller for getting him going, but still, respect to Zibanejad for putting this string of good hockey together.

We finally found the perfect RW for Zibanejad . Himself.

 

[leetch99]

I would say that was the opposite of shortsighted. Jones looks much better the last few than he did to begin the season. I think Lindgren’s spot is now his to run with

Jones moves the puck quickly....Fox plays with it like a child making paths in his morning porridge before he eats it and thus slows everything down . Hopefully he never has to play with Fox other than the PP .

 

[McRanger92]

Jones moves the puck quickly....Fox plays with it like a child making paths in his morning porridge before he eats it and thus slows everything down . Hopefully he never has to play with Fox other than the PP .

I like Jones. I havent had an issue with how he's been handled by the Rangers. If anything, I've approved of it. That being said, when Jones has 70 points in a season, let me know.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I like Jones. I havent had an issue with how he's been handled by the Rangers. If anything, I've approved of it. That being said, when Jones has 70 points in a season, let me know.

I was really high on Jones coming in to this season but he didn't play well earlier. Im still optimistic about him though. I hope the team keeps him and he figures it all out. I think he has a crispness to his skills. He can skate, shoot and pass. Just needs to get the mental part of defense down and figure out how to be stronger in front of our net. Maybe watch some Leetch tapes as inspiration. They were similar height. Jones could add some muscle.

 

[McRanger92]

I was really high on Jones coming in to this season but he didn't play well earlier. Im still optimistic about him though. I hope the team keeps him and he figures it all out. I think he has a crispness to his skills. He can skate, shoot and pass. Just needs to get the mental part of defense down and figure out how to be stronger in front of our net. Maybe watch some Leetch tapes as inspiration. They were similar height. Jones could add some muscle.

I think Jones mental fortitude will serve him well. Lest we forget he made his debut in 2021 with no fans in the stands. He only just played his 100th game last night. He was an undersized 3rd round pick, the slow playing has been frustrating at times but will serve him and the team well long term.

 

[DialUp]

Just curious, but why?

The Rangers are essentially there in points at the moment and just need to out-do the teams around them. Is there some freakish expectation that all the teams in the bubble around the Rangers will play .680 hockey the rest of way out, when they've all been low to mid .500s all season, where the Rangers need to be above .680? Cuz only two teams have consistently played above .680 all season and I don't think it's a given any of the teams the Rangers are competing with have the skill to play at that level for 20+ games.

Detroit, Columbus, and Ottawa have a game on the Rangers. The two teams that will get in at this point will most likely be winning at a large clip. There are just too many teams fighting for the same spot. It would be really interesting if there was like a massive scramble in the last week of the season with 6 teams all technically tied. But I don't see it happening.

Also, look at historical point numbers that get you in. Average is 95 points. Right now Rangers have 21 games left, with 66 points. So they need to 15 out of the next 21 to get to ~95. That is over .680. It doesn't matter who the other teams are. This is all by precedent.

Last year's Capitals was one of the worst teams to make it to the playoffs in years. As mid as everyone is, I think this year's Detroit, Columbus, Rangers, and Ottawa are all better than last year's Capitals. Maybe even the Bruins.

The Rangers position is insane because they should be cleanly in WC1 at this point, not because they are great but because the rest of the league kinda stinks too.

Do we really? Why do we have a 60% chance of making it then?

60% chance to make it in is not the same as their needed win percentage.

 

[NYR Viper]

Wouldn’t it be something for Drury and his team to find two guys in Vaak and De Haan who can just be ‘guys’ on defense for peanuts replacing Lindgren and Trouba for a collective savings of about $13m

 

[leetch99]

I like Jones. I havent had an issue with how he's been handled by the Rangers. If anything, I've approved of it. That being said, when Jones has 70 points in a season, let me know.

Chances are on a team like NY that automatically has Fox on the first pair that Jone would in all likelihood will slot in as a half of a third pairing . Are you aware of any that got 70 pts from the 3rd pairing ? Opps...maybe Ron Stackhouse . My point was pretty simple....Jones makes things move faster in zone exits . If you think Fox is faster at that....good for you .

 

[DialUp]

With a healthy Fox this roster is actually...better than last year and that team could have done it. The problem is that the Panarin line is at like 60% of what it was last year.

Yup. They need to make a tough decision on him.

 

[McRanger92]

Chances are on a team like NY that automatically has Fox on the first pair that Jone would in all likelihood will slot in as a half of a third pairing . Are you aware of any that got 70 pts from the 3rd pairing ? Opps...maybe Ron Stackhouse . My point was pretty simple....Jones makes things move faster in zone exits . If you think Fox is faster at that....good for you .

Hey your brought Fox into it, not I. I think the team can succeed with both guys and they dont need to be paired together.

 

[leetch99]

Hey your brought Fox into it, not I. I think the team can succeed with both guys and they dont need to be paired together.

I don't think the team can have two soft guys on the small side as part of a core of 6 D . One is terrible on D and the other is getting worse by the season as he grows older and less slick.

 

[McRanger92]

Wouldn’t it be something for Drury and his team to find two guys in Vaak and De Haan who can just be ‘guys’ on defense for peanuts replacing Lindgren and Trouba for a collective savings of about $13m

#FireDrury

Honorable mention to Sam Carrick for vastly outperforming what we got from Barclay Goodrow for a fraction of the price.

 

[UnparalledPark]

Jones s playing pretty well against the two worse offensive teams in the league while playing at home. The PP is at 12% with him. When they go on the road when opposition coaches control the matchups, I suspect some on this board will be calling for Lav to give Robertson a chance, and pining for Fox’s return. There may even be a few wishing Lindy was back. OK, maybe not the last one.

 

[Fitzy]

We finally found the perfect RW for Zibanejad . Himself.

I don’t know if it’s a long term fix but I’ll take credit as pretty much the only poster here who suggested it might help Mika before we actually traded for Miller.

Having a guy on wing who can switch to center when there are injuries is just an added bonus

 

[Machinehead]

Will Borgen is fun. That's something we haven't had enough of this year. That trade kind of turned around the vibes for me.

 

[kovazub94]

I think adding Borg was an underrated move this season so far. Our defense was so slow and soft. He just helped change that makeup.

Id give the new center a few more chances to adapt.

Borgen is making MiIler look very good - something that Trouba couldn't do in his last two full years here (and at fraction of a price). He seems to actually got to even the higher performance level after he got his extension.

Re. Parssinen: I don't know how much leash he'll get for now while the team is trying to make the playoffs but Drury said that they have been interested in bringing him onboard for a while so whatever happens now is not going to be detrimental to his long term prospects.

 

[McRanger92]

Borgen is making MiIler look very good - something that Trouba couldn't do in his last two full years here (and at fraction of a price). He seems to actually got to even the higher performance level after he got his extension.

Re. Parssinen: I don't know how much leash he'll get for now while the team is trying to make the playoffs but Drury said that they have been interested in bringing him onboard for a while so whatever happens now is not going to be detrimental to his long term prospects.

Parssinen is like if Kakko had a game more suited to being in the bottom 6. I hope they dont get tired of him quickly like they did with kaliyev, but if they bring in a 3C before the deadline it might be Parsnip sitting over Brodzinski.

 

[bl02]

Watch those elbows Rempe

 

[TheWrongWay]

Detroit, Columbus, and Ottawa have a game on the Rangers. The two teams that will get in at this point will most likely be winning at a large clip. There are just too many teams fighting for the same spot. It would be really interesting if there was like a massive scramble in the last week of the season with 6 teams all technically tied. But I don't see it happening.

Also, look at historical point numbers that get you in. Average is 95 points. Right now Rangers have 21 games left, with 66 points. So they need to 15 out of the next 21 to get to ~95. That is over .680. It doesn't matter who the other teams are. This is all by precedent.

Last year's Capitals was one of the worst teams to make it to the playoffs in years. As mid as everyone is, I think this year's Detroit, Columbus, Rangers, and Ottawa are all better than last year's Capitals. Maybe even the Bruins.

The Rangers position is insane because they should be cleanly in WC1 at this point, not because they are great but because the rest of the league kinda stinks too.

I don't know that 95 is a magic number this season in the sense that potential wild card teams this season look more at the level of the last two seasons, where the conference had a bit more parity and was a little less top-heavy. But I appreciate the explanation and what you said is certainly a possibility

 

[Gordon Bombay]

Lafreniere-Rosen. Has a better ring to it than lefresgu

Weak opponents but I like the team aspect of the games. Excited to see what other moves we make and how we finish this season out

 

[UnparalledPark]

#FireDrury

Honorable mention to Sam Carrick for vastly outperforming what we got from Barclay Goodrow for a fraction of the price.

I would give this a like, but let’s see how they compare come playoff time.

 

[Machinehead]

Quick is such a vibe when it's not his game.

When he's starting, he looks like he wants to kill somebody.

 

[UnparalledPark]

I don’t know if it’s a long term fix but I’ll take credit as pretty much the only poster here who suggested it might help Mika before we actually traded for Miller.

Having a guy on wing who can switch to center when there are injuries is just an added bonus

I’ve stated that I believe Zib should be at C, but he seems less compelled to pass to his line mates now that he is at RW, which is a good thing I guess. His shot has been his strong point in the past. Although anyone who ban get Kreider to 52 goals must be a pretty good playmaker as well.