Post-Game Talk: Devil IV

[DanielBrassard]

It's not.

It's just sexy on paper.

If we had Kane from 2010, Tarasenko from 2017, and half of what Lafreniere and Kakko were supposed to be, then yeah, we'd be the best team in the league.

That being said, I don't necessarily subscribe to the doomy "this is as good as it gets" mentality. We can and should put a better product on the ice.

We just need the front office to wake up and address actual problems that continue to fester. This organization desperately needs to get over the mentality of having a token PMD and everyone else is either Dan Girardi or a dump truck. Also, paging management: the Rangers were fast NINE PISSING YEARS AGO and have gotten slower every year since. I don't think you need to be the fastest team ever to win but we have nobody (like a Hagelin, just for example) who's gonna go in and get the puck in a game like this.

Again, I like Tarasenko as a player and Kane, analytics be damned, is way better than I expected, but were they addressing anything fundamentally wrong with this team? No.

I couldn't agree more with all of this.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

You really shouldn't be surprised. It happens after every loss and it's 10X worse in the playoffs. Season was over when we were down 3-1 against Pitt. Season was over when we were down 3-2 against Carolina. Now it's over in a 2-2 series.

Playoff series are about momentum. The Rangers were up 2-0 going home with a strong chance to be up 3-1 going back to Jersey. The devils found their footing and now control the series. I would say, objectively, the series currently tilts in their favor, but that obviously can change. The Rangers didn’t play with enough desire. Devils wanted it more. They outmanned us on every loose puck, and committed to team D. They were opportunistic and that’s how they need to play to beat us. They have a confident young goalie. They have the edge

 

[McRanger92]

Hughes did shit in that game other than the breakaway. the whole team is just so much faster all around than we are and now they're using it to play shutdown defense instead of throttling us with goals.

The last 2 games have been tight and defensive. Hughes has 2 of his teams 5 goals and Panarin has 0 points in the series. When the losses are this close and on home ice, you best believe the blame will go toward the 11.6 million dollar man.

 

[LiveLongandProspal]

Too many guys who handle the puck like a hand grenade. I would think about putting Jones in the lineup. The Devils are not the kind of team that's likely to take advantage of his lack of size.

Won't happen, but Zac Jones would instantly become the best PMD on our team. Sad state of our team.

Did you see that one sequence with Braden Schneider in his own zone? He looked like he had never played hockey before. I've seen better hockey IQ from Dale Purinton.

 

[The Gloaming]

Leafs and their soft playoff core have just come back from 3 goals down to tie it. Makes our loss look even worse.

 

[DanielBrassard]

Do we have the worst passing defensemen in the league? The only guy who can complete an outlet pass is Fox and even he's been crappy.

Yeah we do, it's horrible and part of the reason why they suck offensively at 5v5. Same applies to the offensive zone with zero defenseman who have lateral mobility, which limits what they can do as far as offensive zone schemes and how involved everyone is and where shots come from.

 

[I Eat Crow]

It's not.

It's just sexy on paper.

If we had Kane from 2010, Tarasenko from 2017, and half of what Lafreniere and Kakko were supposed to be, then yeah, we'd be the best team in the league.

That being said, I don't necessarily subscribe to the doomy "this is as good as it gets" mentality. We can and should put a better product on the ice.

We just need the front office to wake up and address actual problems that continue to fester. This organization desperately needs to get over the mentality of having a token PMD and everyone else is either Dan Girardi or a dump truck. Also, paging management: the Rangers were fast NINE PISSING YEARS AGO and have gotten slower every year since. I don't think you need to be the fastest team ever to win but we have nobody (like a Hagelin, just for example) who's gonna go in and get the puck in a game like this.

Again, I like Tarasenko as a player and Kane, analytics be damned, is way better than I expected, but were they addressing anything fundamentally wrong with this team? No.

Seriously.

Go watch highlights from the 2013-2014 run folks. That team was fast. In your face. Devasting on the forecheck. They rolled four lines and just never stopped coming at you. That team would have won the Cup if they had today's Patrick Kane even.

Berard is a nice start to start getting back in that direction. If you're trading Panarin, pro scouting needs to do it right and acquire the right types of players. Hell, give me a mulligan of the Marian Gaborik trade to Columbus. A middle six center that steps up his game in tight situations, a buzzsaw bottom six player that PK's really well, and a bottom pairing defenseman that can move the puck and transition competently.

Team speed needs to really be addressed this summer. It's the new way of the game. If you're not going to adjust and get pucks deep and not even fight for it and look like a bunch of p***yes in the process, just abandon the idea.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Too many guys who handle the puck like a hand grenade. I would think about putting Jones in the lineup. The Devils are not the kind of team that's likely to take advantage of his lack of size.

I'm not adverse to this idea but as i said earlier in the year, Robertson and Jones should have gotten some games in 2023 to see if they can handle it. It's hard to throw someone in now in a critical game and hope he succeeds. I can't see this happening. Imo the solution is currently in the room but they need to start playing like a team that earns a win not expects it.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I just don't think it's the effort as much as it is good play by the Devils. Things get skewed after a loss. Last game they lost in OT and game could have gone either way. Tonight game was tied with 10 minutes to go. Devils played well enough to win. Effort had nothing to do with the Rangers scoring 4 PP goals in Jersey and zero at MSG and that's basically the difference. The Rangers will not win if the get nothing on the PP.

 

[Taluss]

Leafs and their soft playoff core have just come back from 3 goals down to tie it. Makes our loss look even worse.

They just want it more

 

[Mike in Houston]

Mika and Panarin. Two points each through 4 games. Big fail!

 

[Brutananadilewski]

The last 2 games have been tight and defensive. Hughes has 2 of his teams 5 goals and Panarin has 0 points in the series. When the losses are this close and on home ice, you best believe the blame will go toward the 11.6 million dollar man.

Also, Hughes loses the puck because Rangers converge on him.

Panarin does it all himself.

 

[will1066]

Best lineup since 1994. Drury should be pissed if this team exits in the first round.

I'd put an asterisk on that. Drury would have built it differently if he was in when Gorton was. But he's built it around Panarin because he has been handcuffed.

 

[Kravtsov420]

These teams don’t have shit on the old team, don’t care what you say. Those teams played hard and with heart. They made you proud to be a ranger fan despite not having the talent. This team is a laughable attempt at making a competitive team.

It starts with the McMuffin twins in team cancer panarin and mika with their powderpuff play style.

I don’t think I’ve seen those two get to the blue paint in their entire career with the rangers.

f***ing disgraceful, and you’re an enabler if you think they’re not the problem.

 

[CLW]

Gallant not happy and trying real hard not to come clean

I'm sorry but Gallant is part of the root problem. Him shitting on the players is not a good look. This dude is getting outcoached on the regular, his setup and basic approach is deeply flawed and his adjustments are lacking. This was the game to do so from the start. The previous game was an even bigger opportunity that he failed to take.

 

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

At least Gallant is as pissed as the rest of us.

 

[OthmannOut]

Btw I am probably one of the biggest Laf defenders on this board but he was hot dog doo doo tonight. Wew.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Won't happen, but Zac Jones would instantly become the best PMD on our team. Sad state of our team.

Did you see that one sequence with Braden Schneider in his own zone? He looked like he had never played hockey before. I've seen better hockey IQ from Dale Purinton.

It was ugly but I think what messed him up was everyone decided to change as soon as he started going ahead with it and he was likely scared to get a too many men, the pass after was a panic pass. He's been up and down but one of the few guys who was actually hitting tonight.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

I just don't think it's the effort as much as it is good play by the Devils. Things get skewed after a loss. Last game they lost in OT and game could have gone either way. Tonight game was tied with 10 minutes to go. Devils played well enough to win. Effort had nothing to do with the Rangers scoring 4 PP goals in Jersey and zero at MSG and that's basically the difference. The Rangers will not win if the get nothing on the PP.

It’s both. New Jersey played better, they played hard. But they outwilled us. You have to want it more than the other team. You have to win puck battles. We lost every one

 

[Brutananadilewski]

At least Gallant is as pissed as the rest of us.

That's him pissed?

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

GG coming close to being more revealing than he has all year. Flat out embarrassing play at home. No urgency, no organization or sticking to a plan either.

 

[markymarc1215]

Heaven forbid we ever show a killer instinct and win a series in anything less than 7 games. This has been a very frustrating trait of this team going back almost 15 years.

 

[irishlaxburger2]

Until Artemi Panarin is willing to flip the colors in this chart in the playoffs, this team isn’t going anywhere.

 

[Filip Chytil]

Won't happen, but Zac Jones would instantly become the best PMD on our team. Sad state of our team.

Did you see that one sequence with Braden Schneider in his own zone? He looked like he had never played hockey before. I've seen better hockey IQ from Dale Purinton.

Dale Purinton. Now that's a name I haven't thought about in quite some time!

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Seriously.

Go watch highlights from the 2013-2014 run folks. That team was fast. In your face. Devasting on the forecheck. They rolled four lines and just never stopped coming at you. That team would have won the Cup if they had today's Patrick Kane even.

Berard is a nice start to start getting back in that direction. If you're trading Panarin, pro scouting needs to do it right and acquire the right types of players. Hell, give me a mulligan of the Marian Gaborik trade to Columbus. A middle six center that steps up his game in tight situations, a buzzsaw bottom six player that PK's really well, and a bottom pairing defenseman that can move the puck and transition competently.

Team speed needs to really be addressed this summer. It's the new way of the game. If you're not going to adjust and get pucks deep and not even fight for it and look like a bunch of p***yes in the process, just abandon the idea.

That team also lost in 5 games to a Kings team that was much slower. It's not all about speed.