It’s probably because he’s just not that good
Anyone expecting him to be anymore than a fine 4th liner is setting themselves up for disappointment
Not a terrible game. Didn't get many Grade-A looks but Islanders are a good defensive team. Thought Kakko looked better than at any point in the regular season
Not a terrible game. Didn't get many Grade-A looks but Islanders are a good defensive team. Thought Kakko looked better than at any point in the regular season
DQ says no danger of him missing Game 1 and he was held out for precaution.Any update on Staal?
Any update on Staal?
DQ says no danger of him missing Game 1 and he was held out for precaution.
NYR were too often rusty, sloppy and out-of-synch.
Hopefully they are much better saturday/monday, or this could end quick.
DQ says no danger of him missing Game 1 and he was held out for precaution.
I like Smith... and I dont think he's getting bought out or moved. He's also close with the coach.Smith is not getting enough credit for how good of soldier he’s been this season for any type of role he was given. 4th line winger, RD on PK and now 1LD...
Best players to my eye were Gauthier, Buch, and Fox.
Panarin played one of the worst games I’ve seen him play. Mika looked a little off.
Kakko was better than before, but he didn’t look like an evolved player to me like many here seem to be thinking. What’s weird is that, while we’ve been hearing about his “engagement” being up, what stuck out most to me was his shot. Looked stronger and dangerous. His general movement and involvement in the play wasn’t noticeably improved to me.
Fox is ridiculous. Deangelo looked rusty. Trouba is an overpaid traffic cone.
Our goaltending is insanely good.
Safe to say you two were watching different games.Just my thoughts...
The Good
- Kakko looked great. Been saying for months on twitter and other social media and to friends that he’s the x-factor. If he can improve and start helping drive the offense on his line, that can give this team 3 lines that can contribute consistently, which you absolutely need in the playoffs.
- Chytil was the best Ranger last night. Impressive 2 way game. Made 4-5 great defensive plays and you can tell that he got bigger/stronger, which is leading to him having more confidence. He’s going to break out next season.
- Buchnevich played a very strong game last night, made a few good defensive plays and was a physical presence along the boards winning loose puck battles. If I’m DQ, I’m very happy with what I saw from him.
- Trouba was rock solid last night. Thought he had a great game, was physical as usual and even stopped Brock Nelson on a break-in after he got by Jake.
- Shesty was Shesty, not gonna fault him for the Beauvillier goal. Bad pinch there by Fox.
- Fast was in mid-season form. Was all over the place last night and surprisingly generated a lot of good offensive chances. One of the best players on the ice. Should have had that goal, but Varlamov was just on his game last night.
- Hajek played surprisingly well. If Staal is down, hopefully he can step in and continue where he left off last night.
The Bad and The Ugly
- Normally, I’d never say a bad word about Panarin and I know he was trying not to get hurt and will be his usual dominant self once Saturday comes, but he made some very lazy plays on the defensive end that were completely out of character for him, including letting Toews blow right by him on the back check for a goal and taking a lazy penalty that negated a power play chance. I’m not concerned, was a little annoyed by that, but again, I know come Saturday, he’ll be fine.
- Fox played his hands down worst game all season. I could count the number of mistakes he made on one hand throughout the year. He exceeded that total last night, 3 bad pinches, 2 of them leading to goals and made some bad clears that you normally don’t see from him. He was definitely off his game last night. I expect him to be better Saturday.
- DeAngelo had a bad game and kept making ill-advised passes that kept leading to turnovers. His passing was just off. Looked terrible on the power play. He didn’t have it. He wasn’t bad defensively though.
- I know it’s Kreider’s first game back from injury, but he just did not look engaged at all. I can forgive rust, but he looked like he was just going through the motions. I expect that to change on Saturday and see the Kreider that we saw down the stretch this season.
And there is a big and obvious upside to that as well.I have no concerns. This is house money. I'm not going to lose my mind if the Rangers were to lose this series.
And there is a big and obvious upside to that as well.
Agreed. Now they won't admit it but I have to believe a good number of players were holding a little something back. Just getting a good feel of competition. Nobody and I mean nobody wanted to get hurt in this game. Next game, they're going to let the pigeons loose!I agree. And they did play some solid D most of the game. But they will need to step up their battle level if we are to play more than 3 or 4 games.
I’m more concerned about Mika than Panarin, Mika looked really out of sync, gassed, and at times; uncoordinated. Panarin just looked like he was avoiding any contact whatsoever, which I know won’t be the case during the playoffs. Whenever he entered the zone or gained possession he would just peel back and pass every time, he never carried it himself or drove toward the net.