HockeyBasedNYC
Feeling it
Rangers need to focus on moving pucks quickly, support and keeping things moving in all zones, not watching like they did in Game 5 against Carolina.
I think playing and beating Carolina and their relentless style will help them going into this series. Florida has a heavier forecheck and is just as relentless. Conversely I think Florida playing Boston will help the Rangers chances early on in the series. Boston was no where near the level of the Rangers, in all facets except goaltending
Florida takes the body every chance they get and there are opportunities there to take hits to make plays. The Rangers are very good at zipping the puck around with tape to tape passes, but that can only happen with support in all zones since Florida will be finishing checks. They can’t be spread out.
Come out and into the zones as a group or 2 or 3 and keep the speed up to create odd man isolations. That could lead to some high danger chances off transitions and odd man rushes. If we see that early in the series that will be a great sign.
In all of the previews I see the same names being thrown around but one. Lafreniere is flying under the radar and could be the difference maker in this series. He quietly has a point per game in the playoffs and he can play a heavy but very skilled game. We saw him take over game 4 in Carolina despite the loss and it was all even strength
On the Panthers side guys like Lundell and Verhaege scare me. But so does Rodrigues who is one of those John Druce like Ranger killers. If the Rangers can get some games out of Chytil it will go a long way to match the Panthers scoring depth because he will likely bring Kakko back to his old 40 point self again. And the Rangers will need that production from their bottom six if they are going to move on.
I also think they’ll need more from Fox if they want to move on. 4 assists in 10 games is un-Fox like and they’ll need a big goal or two from him. He will be targeted and they’ll try to wear him down physically which is why they need that extra support.
Florida doesn’t take a lot of penalties and that could be an issue. The refs usually swallow the whistle this time of year anyway but the Rangers need to keep moving their feet and forcing PP chances. It’s an advantage in this series they’ll need to have the opportunity to exploit. EDIT: I was mis-informed - they lead the league in PIMs, although they've been more disciplined in the playoffs. Hopefully will see a parade of cats to the box.
It would be big, again, to start this series off 2-0. Need to take at least one at home, preferably tonight. This is going to be a long series and I could see it going to either team in 6 or 7 depending how the bounces go.
Let’s Go Rangers!
I think playing and beating Carolina and their relentless style will help them going into this series. Florida has a heavier forecheck and is just as relentless. Conversely I think Florida playing Boston will help the Rangers chances early on in the series. Boston was no where near the level of the Rangers, in all facets except goaltending
Florida takes the body every chance they get and there are opportunities there to take hits to make plays. The Rangers are very good at zipping the puck around with tape to tape passes, but that can only happen with support in all zones since Florida will be finishing checks. They can’t be spread out.
Come out and into the zones as a group or 2 or 3 and keep the speed up to create odd man isolations. That could lead to some high danger chances off transitions and odd man rushes. If we see that early in the series that will be a great sign.
In all of the previews I see the same names being thrown around but one. Lafreniere is flying under the radar and could be the difference maker in this series. He quietly has a point per game in the playoffs and he can play a heavy but very skilled game. We saw him take over game 4 in Carolina despite the loss and it was all even strength
On the Panthers side guys like Lundell and Verhaege scare me. But so does Rodrigues who is one of those John Druce like Ranger killers. If the Rangers can get some games out of Chytil it will go a long way to match the Panthers scoring depth because he will likely bring Kakko back to his old 40 point self again. And the Rangers will need that production from their bottom six if they are going to move on.
I also think they’ll need more from Fox if they want to move on. 4 assists in 10 games is un-Fox like and they’ll need a big goal or two from him. He will be targeted and they’ll try to wear him down physically which is why they need that extra support.
Florida doesn’t take a lot of penalties and that could be an issue. The refs usually swallow the whistle this time of year anyway but the Rangers need to keep moving their feet and forcing PP chances. It’s an advantage in this series they’ll need to have the opportunity to exploit. EDIT: I was mis-informed - they lead the league in PIMs, although they've been more disciplined in the playoffs. Hopefully will see a parade of cats to the box.
It would be big, again, to start this series off 2-0. Need to take at least one at home, preferably tonight. This is going to be a long series and I could see it going to either team in 6 or 7 depending how the bounces go.
Let’s Go Rangers!
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