Post-Game Talk: bruins @ Rangers

[bl02]

something is wrong when I'm looking forward to getting Blackwell back into the lineup vs seeing our young stars like Lafreniere and Kakko put up points and looking dangerous out on the ice

 

[Tob]

Interesting thread here.

this is strong evidence against Quinn. Whatever it is that Quinn loves so much about Howden, nothing in this reality supports it. If Quinn is infatuated with everything that is Howden and is trying to get all the other youngsters to be more like Howden, what the hell did Gorton and Drury sign us up for under Quinn?

 

[will1066]

something is wrong when I'm looking forward to getting Blackwell back into the lineup vs seeing our young stars like Lafreniere and Kakko put up points and looking dangerous out on the ice

Put Blackwell back with Panarin (assuming he can play) and Strome. Profit.

 

[will1066]

this is strong evidence against Quinn. Whatever it is that Quinn loves so much about Howden, nothing in this reality supports it. If Quinn is infatuated with everything that is Howden and is trying to get all the other youngsters to be more like Howden, what the hell did Gorton and Drury sign us up for under Quinn?

I try to approach life like Howden. So does Deadpool. Maximum effort.

 

[bl02]

Really agree with this. Kakko has looked really, really good for a bunch of games. Lafreniere has been ramping up, had a great third today.

If Panarin is out, I hope Quinn gives us Lafreniere-Strome-Kakko.

I would even slide in Blackwell between Lafreniere and Kakko.
Let Strome infect another line. Without Panarin drop him to center the third line.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Yeah sadly I think Howden is no more than a good AHLer.

He does some nice things from time to time but he is just a tall kid on skates.

He really hasn’t made a difference in any game, for like the last 30 games.

If he isn’t scoring or setting up goals, if he isn’t driving play, winning face offs, winning battles for the puck, fighting and giving the team a charge, forechecking like an animal and creating havoc or flat out possessing the puck for his team for more than 2 seconds then what good is he out there? A PK cone that can block a shot?

You’re telling me at this point there isn’t a better center in the pipeline for the Rangers? Richards? Anyone? I’ve been backing this kid but I really think his ship has sailed. He does nothing. If he can’t produce he needs to stir shit up with his body, if he can even do that

Blackwell needs to take his spot immediately once he’s back

 

[bl02]

Put Blackwell back with Panarin (assuming he can play) and Strome. Profit.

Absolutely if Panarin is playing next game. Kakko is trying but we need someone who can get to the puck first and get the puck to Panarin in the o zone.

 

[bl02]

Blackwell is a decent faceoff guy. Come on DQ there is your reason right there to give Howden a vacation for a bit. Howden wins some faceoffs that's about it.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Also.... id guess with Sundays game being postponed we won't see Panarin Friday, or atleast we shouldn't, let him heal

 

[bl02]

Did Quinn say anything about Panarin injury in post game?

Said he "suffered a little bit of a lower body injury" I'm pretty sure that's the most info you're gonna get from this team regarding an injury

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

Yeah sadly I think Howden is no more than a good AHLer.

He does some nice things from time to time but he is just a tall kid on skates.

He really hasn’t made a difference in any game, for like the last 30 games.

If he isn’t scoring or setting up goals, if he isn’t driving play, winning face offs, winning battles for the puck, fighting and giving the team a charge, forechecking like an animal and creating havoc or flat out possessing the puck for his team for more than 2 seconds then what good is he out there? A PK cone that can block a shot?

You’re telling me at this point there isn’t a better center in the pipeline for the Rangers? Richards? Anyone? I’ve been backing this kid but I really think his ship has sailed. He does nothing.

Blackwell needs to take his spot immediately once he’s back

Nice kid, tries really hard. But at some point the results have to be there. Trying hard isn’t enough. I know people on here feel otherwise but to me I see a player who hasn’t made any progress in his time in the NHL. A player who struggles with the most
basic plays in the offensive zone, doesn’t have NHL level skill and drags down the performance of almost every line he’s on. When you’re a kid just breaking in to the NHL, a lot of that can be hand waived away with the idea of his potential being there to be better and thinking he can grow into a solid player. But we’re in year 3 of him in the NHL (no AHL time mind you) and he hasn’t really improved in any of the areas he struggles in.

He looks his best when he’s a 4C playing very limited minutes and just has to go out there and provide energy. He’s crazy out of his element as 3C which is incredibly disappointing because the idea was he could be that guy going forward but we have a mountain of evidence to indicate that most likely will never happen. At least not on a good team.

I also think he sucks ass on the PK. He chases too much and pulls himself out of position.

 

[huerter]

It’s like looking at the frame of a house being built. I can see what the final product is going to resemble. But there’s still a lot of unfinished business and some pretty gnarly looking sections right now.

With an 8 million dollar porta potty.

 

[LokiDog]

Unfortunately they are right in that swing zone where they could sneak into the playoffs or be a lottery team - and that’s reflected in the record we see now. They’re missing that extra ability to turn some of the OTLs into Ws.

Right now they’re essentially a team with warning track power.

But I also think there’s a tendency to overlook some really interesting things that are taking shape.

The younger talent looks like it belongs. And even when it doesn’t get on the board, they’re getting chances and creating them too. That Rooney goal owes a lot to Kakko. But it’ll never show up in the box score.

Lafreniere created two prime scoring chances for his teammates. He did everything you could ask him to do in that situation. But it’ll never show up on a box score.

Personally, I think those things are so important because it shows me guys who are capable of doing some cool things at the NHL level. I’d take that over them having several goals each where they play like garbage but get a tip-in. To me, that’s the mirage you gotta watch out for.

You’ll hear no argument from me. Not much more Laf could do on those setups and he could be on the board more than once. And as you said, we do see that a lot in most games. It’s just the experience as a fan that I’m talking about... not so much complaining, because this is the process and that’s fine... but lamenting that it’s turning out to be a very “bland” season so far. Seeing Laf set up near goals is still exciting for that second as you watch it unfold, but we can all agree it feels nothing like his OT goal felt. You just hope, from a selfish, entertainment point of view, to get to experience more of those moments and a lot less of the ho-hum, well we played better defense, the kids looked engaged, better luck next time games on repeat.

 

[NYR3]

Yeah sadly I think Howden is no more than a good AHLer.

He does some nice things from time to time but he is just a tall kid on skates.

He really hasn’t made a difference in any game, for like the last 30 games.

If he isn’t scoring or setting up goals, if he isn’t driving play, winning face offs, winning battles for the puck, fighting and giving the team a charge, forechecking like an animal and creating havoc or flat out possessing the puck for his team for more than 2 seconds then what good is he out there? A PK cone that can block a shot?

You’re telling me at this point there isn’t a better center in the pipeline for the Rangers? Richards? Anyone? I’ve been backing this kid but I really think his ship has sailed. He does nothing. If he can’t produce he needs to stir shit up with his body, if he can even do that

Blackwell needs to take his spot immediately once he’s back

As usual, we have no center prospects

 

[Kravtsov420]

this is your takeaway from tonight? yikes

Does it make it any less true ?

 

[eco's bones]

The thing with breakaways is if the player makes his shot it's more than likely going in. Wagner went from left to right across the crease to make his shot and Marchand who almost always makes his shot went back against the grain as he was moving across the crease to put it in off the post. It was a bad play by Panarin on the Wagner goal and a bad play by Buchnevich on the Marchand goal.

All in all the team played pretty well defensively. We are having trouble finishing plays. The last two games we've also run into two goalies who were pretty much in the zone. Unfortunately Panarin may be hurt and if that's the case we're in trouble. Some of our other top forwards need to step it up though.

 

[Waivers]

I don’t even notice Howden on the ice he has absolutely zero impact on the game.

 

[gravey9]

Unfortunately they are right in that swing zone where they could sneak into the playoffs or be a lottery team - and that’s reflected in the record we see now. They’re missing that extra ability to turn some of the OTLs into Ws.

Right now they’re essentially a team with warning track power.

But I also think there’s a tendency to overlook some really interesting things that are taking shape.

The younger talent looks like it belongs. And even when it doesn’t get on the board, they’re getting chances and creating them too. That Rooney goal owes a lot to Kakko. But it’ll never show up in the box score.

Lafreniere created two prime scoring chances for his teammates. He did everything you could ask him to do in that situation. But it’ll never show up on a box score.

Personally, I think those things are so important because it shows me guys who are capable of doing some cool things at the NHL level. I’d take that over them having several goals each where they play like garbage but get a tip-in. To me, that’s the mirage you gotta watch out for.

I agree with all of this. But in addition, there are some other really bright spots.

For the first time in years, the team is almost always on the right side of the puck. They are really supporting each other in their own zone. And as a result, the kids are learning how to play away from the puck and in their own zone. This is a hugely important aspect that did not exist until this season with the big club. Last year, Chytil and Kravtsov learned more structure in HFD. This is huge for Kakko, Laf, Miller and Hajek.

In addition, having more structure and puck support will be huge once the team starts making the playoffs.

That said, if your team stays on the right side of the puck it generally means both teams stay on the right side of the puck more often than not. And the game tends clog up a bit. This is likely impacting our top two lines ability to generate the same sort of offense they did last season. There's just less room for it. Especially against these veteran teams that play the right way.

Which brings me to my last point: most of the goals the team has scored the last 3 games have been the greasy variety. Deflections, rebounds, crash the net style. Both goals tonight were inside the paint. I've said a few times now and I'll say it again, these are the kind of goals we need to be focusing on. I get it. You want your skilled guys to score skill goals. But how many goals did Messier and Graves score from inside the paint? A ton. And if our skill guys want to get out of their slumps, they'll do it by scoring an ugly goal. Not likely by connecting on some full-speed tape to tape sexy goal. The top two lines NEED to simplify, get some greasy goals, build their confidence up, then slowly add the skill back in. But this breaking a slump by being slick rarely works.

In fact, I would go so far as to say they lost this game in OT tonight because Buch decided to pass through two guys as opposed to getting it on net. That was the perfect opportunity for a shot-pass, where Fox bangs in the rebound. And even if Fox misses the rebound, that's a 50/50 battle between Zibby and whoever. Not a turnover, breakaway goal. Just forcing the perfect, instead of winning with hustle.

BTW -- Lemieux is sorta flying under the radar but he's really been the driver of recent goals and also power plays. He deserves some recognition too.

 

[gravey9]

This is going to sound ridiculous but I think Panarin not playing a few games might be a good thing for Laf and Kakko. I think they might actually like the pressure of being the go-to guys for a change. And i think they are ready for a little more responsibility. And if either shines it may force Quinn to play them more.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Panarin being out would be killer, especially since Mika and Kreider have been pretty MIA(and now Buch) on the scoresheet most of the season.

Looked like he pulled something (groin?). Wasn't so happy with Quinn playing him on the PP, this isn't the playoffs, we don't need to risk further inuring whatever his injury is to win a regular season game. Esp when you have rat boy Marchant taking advantage of him being injured and going for the hit.

 

[Dr. Ogrodnick]

The world isn't ready for a Lafreniere-Strome-Kakko line

I know strome isn't.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

I know strome isn't.

Ryan “Never met an open net he couldn’t miss” Strome

 

[AlaBlueShirt]

Bergeron won 15 faceoffs, rangers won total of 13. Buch you have a great shot please use it.

 

[MysticLeviathan]

Loss isn’t on Georgiev but he wasn’t good. Hasn’t been good all season except for the islanders game where he didn’t have to break a sweat.

Need your goalie to make saves on high danger chances. Felt like each of their best chances ended up in our net. Meanwhile we had a ton of quality chances and Rask stopped then. So just bc a chance is good and players make bad plays to lead to chances doesn’t mean the goalie can’t stop them. We need our goalies to win us games. We can’t have them just being there.

He’s an average goalie. I think people are frustrated bc he’s being treated like he’s more than his play has deserved.

George is a very solid backup. And he’s good enough that if your goalie goes down for a couple of weeks, he gives you a reasonable chance to win those 6 or so games. But he’s playing way more than he should. Igor is a better goalie. Igor should be starting at least 4 of 5. This rotating goalie crap has to stop.

 

[Casper The Soy Ghost]

George is a very solid backup. And he’s good enough that if your goalie goes down for a couple of weeks, he gives you a reasonable chance to win those 6 or so games. But he’s playing way more than he should. Igor is a better goalie. Igor should be starting at least 4 of 5. This rotating goalie crap has to stop.

Quinn is obviously scared of getting decked by Georgiev and fired as a byproduct.