Agreed.....Rarely do you see the Ranger pass hit a player in stride.
I also don't understand why the receiving players has to stop and settle the puck before continuing up the ice. This alone has killed many scoring chances.
Been saying this all year. Their puck skills suck:
-One-time opportunities in the offensive zone and a pass to a stationary teammate 15 feet away is not where he can shoot it - either too far behind or in front of, or the recipient sets up for a sweep shot and the pass ends up in the skates.
-Flat on-ice passes that are sent recklessly in the direction of a teammate in a fashion that results in the puck rolling, bouncing, or on edge to them.
-Soft touches in the D zone that are meant to be finesse plays but fail to clear the zone or reach the intended target.
-Blind passes from behind the goal line in the offensive zone that end up clearing the zone because literally no one is there to receive them.
-The lack of any willingness by the entire forward group in a sustained offensive zone shift to just throw the puck at the net and try to win a battle in front (puck towards the net always seems to come from the - except Adam Fox - generally less skilled D) - AKA exactly what Panarin did against Dallas that led to the tying goal which is something this team does not seem capable of with more than 5 seconds remaining in a period.
-The unwillingness of the PP to try any down-low overload plays, especially when the PK is deploying a large box aggressively against the point.
-The tendency to play the puck when reaching for it, vs. controlling it and making a stronger play.
-The tendency to make a much higher percentage of defensive and transition plays on the backhand vs. other teams, which results in weaker and more inaccurate plays.
-A general inability by most of the forward group to protect the puck with the forward leg and drive the net in traffic.
