How Good Are the 2013-14 Rangers (Part II)

[Thirty One]

I'd be curious to see (and by that I mean i'll check it out when I have time later) where the Rangers fall league wide.

I think the only team way better than us in the east is the Broons. Pens don't have the defense and McD has gone into god-mode, making me comfortable saying with our defense advantage there we could beat them.

Who's better than us in the West? Blues, Hawks, Sharks and Ducks? Do we match up well enough against the Hawks to the point you could conceivably argue that we're a top 5 team in the league (with, I suppose, a gap after the 4th team) or am I out to lunch?

edit- At the VERY WORST, I think we're the 7th best team in the entire NHL.

The Sens blogger that I linked to listed the Rangers among 7 Cup Contenders, including the Pens.

 

[Cassano]

edit- At the VERY WORST, I think we're the 7th best team in the entire NHL.

Considering they're tied for 6th in regulation wins, I'd say that's a fair estimate. But this team has been dreadfully unlucky throughout the year. IMO top 5 is more like it.

 

[RangerBoy]

Who is scoring the goals? Nash? MSL? Both of them are invisible right now. Nash was invisible in the playoffs last season. Stepan? The Rangers have always been able to defend even with the new system. That's not the issue. You can't win 1-0 or 2-1 every game. Every series can't be 6 or 7 games. Those games aren't the same games the Rangers played against Ottawa,Columbus,Jersey,the Coyotes and Philly. The Rangers paid the price for that two years ago. Two seven game series in the first two rounds. That was a bigger team. Jersey beat Philly in 5. More rested team and it showed. The Rangers were up 2-1 in that series and looked to be in control. Prust got suspended. The Rangers played terrible games 4 and 5. The momentum had swung. Season over. That bigger Ranger team got worn down from playing all of those games. These little players will melt in the ice.

 

[Thirty One]

Who is scoring the goals? Nash? MSL? Both of them are invisible right now. Nash was invisible in the playoffs last season. Stepan? The Rangers have always been able to defend even with the new system. That's not the issue. You can't win 1-0 or 2-1 every game. Every series can't be 6 or 7 games. Those games aren't the same games the Rangers played against Ottawa,Columbus,Jersey,the Coyotes and Philly. The Rangers paid the price for that two years ago. Two seven game series in the first two rounds. That was a bigger team. Jersey beat Philly in 5. More rested team and it showed. The Rangers were up 2-1 in that series and looked to be in control. Prust got suspended. The Rangers played terrible games 4 and 5. The momentum had swung. Season over. That bigger Ranger team got worn down from playing all of those games. These little players will melt in the ice.

Nash is invisible right now? Say whaaa....

Nash and St. Louis are both top 15 in goal scoring in the league over the last five seasons. The fact that the Rangers are doing this well without them scoring is a good sign of what they can do when those two start scoring.

I believe Nash had a back and wrist injury last playoffs. Also: sample size.

The 2011-12 Rangers were worn down because they played most of the game in the defensive zone. This team is one of the best puck possession teams in the league.

 

[Ail]

Who is scoring the goals? Nash? MSL? Both of them are invisible right now. Nash was invisible in the playoffs last season. Stepan? The Rangers have always been able to defend even with the new system. That's not the issue. You can't win 1-0 or 2-1 every game. Every series can't be 6 or 7 games. Those games aren't the same games the Rangers played against Ottawa,Columbus,Jersey,the Coyotes and Philly. The Rangers paid the price for that two years ago. Two seven game series in the first two rounds. That was a bigger team. Jersey beat Philly in 5. More rested team and it showed. The Rangers were up 2-1 in that series and looked to be in control. Prust got suspended. The Rangers played terrible games 4 and 5. The momentum had swung. Season over. That bigger Ranger team got worn down from playing all of those games. These little players will melt in the ice.

Keep on perpetuating the size myth. That's useful. In fact you could make the argument that since this team plays less physical and isn't sacrificing the body every single shift that they could handle the 7 game series better. What does size have to do with endurance and conditioning? Not much.

 

[Thirty One]

Keep on perpetuating the size myth. That's useful. In fact you could make the argument that since this team plays less physical and isn't sacrificing the body every single shift that they could handle the 7 game series better. What does size have to do with endurance and conditioning? Not much.

Yeah, I'm not sure what relevance the Rangers' two 7 games series in 11-12 was to this team...

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Keep on perpetuating the size myth. That's useful. In fact you could make the argument that since this team plays less physical and isn't sacrificing the body every single shift that they could handle the 7 game series better. What does size have to do with endurance and conditioning? Not much.

It certainly plays a factor in the playoffs when the physicality ramps up. All the conditioning in the world won't help when part of a bigger team's gameplan is to rough you up

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I feel like fans are uncomfortable when a team doesn't match their stereotype for the perfect hockey team. #Tuffness

 

[Thirty One]

I feel like fans are uncomfortable when a team doesn't match their stereotype for the perfect hockey team. #Tuffness

I feel this is very accurate.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I feel this is very accurate.

I get uncomfortable when my team has toughness or skill instead of toughness and skill

 

[Thirty One]

It certainly plays a factor in the playoffs when the physicality ramps up. All the conditioning in the world won't help when part of a bigger team's gameplan is to rough you up

Are the Rangers really that small? They don't go out of their way to play physical.

 

[Ail]

It certainly plays a factor in the playoffs when the physicality ramps up. All the conditioning in the world won't help when part of a bigger team's gameplan is to rough you up

The very large majority of NHL players are well toned and strong for their size. To me the biggest weakness to being small is getting knocked off the puck somewhat easier. Again though the Rangers on average aren't even that small compared to the other contenders. They just play less physical than a team like Boston or St. Louis. There is a big difference between the two and it is lost on the majority of Ranger fans obsessed with size.

 

[Cassano]

I believe Chicago was the least physical team by far in the regular season and they weren't particularly huge either.

The big bad Bruins were supposed to run them over!

 

[aufheben]

Chicago has the type of players to play any game they want. Also, I love how people are constantly sarcastic about the Bruins when they embarrassed us last year and have been one of the league's premier teams for years now.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Are the Rangers really that small? They don't go out of their way to play physical.

Nash is a good example of a big dude who plays small. Part of it is a mindset. The opposition in the playoffs isn't going to let pond hockey occur. They're going to target Nash and pop him. Is this the year that he will persevere through the punishment and continue to be engaged? I sure hope so, but I have my doubts. I think theres quite a few players on this team that shrink when the physicality ramps up.

 

[Cassano]

Not really, their Hits Per Game was still the least in the playoffs. They're by the definition given here, the softest team in the NHL. And they demolished the opposition.

That won't fit with the agenda here though. Minds have been made up.

 

[OverTheCap]

Nash is a good example of a big dude who plays small. Part of it is a mindset. The opposition in the playoffs isn't going to let pond hockey occur. They're going to target Nash and pop him. Is this the year that he will persevere through the punishment and continue to be engaged? I sure hope so, but I have my doubts. I think theres quite a few players on this team that shrink when the physicality ramps up.

Nash is guilty of selective motivation - the way he played against Columbus is the way he should playing in the playoffs. He needs to play with more of an edge when things tighten up.

 

[JimmyG89]

It's not like the team isn't mentally tough either. We have guys who have struggled and this season has been a roller coaster that they need the mental fortitude to get to here. It was not an easy for them at the beginning of the season.

Our players do have a toughness to them. Just not physically intimidating or enforcing themselves physically. That's fine and AV's style fits them in this way.

 

[True Blue]

Do we match up well enough against the Hawks to the point you could conceivably argue that we're a top 5 team in the league (with, I suppose, a gap after the 4th team) or am I out to lunch?

In my view, you are out to lunch. Yes, the team is playing well during this streak . But not all that long ago, they were a few points away from being out of the playoff picture completely.

 

[True Blue]

I believe Chicago was the least physical team by far in the regular season and they weren't particularly huge either.

The big bad Bruins were supposed to run them over!

Are you saying that the Bruins are not that good?

And just look at Chicago's roster. What names stick out?

 

[Ail]

In my view, you are out to lunch. Yes, the team is playing well during this streak . But not all that long ago, they were a few points away from being out of the playoff picture completely.

Which team do you think is the real Rangers and why, the one who struggled in to a wild card spot or the team that has played its way solidly to a near playoff gaurantee with a good shot of taking second in the Metro?

 

[AlternateSideParking]

The Rangers will go nowhere without one or two players carrying the offense.

You dont advance with scoring by committee. You advance with goaltending, two or three dominant stars, and depth.

1994 - Messier and leetch.
1997 - Gretzky and Messier
2012 - Richards and Not much

Nash and MSL ned to be leaders. Stepan needs a solid postseason. Everybody else should play to their role.

 

[highandwide]

I watched us lose 2-1 to edm. Anything is possible.

Now does the 5 game win streak make me feel better? Yes.
What about how mcd and hank are playing? Yes.
I would like to feel better about nash/msl.

Nothing negative, nash is a game changer and explosive.
I want to see more of that.

 

[aufheben]

Which team do you think is the real Rangers and why, the one who struggled in to a wild card spot or the team that has played its way solidly to a near playoff gaurantee with a good shot of taking second in the Metro?

Somewhere in between.

 

[True Blue]

Which team do you think is the real Rangers and why, the one who struggled in to a wild card spot or the team that has played its way solidly to a near playoff gaurantee with a good shot of taking second in the Metro?

Whatever I think, the fair thing to say is that neither is real. The truth is somewhere in the middle.