Post-Game Talk: Game 5

[Jaromir Jagr]

Not looking good. Observations:

1. Much better game overall. Sickening that it took so long for Lavi to drop Trouba. He never deserved to be promoted and it has potentially cost us this series.
   
   
   
2. Mika needs to play harder. The elbow at the end was weak and he tries to draw a penalty rather than keeping hard on the puck. Has happened too many times this series and generally as a Ranger. Keep your head down and play until you hear the whistle.
   
   
3. I will never forgive Gus for his selfish penalty that cost us a 5 on 3.
   
   
4. Kreider is old but he can still produce. He is worth his contract because it's relatively cheap for what he brings. But he's somewhat shot at 5 on 5.
   
   
5. Roslovic needs to be benched. I'm not sure what Lavi sees in him. He's pacing like 8 goals as a Ranger over a full year and brings nothing else to the team. The third line has been a disaster with him after being a puck possession force. Best part about this season ending is we will never witness him in blue again.
   
   
6. We better not pay Lindgren a dime, let alone the contract he will get. He is horrendous.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I said it after Christmas, they needed to get Othmann and Berard some games, Othmann should have been in the lineup in this series, it's his type of series and Berard would be a better player to have than Rempe or Brodzinski. Rempe has done his part but we're likely better putting a player with speed in the lineup that actually gets to play

Othmann for Rempe would be an upgrade for sure. Even if you played the kid for 6-8 min it would be valuable experience for the future.

But with Brodz and Wheels ready to go, they would be my first options

 

[The New Russian Five]

Not looking good. Observations:

1. Much better game overall. Sickening that it took so long for Lavi to drop Trouba. He never deserved to be promoted and it has potentially cost us this series.
   
   
   
2. Mika needs to play harder. The elbow at the end was weak and he tries to draw a penalty rather than keeping hard on the puck. Has happened too many times this series and generally as a Ranger. Keep your head down and play until you hear the whistle.
   
   
3. I will never forgive Gus for his selfish penalty that cost us a 5 on 3.
   
   
4. Kreider is old but he can still produce. He is worth his contract because it's relatively cheap for what he brings. But he's somewhat shot at 5 on 5.
   
   
5. Roslovic needs to be benched. I'm not sure what Lavi sees in him. He's pacing like 8 goals as a Ranger over a full year and brings nothing else to the team. The third line has been a disaster with him after being a puck possession force. Best part about this season ending is we will never witness him in blue again.
   
   
6. We better not pay Lindgren a dime, let alone the contract he will get. He is horrendous.

Got to find a way to get Mika, Trouba, Lindgren off the team. Dead weights. Panarin I'm 50-50 on. Amazing regular season player, but he gets contained too easily in the playoffs. Not surprising considering his size. Just not built for playoff hockey.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Othmann was not close to ready this year. He was completely useless when he was called up and didnt really stand out in the ahl.

As for berard, again u dont put a rook with zero games into a conference finals.

So he's like a 1/3 of our team only he can play a physical game. He was called up and barely given a chance. Played like a game and a 1/4. Mika was trash half the season, Kakko too, Brodzinski, etc etc. I'd take Othmann now over Kakko or Roslovic atleast there's some potential for him to actually get to the middle of the ice or have a little push back against a physical team. Also I think you missed my point, Othmann and Berard should have been given some games earlier in the season so they would be ready if needed, and someone is desperately needed now. Instead we had Brodzinski, Belzille, etc etc. We have nothing of value to add to a lineup that desperately needs a boost or god forbid someone in the top 6 gets hurt.

Othmann for Rempe would be an upgrade for sure. Even if you played the kid for 6-8 min it would be valuable experience for the future.

But with Brodz and Wheels ready to go, they would be my first options

Neither Brodz or Wheels can add anything at this point. We spent most of the year trying to get them out of the lineup not in it

 

[Clark Kellogg]

Realistically, what team would want Trouba?

Numerous teams. He is an exceptional off ice captain. Young teams and teams trying to change their toxic looker rooms.
Utah comes to mind as does Chicago and Detroit.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

But how was he the number 2 pick and I remember several people saying it wasn't a guarantee that Huges would be picked first. Didn't he have great world juniors also? I honestly thought he would be a solid 2nd/3rd line type 50-60 point guy who is responsible defensively. I never thought it would be this difficult for him to score.

Scouts somehow completely missed the fact that he cannot skate.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Not looking good. Observations:

1. Much better game overall. Sickening that it took so long for Lavi to drop Trouba. He never deserved to be promoted and it has potentially cost us this series.
   
   
   
2. Mika needs to play harder. The elbow at the end was weak and he tries to draw a penalty rather than keeping hard on the puck. Has happened too many times this series and generally as a Ranger. Keep your head down and play until you hear the whistle.
   
   
3. I will never forgive Gus for his selfish penalty that cost us a 5 on 3.
   
   
4. Kreider is old but he can still produce. He is worth his contract because it's relatively cheap for what he brings. But he's somewhat shot at 5 on 5.
   
   
5. Roslovic needs to be benched. I'm not sure what Lavi sees in him. He's pacing like 8 goals as a Ranger over a full year and brings nothing else to the team. The third line has been a disaster with him after being a puck possession force. Best part about this season ending is we will never witness him in blue again.
   
   
6. We better not pay Lindgren a dime, let alone the contract he will get. He is horrendous.

The issue with Roslovic is that the next man up is either Brodz or Wheeler...neither adds anything, at the least Roslovic can skate and imo I thought he was OK last night.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Got to find a way to get Mika, Trouba, Lindgren off the team. Dead weights. Panarin I'm 50-50 on. Amazing regular season player, but he gets contained too easily in the playoffs. Not surprising considering his size. Just not built for playoff hockey.

Panarin isn't going to go anywhere and I doubt Mika is either. The way Trochek is stepping up and the player Laf is turning into, I believe this forward core can win a cup more or less as constructed . Need some changes to the bottom-6 but that's relatively easy and also can be done at the deadline.

Replacing Trouba and Lindgren with players who can actually skate and move the puck would make us a top favorite for the cup. That needs to be priority 1 for Drury.

I'd have something like

Miller-Fox
Better Player - Schneider
Decent UFA - Jones

Gus is dead to me after last night, but I'd be OK bringing him back. What about a 2.0 with Brady Skjei for that second pair?

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

The organization absolutely is f***ed by the Zibanejad contract. I can't take watching him play without courage for another minute but there are six more years.

On the bright side, maybe he will cut his hair.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

The issue with Roslovic is that the next man up is either Brodz or Wheeler...neither adds anything, at the least Roslovic can skate and imo I thought he was OK last night.

That line got cratered last night. Wheeler and Brodz are both better than him imo and I actually thought Wheeler was pretty good in his first game back.

 

[NYR94]

Feels like Kakko should be mastering this skill given his lack of speed. He’s big. Why can’t he dominate in front of the net?

Because he plays keep away along the boards in an endless cycle that produces nothing. You're not wrong though, I wish he'd drive to the net. Kakko isn't the only problem though, Drury needs to remake the bottom two lines.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Our two bottom D in TOI yesterday were

Lindgren (13 minutes)

Trouba (16 minutes.)

I think Lavi knows whats up. Those guys play because they kill penalties.

Find other guys who can also kill penalties and are better and replace that duo with them this summer.

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

People are criticizing Mika and Kreider, yet they produced last night, even combined to score a nice SHG to change momentum of the game.

Panarin has not scored since Game 3 of the Carolina series, and has dipped below a PPG average after putting up 100+ points in the regular season.

Mr. 11 million dollar man needs to step up.

He got two assists in game 4.

 

[chosen]

Have you watched any of the Stars - Oilers games ? They both play like final four teams are expected to play. The Rangers are playing like its the 10th game of the season, no where near the drive as the remaining 3 teams...

Pure horseshit.

Won two, same as either Dallas or Edmonton after tonight.

Every game has been close.

Their effort has been fine.

People here complain about how crap Rangers personnel is AND say their effort sucks. That should add up to losing in 4 and being outscored 32-3.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Our two bottom D in TOI yesterday were

Lindgren (13 minutes)

Trouba (16 minutes.)

I think Lavi knows whats up. Those guys play because they kill penalties.

Find other guys who can also kill penalties and are better and replace that duo with them this summer.

It took him too long and is probably too late. But as a silver lining, hopefully this is a good sign for what the summer priorities will be.

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

Feels like Kakko should be mastering this skill given his lack of speed. He’s big. Why can’t he dominate in front of the net?

That's a good question. Last night there was a play when he screamed toward the net with speed & the puck. Kreider got to the other side. Yet Kakko chose to go around the back of the net rather than trying to get the puck to Kreider or creating some net-front chaos.

 

[chosen]

Rangers don’t suck but it is kinda obvious where this core maxes out. They would need tremendous luck to win it all.

I think they should go back to acquiring young talent, but if not, they at least have to try to do what Florida did, and move Huberdeau and Weegar for a star (Mika and Trouba who will be able to show up on the playoffs a little more consistently. And they need another player or two like Bennett and Verhage. Florida’s top 6 is better than ours even with Laf breaking out.

Yeah, their top 6 might be a little better. Might not.

The bulk of the difference between the two teams is solidly on the D.

 

[yrrebbor]

Well there doesn’t seem to me to be much point in running it back again with some of these guys. If you can’t do an on the fly retool then tell Mika and Trouba you are rebuilding, waive or suffer through losing again. Get what you can. The cap space alone is worth it.

Sather will find some other washed up vets with the intent to do a “deep run” next year.

So sick of the same thing over and over. Not sure why I even got my hopes up when they got luck with Carolina. Same thing there, pinned in their zone almost all night.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

He played two minutes yesterday, there’s no point in having him in there if that’s what’s going to happen. Better off going with 7D or another forward Lavi trusts more

But this is part of my beef with Lavy. It's game 5 at home, do or die, and the best you can do is play Rempe for a couple of minutes? That's the lineup decision you thought would help most? Not 11/7 or maybe Wheeler? The PP has scored 1 goal and you don't maybe just mix it up and give Laf a shot with Mika being so damn bad? Desperate times call for desperate measures. Make some ballsy moves because it's just about over.

 

[chosen]

The organization absolutely is f***ed by the Zibanejad contract. I can't take watching him play without courage for another minute but there are six more years.

You can have problems with Zib, but calling a good NHL player a coward proves you don't understand what it takes to play in the NHL.

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

Sather will find some other washed up vets with the intent to do a “deep run” next year.

So sick of the same thing over and over. Not sure why I even got my hopes up when they got luck with Carolina. Same thing there, pinned in their zone almost all night.

They didn't get lucky with Carolina. They beat them.

They are barely losing to Florida and a bounce here or there they could easily be up in this series. They've all been 1 goal games (game 1 I count as a one goal given the fluke & EN).

This is a team that is incredibly close to winning the cup. The D needs improving, no doubt. The offense really does not. They just need a D that can get them the damn puck and not just throw prayers up the middle of the ice.

 

[Clark Kellogg]

I know this isn’t the correct thread so I will restate this after we win the Cup but what ever moves Drury makes this summer he needs to leave enough cap for the following year on the table.
Lafrenier’s contract will be up and there will be GMs lining up around the Garden to offer sheet him.

 

[will1066]

On the bright side, maybe he will cut his hair.

He's going to catch up on Shogun on streaming and rekindle the samurai hairstyle:

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Rangers don’t suck but it is kinda obvious where this core maxes out. They would need tremendous luck to win it all.

I think they should go back to acquiring young talent, but if not, they at least have to try to do what Florida did, and move Huberdeau and Weegar for a star (Mika and Trouba who will be able to show up on the playoffs a little more consistently. And they need another player or two like Bennett and Verhage. Florida’s top 6 is better than ours even with Laf breaking out.

It's about matchups too. Florida is a bad matchup for them. They would have beaten every other team in the east. You are right about a real change needed though. They need to attempt a big move or 2 this summer. Something that will shake things up. Mika, Panarin, and Kreider scoring 1 goal between them this series isn't going to cut it. Scoring 1 PP goal isn't going to get it done. Trouba needs to be dealt or bought out. He's a liability on the ice.

 

[AK 27]

Just some bullet points:

- Putting Rempe in the lineup and then giving him zero ice time (understandably when behind) is pointless. It's like playing with a hurt player.

- I really put almost zero blame on Lavi. He's got the players he's got. Having said that, would it be interesting to see what a Torts or a Berube might get out of this group? Yes. But Lavi ain't going anywhere after the season he had.

- Not having a healthy Fox is huge. HUGE! If Colorado lost Makar, same thing. Fox affects so many aspects of the Rangers overall game, particularly on the PP. He looks like he has 2 flat tires out there. Do not underestimate the impact this is having.

- I think we all just need to accept that Mika has lost a step. Whether that step is speed or drive or whatever, it's something. And just like when a baseball player loses bat speed (see Mike Piazza), it can all go downhill kind of fast, especially in the playoffs.

- Panarin simply can't compete against a team like this. It's that simple. He's softer than soft. And you can obviously tell he's in his own head. He's making terrible passes, fanning on easy shots, holding onto the puck for too long, and getting knocked right off of it. FLA doesn't even have to try that hard to knock him off the puck. They just bump him a little and he either loses it or makes a terrible pass.

- Kakko is a lost cause. Trade him to the Sabres.

- It's amazing how much better Miller looks without Trouba in tow. And I am not a fan of Miller.

- This core COULD get it done. It's really up to what their compete level looks like in the next game. They played Rangers hockey for 2 periods last night and Florida hockey in the 3rd. When they dictate the play, they're competitive. When they react to the play, they lose.

- They just need to bite the bullet in the offseason and PLAN on using the young talent they have next season. That obviously includes Othmann, Berard and anyone else who seems 'ready'. I don't know what Drury can do but next season this questionable core will be a year older. They need some promise in their lineup and luckily Laf seems to be coming into his own, which is great. But he's not enough.

I don't know what else to say. There's SO much to say, honestly. The D looks weak. The O looks fragile. The goalie plays amazing 95% of the time but then lets in goals that have me shaking my head. FLA plays like a team. The Rangers play like a bunch of frustrated individuals.