Post-Game Talk: Devil VII

[zlev]

Everyones analytics for the series are ghastly. Thats what happens when you're outcoached, over matched and out worked.

yeah and his are worse than everyone elses

 

[Brutananadilewski]

Mikkola was ok. I am not giving up on a 21 year old dman.

27

 

[bl02]

I think what hurts most of all is seeing the window already beginning to close.
The only thing that will save us is the kids stepping up.

I honestly don't think it is. The right moves have to be made but Shesty is here for another two years. We are still a top 4 team in the East. At least for another 2-3 years depending on how the younger kids develop. Boston, TB, Pitt, Wash can all be considered on the downside. Of course teams like Ottawa and Buffalo will get better but they aren't there yet.
But you're right ultimately after the next 2-3 years it has to be all about the Chytils/Laf/Kakko/Millers really really stepping up.

 

[duhmetreE]

yeah and his are worse than everyone elses

they were all around 40% xG.

 

[TomLaidlaw]

Tough way to end the season. Couple of takeaways after sleeping on the loss...

Devils Thoughts:

-I thought the Devils would potentially be overwhelmed by the moment, being a young team playing a Game 7 at home can be difficult. You'll see young teams seize up because of the occasion. Credit to them for not being impacted at all and imposing their game on us for the entire 60 minutes. They absolutely controlled the game.

-Jack Hughes looks like he is moving at a different speed than everyone else on the ice. Reminds me a little of the feel of McDavid when you watch him. The explosion and speed that these guys can exhibit with the puck on their stick is remarkable. He had a look in his eyes that he was going to impact the game every time he was on the ice. What a player. I'm a big fan of his, as someone who appreciates great hockey even if they aren't wearing a Rangers sweater. You notice him on the ice.

-I really like Marino as a player. Reminds me of Pelech for the Islanders. Just a really solid understated defender.

-Schmid made some saves at moments that felt like it could have swung the momentum. Specifically the glove saves on Mika and Trocheck. Very calm demeanor for a young player in a big moment. We didn't test him a ton and sometimes it is tough to stay locked into a game where the game is being played at the other end of the ice. Credit to him.

-Overall the Devils absolutely deserved that win. You have to tip your cap to them.


Rangers Thoughts:

-This is the type of game that makes you worried about the culture of our team. To capitulate the way we did, especially at even strength is really worrisome in terms of what the short term future of this team looks like. We are getting to that uncomfortable phase where we have to look at potentially breaking up some of the core members of this team.

-The Kane acquisition didn't age well. I have a hard time getting on Drury retrospectively for this because I get what he was trying to do. In Kane and Tarasenko he added two proven playoff performers to a team that looked ready to make a deep run. It just didn't work out.

-The Kreider Situation: I have a soft spot for Kreider since he came through our system and is one of the few homegrown forwards that worked out. He has scored some big goals for us historically and seems like an overall likeable guy. However, we need to be honest about what he is right now. He has become an incredibly one dimensional hockey player. He is as good as anyone in the NHL at sitting in front of the net on the power play and deflecting pucks and screening the goalie. He is elite at this. Unfortunately, the rest of his game has really become very pedestrian. I always hoped he would become an Adam Graves/ Tim Kerr type power forward. Someone who would grind teams down and get tons of ugly goals and be willing to enter the tough areas of the ice and cycle. This never really materialized for Kreider and I'm not sure what happened. He lost all that weight after the shoulder/collar bone injury and has turned into a finesse type player when he isn't sitting in front of the net on the power play. He also has gotten into the ugly habit of disappearing for stretches. They'll be points in the season and the playoffs where you simply don't notice him on the ice. I feel like the Kreider/Mika bromance is sweet but would be one of the areas I would look at in terms of change. Let Kreider do what he does well on the power play but when it comes to even strength I feel like he should be getting 3rd/4th line ice time.

-Artemi: I share in many fans frustration as it pertains to Artemi. It is hard to see him not get it done again in the playoffs. Eventually we have to ask the question if this guy just isn't built to ever be successful in the playoffs. His talent is hard to walk away from. His contract will likely be difficult to move as well. I don't really know what to do with him.

-The Kids: I have to stop thinking about their draft position when I look at them. They are unlikely to play up to their draft position and will likely be solid to above average NHL players. For our own mental sanity we should probably judge them through that prism. I don't foresee us getting a great value return for them in a trade so we kinda have to ride it out with them and temper our expectations and accept they aren't going to be a Hughes, Matthews, etc type player.

-The sacrificial lamb: Gallant - I would be very surprised if Gallant is our coach next year. We will likely be forced to bring back a large portion of this team for another kick at the can next year but there will need to be some type of "change" after this capitulation. The easiest route is replacing the coach. Is it deserved, I don't really know but this is the nature of sports.

-Overall, it isn't so much about losing game seven, it is the way we lost. Some of the same guys who vanished during the Tampa series last year did it again this series. We have several guys still in the prime years and we have an elite goalie. I wouldn't expect a major upheaval or roster turnover this off season.

 

[AK 27]

We did nothing in that series but hit.

We averaged 29.1 a game which would have led the league.

It didn't magically stop speed and skill like we told ourselves it would.

There's hitting and then there's hitting smartly. Hitting a guy after the fact doesn't do very much, Hitting a guy with the puck to derail a play is another thing altogether. I don't care how many hits they got credit for. They didn't hit with the right intent.

 

[Machinehead]

There's hitting and then there's hitting smartly. Hitting a guy after the fact doesn't do very much, Hitting a guy with the puck to derail a play is another thing altogether. I don't care how many hits they got credit for. They didn't hit with the right intent.

I don't think you'll find much disagreement on here that they suck at checking and disrupting the other team. That's more of a speed issue than a lack of priority.

Obviously they prioritized it. The puck is just usually already gone.

 

[Nyr88nyg]

Rangers are 1-8 in playoff games after Tampa and NJ made adjustments. Should be 0-8 but Shesty stood on his head and Schmid sucked in game 6.

This is a team full of power play specialists and bad 5on5 players. That team of power play specialists went 1 of their last 21.

 

[qwertyaas]

There's hitting and then there's hitting smartly. Hitting a guy after the fact doesn't do very much, Hitting a guy with the puck to derail a play is another thing altogether. I don't care how many hits they got credit for. They didn't hit with the right intent.

Games 1 and 2. You saw the affect of their play and physicality.

It all dropped off after that. Most of their hits were stat-padding soft or useless hits that didn't do a thing to affect play. Nothing in the offensive zone. No crashing forecheckers. Nothing.

Hits are used to derail the play like you said. The Rangers were not doing that.

 

[TomLaidlaw]

Rangers are 1-8 in playoff games after Tampa and NJ made adjustments. Should be 0-8 but Shesty stood on his head and Schmid sucked in game 6.

This is a team full of power play specialists and bad 5on5 players. That team of power play specialists went 1 of their last 21.

It is hard to argue against this statement.

 

[EdJovanovski]

GALLANT ABOUT TO BE FIRED

 

[bobbop]

Our AZ Scout @bobbop is not a fan of Schmaltz from what I remember.

But move Panarin for futures... Give Laffy top6 time so he can sink or swim... Add Garland. Step in the right direction.

Laffy can replicate Panarins production in the Playoffs for a fraction of the cost.

Schmaltz has had some good results recently but his contract doesn’t fit with the Rangers.

 

[rangersfansince08]

they are not even that good on the powerplay, not even close to Edmonton

 

[DanielBrassard]

Which was clear when it moved up in the 2020 draft for Schneider but not Mercer or Lundell who were infinitely more needed.

That's a great point honestly, remember how excited they were to draft him? Baby Trouba. Yeah that's not a good thing and actually he's less skilled with the puck than Trouba is. Great job.

 

[GigaChad]

GALLANT ABOUT TO BE FIRED

Gallant fired & Sutter hired is my guess.
Every washed up old coach gets an another chance after another till they die.

 

[CLW]

A little concerned about Fox. He was seriously undressed at times this series. And he wasn't doing well for a long stretch before the postseason anyway. I still think too much Panarin influence has seeped into his game. But he took a really long time to get rid of the puck. Maybe it was NJ's coverage.

Him and Lindy getting caved in by an aggressive forecheck has been an issue since opposing teams figured that part out starting with Sutter's Calgary @ MSG in the beginning of the 21-22 season. Other teams have picked up on that since.

Even if they are, it shouldn't take this long.

Matty Beniers is like seven years old (and looks 43 apropos of nothing) and is already an impact player.

Every time Kakko and Laffy started to get some traction on the top lines they got demoted to the 3rd line.

Panarin's done. Bringing in his friends was Drury's way of saying "ok, this is your last chance". He face planted and he bought his ticket out of town for it.

That's how I see it to. They shipped out Bread's personal puck butler Strome and brought in a completely different player in Tro to make him change his style then his buddy Tank for a moral boost, yet here we are after an epic playoff fiasco.

This points to another structural problem. We have three horses at C but no natural playmaker. Zib needs a Zucc, Buch type to help him out. Tro and Fil are horses flying up the ice but playmaking and finesse is not their style. In this series all three went missing.

 

[bl02]

27

Was referring to Schneider.

 

[The Gloaming]

Schmaltz has had some good results recently but his contract doesn’t fit with the Rangers.

Lawson Crouse. Guessing he's part of the long term plans in ARI? What about Barrett Hayton?

 

[bhamill]

Well, as some of you told me before this series, and I did not accept, Devils were the better team. Bottom line is execution. They did. We did not, after game 2. They were too fast, we didn't do enough to disrupt. Whether we COULDN'T or just failed to do so is up for debate, especially after we certainly SEEMED able to for two games, but the bottom line is executing. They did, we didn't. I didn't think their game would adapt to the playoffs, but it sure did. At least against us.
@Machinehead , I'm saying it: You were right. Devils are the better team.

 

[romba]

I love when we finally get the puck deep and manage to win a dump and chase puck battle and get 40 seconds of perimeter zone time against a tired opponent, ending in flubbed simple D to D pass, or flinging an unscreened blue line wrister chest high with no rebound, or hastily wrapping the puck hard around the boards to no one when there's an easy pass back to an open guy 8 feet away. Yea.

And don't get me started on our shit play between the blue lines, turnover after turnover after turnover my god.

 

[mas0764]

We did nothing in that series but hit.

We averaged 29.1 a game which would have led the league.

It didn't magically stop speed and skill like we told ourselves it would.

Hitting is damn near irrelevant.

Speed and skill.

All this talk of "playoff hockey" - it's not guys who smash the other team, it's puck possession.

I remember in like 2014, I was convinced the Rangers were going to go deep into the playoffs after reading an article saying they had puck possession numbers way above their actual record. It predicted they'd overachieve in relation to their regular season wins and losses. And they did.

I think what hurts most of all is seeing the window already beginning to close.
The only thing that will save us is the kids stepping up.

The window was never open.

 

[CLW]

I love when we finally get the puck deep and manage to win a dump and chase puck battle and get 40 seconds of perimeter zone time against a tired opponent, ending in flubbed simple D to D pass, or flinging an unscreened blue line wrister chest high with no rebound, or hastily wrapping the puck hard around the boards to no one when there's an easy pass back to an open guy 8 feet away. Yea.

And don't get me started on our shit play between the blue lines, turnover after turnover after turnover my god.

Our blue line is stout, but designed for 2010 hockey at best. One of several serious mismatches in the design of the team. (Hi FO & coaches).

 

[mas0764]

-The Kane acquisition didn't age well. I have a hard time getting on Drury retrospectively for this because I get what he was trying to do. In Kane and Tarasenko he added two proven playoff performers to a team that looked ready to make a deep run. It just didn't work out.

I understood the logic that we needed another top 6 RW but to agree to pay a first for what Kane has brought is fireable.

Honestly, this loss could be a blessing in disguise because Kane was giving us nothing. Can you imagine if we had squeaked out a win and then lost to Carolina because we continue to underachieve? Another first out the window.

The guy did not bring anything close to that value.

Even Tarasenko ends as.... eh, he wasn't really worth it.

 

[rangersfansince08]

I understood the logic that we needed another top 6 RW but to agree to pay a first for what Kane has brought is fireable.

Honestly, this loss could be a blessing in disguise because Kane was giving us nothing. Can you imagine if we had squeaked out a win and then lost to Carolina because we continue to underachieve? Another first out the window.

The guy did not bring anything close to that value.

Even Tarasenko ends as.... eh, he wasn't really worth it.

Pretty sure the first was conditional on making it to the third round

 

[will1066]

Well, as some of you told me before this series, and I did not accept, Devils were the better team. Bottom line is execution. They did. We did not, after game 2. They were too fast, we didn't do enough to disrupt. Whether we COULDN'T or just failed to do so is up for debate, especially after we certainly SEEMED able to for two games, but the bottom line is executing. They did, we didn't. I didn't think their game would adapt to the playoffs, but it sure did. At least against us.
@Machinehead , I'm saying it: You were right. Devils are the better team.

I think NJ bought into the whole matchup theory -- it was a matchup that heavily favored them based on style of play. Then they played loose, throw in some playoff inexperience, and got rolled for two games and then realized that they better put their minds to it and go to work.