Coaching aside, do the Rangers have the horses to play an open game?

[Crease]

Former Ranger and current The Sports Network analyst Ray Ferraro is not so sure.

The Rangers' players were going to feel liberated no matter whom Tortorella's replacement turned out to be. The more relevant question is whether Vigneault can find the right style of play to fit this roster.

If you ask any coach, 'You can win 4-3 or you can win 2-1,' most of them would probably take 2-1 because they like a safer game. But if they have the horses, they'll play 4-3. I just don't know if the Rangers have the horses to do that."

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[Fitzy]

I think, if they want to do it properly, they'll give different lines different philosophies, instead of the Tortorella one-size-fits all. Let the offensive players play, let the checkers check.

 

[BroadwayBlues]

Probably not. At the same time they're capable of scoring more than they did under Tortorella.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

Probably not. At the same time they're capable of scoring more than they did under Tortorella.

This is the definitive answer. Our so-called speed players are too easy to take off the puck.

 

[GAGLine]

I don't think we need to be the penguins. We just need to be more aggressive in all 3 zones and use the middle of the ice more.

 

[AWall THE CLAW]

Will they score more if they focus on puck possession and work on honing basic offensive skills like shooting and passing in practice? Uh... yeah. I also forgot when you had to be an absolute burner to be a good skater in this league. The Rangers have plenty of guys who can move, who cares if only Hags and Kreider would win the All-Star competition?

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Theres enough skill to open up the play a little more, especially considering we possess the best goaltender in the world, but I think it will still leave a lot of fans unsatisfied.

Realism sets in when you're behind that bench. You can't hide under the illusion that the personnel is better/more creative than it actually is.

Happened to Renney, happened to Tortorella, and I think its a good bet it'll happen to Vigneault.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Theres enough skill to open up the play a little more, especially considering we possess the best goaltender in the world, but I think it will still leave a lot of fans unsatisfied.

Realism sets in when you're behind that bench. You can't hide under the illusion that the personnel is better/more creative than it actually is.

Happened to Renney, happened to Tortorella, and I think its a good bet it'll happen to Vigneault.

Well said.

Do people out there honestly think the coaching staff wanted guys going down and blocking shots, playing two lines to the ground, and ending up beat up by the end of the season? There was no other choice. Rangers started to get a bit of depth and some success, then Sather (and some of the fans) got impatient and threw it all away for the quick fix that sent the organization back 4 years in one half season.

Sad thing is, the kids on the farm are still along ways from making an impact. It's going to take a while (or some miracle in the ufa/buyout pool this summer) to shore up that depth again to have the ability to play a more entertaining game.

 

[Trxjw]

I think there are some adjustments that can be made to open up the taps. Letting Staal and McDonagh take a more active role in the offensive zone for one. A better transition game will go a long way as well. With how we play currently, the next move isn't a wide-open, track-meet kind of offense. We're still going to need to outwork the other team, but I think in transition, this team has the potential to be quite lethal if coached properly.

It's not about out-chancing the other team, it's about capitalizing when you have the opportunity to do so. That's what this team has been lacking with an awful PP. No ability to punish the opponent when they make a mistake.

 

[iamitter]

I think there are some adjustments that can be made to open up the taps. Letting Staal and McDonagh take a more active role in the offensive zone for one. A better transition game will go a long way as well. With how we play currently, the next move isn't a wide-open, track-meet kind of offense. We're still going to need to outwork the other team, but I think in transition, this team has the potential to be quite lethal if coached properly.

It's not about out-chancing the other team, it's about capitalizing when you have the opportunity to do so. That's what this team has been lacking with an awful PP. No ability to punish the opponent when they make a mistake.

You bump our PP to average (15th), we score an extra 4 goals this year. Slightly above average (10th), we score an extra 6 goals. Excellent (5th) and we score an extra 8 goals.

Average PP gets us to 11th in G/G, Slightly above average gets us to 9th and excellent gets us to 7th.

 

[jaywills1020]

I think we will be ok. Id like to see what a guy like Kreider can do now that he wont be afraid of getting benched for making a mistake. We have some good offensive players and I really hope this guy puts Ryan Mc on the point on the PP. I think his offensive skills are a little underrated. Having Lundqvist in net also lets the team take some chances so hopefully AV loosens up the reigns.

 

[Inferno]

fixing the PP fixes a lot of our problems.

 

[Son of Steinbrenner]

fixing the PP fixes a lot of our problems.

Bingo! It's not even just the power play it's the penalty kill too. If the Rangers can play exactly the same 5 on 5 AND improve the specialty teams they are a contender next season. Special Teams killed them all season and in the playoffs.

 

[Inferno]

Bingo! It's not even just the power play it's the penalty kill too. If the Rangers can play exactly the same 5 on 5 AND improve the specialty teams they are a contender next season. Special Teams killed them all season and in the playoffs.

yep...with that said, im not sure we have the personnel to really play "Torts" hockey...so I think a more traditional style of offense would be fine as well...we could be a top 5-10 offensive team with a damn good PP, and a top 1-5 PK team...that solves most of our problems and pretty much guarantees us a top 5 seed.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Making sure Vigneault keeps the same even strength principals/performance and improves the PP/PK is a tricky balancing act. We'll see what happens.

 

[Inferno]

Making sure Vigneault keeps the same even strength principals/performance and improves the PP/PK is a tricky balancing act. We'll see what happens.

yeah, it's really tough to say how he'll keep that offense at ES the same if he's goingv to change the team radically.

I will say this, the offensive output we had last year at ES despite our entire philosophy in the defensive zone to pack em in and give away posession up top was quite remarkable.

the amount of time we spent in our own zone had to be among the worst in the league i would think.

 

[The Gloaming]

We don't have to be the Penguins, I prefer that we weren't, but they can fix a few things:

Stop collapsing and letting the opposition have a shooting gallery. Pressure the puck carrier instead.
Carry the puck into the zone more.
Actually chase the puck after dumping it in.

This will open up the system without being a detriment defensively.

 

[iamitter]

yeah, it's really tough to say how he'll keep that offense at ES the same if he's goingv to change the team radically.

I will say this, the offensive output we had last year at ES despite our entire philosophy in the defensive zone to pack em in and give away posession up top was quite remarkable.

the amount of time we spent in our own zone had to be among the worst in the league i would think.

This year our ES GF/GA ratio was even better than last year.

With the exception of this past year, Vancouver's been among the leaders in ES GF/GA ratio most of the past few years though.

 

[Off Sides]

First off they have to figure out how to be efficient in their own zone defensively. No matter how they want to play if the players are exhausted from defending they are not going to transition to offense well.

 

[Tawnos]

I don't think we have the horses to play an offense-first game. That being said, that's really not a big deal. Plenty of teams with good offensive numbers have played a defense-first game.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Theres enough skill to open up the play a little more, especially considering we possess the best goaltender in the world, but I think it will still leave a lot of fans unsatisfied.

Realism sets in when you're behind that bench. You can't hide under the illusion that the personnel is better/more creative than it actually is.

Happened to Renney, happened to Tortorella, and I think its a good bet it'll happen to Vigneault.

Agreed. I think there is definitely some room for improvement with tweaks.

But can they outrun and out "puck possess" the top teams? I don't think so. And I think trying to do so is a recipe for failure with this roster, on MSG ice.

 

[iamitter]

We don't have to be the Penguins, I prefer that we weren't, but they can fix a few things:

Stop collapsing and letting the opposition have a shooting gallery. Pressure the puck carrier instead.
Carry the puck into the zone more.
Actually chase the puck after dumping it in.

This will open up the system without being a detriment defensively.

I actually didn't have many problems with when they dumped the puck in. When you don't have a carry in option, you dump it in. When they could, they generally did. It's not like the usual was a dump on a 3 on 2. The issue stems from the fact that our collapsing defense also meant the forwards weren't as close to breaking out as they would be normally which means by the time they got to the opponent's blue line, they had no choice but to dump it.

Pressuring their defensemen more, not sending as many guys behind our own net and not sending all three forwards to the boards behind their net, utilize the middle of the ice more for passes out (easier with no collapsing D). Change those things and I'm fine with the rest of our game. Sometimes dumping is the right move. Sometimes banking the puck out using the boards is the right move. Sometimes blocking the shot is the right move. The issue is that it isn't 100% of the time.

Our players won't change, though. Girardi is still going to block tons of shots and Callahan is still going to dump the puck a lot. That's just how they play. I'm interested in seeing how changing the system changes some of our other players.

 

[Beacon]

The answer is "it depends".

1. Can Step keep up his first line form?
2. Can MZA play in the NHL?
3. Will Kreider and Miller take the extra step to become permanent, full-time NHLers?
4. Will a couple of rookies (Fast, Lindberg, Hrivik, Thomas) step up to provide secondary scoring?

If all these work out, we will have plenty of scoring. If not, we might be in trouble offensively again.

 

[SupersonicMonkey*]

I think, if they want to do it properly, they'll give different lines different philosophies, instead of the Tortorella one-size-fits all. Let the offensive players play, let the checkers check.

This was one of the problems with Tortorella. No adaptation. No ability to maximize player strengths.

Nash, Stepan, Brassard, Kreider, Hagelin should be used differently then Boyle, Callahan, Dorsett.

Moore, McDonagh, and Stralman should have a perpetual green light to use their foot speed to lead the breakout and the rush.

Where does each player excel on the ice, what do they not to well. Kreider shuoldn't be expected to be a defensive forward. He backchecks hard and makes plays in the neutral zone, that should be enough to start with. He's strong around the net, he's strong in the slot on the power play. He's strong on the rush.

The wingers were too low, no pressure on the opposition's point. Opposition defensemen had free reign.

Stop allowing the opposition possession of the puck. Be more aggressive in the defensive zone, pressure the puck more there will be less of a need to block as many shots. Step up in the neutral zone. Attack in the offensive zone.

Over the last few years, when the Rangers were most successful the defense was putting pressure on the attack.

The roster needs more speed, particularly in the bottom six.

 

[Trxjw]

I'd like to see a more aggressive PK. I think we had that in 11-12 and really missed it this year. We spent too much time collapsing the box and trying to block shots this season.