Post-Game Talk: Ice Pigeon

[ohbaby]

I thought the Pens looked flat most of that game but we couldn't capitalize on our chances.

I agree. And if there is one great thing we can take away from this game,... It's that Chytil is back! He logged 17+ minutes, which is close to his season high with no ill effects. This is great news going forward.

 

[Off Sides]

I tend to agree that refs manage games in all sports. Esp if they think they missed something earlier in the game. And I deeply appreciate when refs do their best to avoid calling penalties late in close games. But if a call is super obvious like the Zibby trip last night you need to have the backbone to call it. It’s no diff than calling a penalty shot in soccer in the injury time. The trip on Zib removed a scoring chance late in a one goal game. Not calling it has as much impact as calling it. So fans have every right to be irked. And getting irked doesn’t mean you suddenly believe there’s a grand conspiracy against your team.

Last night, that one missed call was compounded by many bad calls, likely across the board for both teams. The other truly bad call was blowing the whistle when the net came off. That’s a standard continuation play. Refs are literally not supposed to blow the whistle.

In general, I do feel like refs in the NHL must be taught on some level to keep regular season games more entertaining. it’s better for the league when the games are close. And it’s better for the league to wake up a boring game with some PPs. It’s just always felt like that compared to non pro league officiating and the playoffs. It makes sense as soooo many regular season games have come to lack passion, hitting and fighting. The players have become far more aware of their contracts, staying healthy and other concerns. As a result goals, saves, offensive flair and penalties account for nearly all the entertainment factor in a regular season game. I can’t imagine running a biz where penalty calls directly impact the entertainment value and fan interest and somehow not talking about it with the refs. Again it’s not nec about fairness, it’s about managing the excitement of a game. Which to me, makes the non call on Zib all the more perplexing. That call would have made the game more exciting.

Thank you for the great post(s), not just this one. I enjoy reading your perspectives.

 

[ohbaby]

Tough loss for the Rangers last night. The game was arguably the most intense back and forth game they've played this season. It was a chess match and unfortunately the good guys lost. Games like last nights, puckluck matters. Couple of Posts, maybe even a crossbar. Couldn't tell if it hit the glove or not. Biggest takeway IMO is that this club is competitive again against other clubs that are likely headed into the playoffs.

Can't blame the officials for the outcome, but the non call on Zibanejad play was really bad officiating. Wasn't much time left at that point but they should have been on their 4th PP there.

Pens were good last night at also blocking shots. I think the game seemed more lopsided in favor of the Rangers but the Pens blocked 21 of those attempts last night. Little things matter.

Sucks that Blais hasn't worked out. I didn't like the trade when it happened. Partly as Buch was a fan favorite of mine. The value seemed very lopsided from the outset in favor of the Blues. What I didn't like the most was Buch was still protected being an RFA. Yes, the Rangers were cap crunched,, however there was some room there. At the end of the day Drury's decision, was largely due to want. He wanted a team tougher to play against. More physical. Blais fit that mold, and gained some favor prior to with his ability to forecheck. He was excellent at it. He was also excellent at the thunderous hits. Post injury, not so much. He's still physical. He's been credited with 100 hits in 30 games. 2nd on the club in that category only to Trouba who gets much more icetime. But, he's here to also be able to contribute in other areas. Unfortunately, 0 goals on the year and 0 goals in his entire NYR tenure is well...Really bad! Lastly, when he came there was talk that he might have the skills to play in a top 6 role. This i think is where Drury lost the trade. Buch was a top 6 guy, and well on his way. He is now PPG player for the Blues for his 2nd straight season. The fear was that he would cost too much but at $5.8 Million dollar cap hit, that is a real nice contract for a PPG player. Especially for a player who adapted well to the Right side, which seems to be the area of concern for the Rangers being they keep trying to find players for that top 6 RW slot. Buch or Vesey? Buch or Goodrow? It is what it is and at this point, Drury you lost that one. I don't fault Blais for the loss. It was a bad penalty to take, I don't fault Blais for the injury. These things happen. We likely have seen the last of him as he's an expiring asset for a cap crunched hockey club. If Blais does return to form, it's likely that it won't be in a NYR sweater. This time next season the board maybe saying. Can you believe Blais has a new home and is scoring goals? If so, good for him, bad for us. As much as i disliked that trade its still not as bad as the McDonagh trade.


Credit the Pens on two things here.
1) They are 4th` in the league on their PK. There's a reason for it. They are good at it. Killed 3 Penalties on the night.
2) They were into it. They were loud. Can't remember a game vs the Pens in reguar season in their barn where the fans were as vocal.

A very honest and sensible opinion of things. Intelligent and well written. Except you missed the greatest takeaway from that game. Chytil is back! He IMO, is a huge part of this team moving forward. We would have missed him, if he was out for an extended period of time. Which was very much a possibility. With him out, our line combos would have been a smorgasbord of leftovers. With him in, they become great possibilities with many available options to mix and match. And Turk just loves to stir the pot, even though he says he doesn't. He is quick to mix things up as soon as he's sees something he doesn't like. But I digress...

Chytil is ready to take it to another level. You can just see him eluding confidence. He is playing a 200 foot game and getting the respect of the coaches with increased icetime. I don't think he ever lacked confidence, but now at 23, he is bouncing off defenders, doing what he wants, playing a man's game and excelling at it. He always had the speed and hands, but now is showing his strength. Which allows him to go the dirty areas, make plays and score. And this bodes well for the team and anyone who plays alongside him. He is no longer a diamond in the rough. He is beginning to shine with 17 points in 26 games and a plus 10.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

He’s worked the Stanley cup finals almost every year for the past 10 seasons and is the most respected official in the game. He straight up missed the call. The only way I think that goes uncalled is he might have thought the Pens player got the puck first right as he initially dove down. The NHL should re-write that rule though because it’s dumb that if you “get the puck” you can take a player down. USA hockey that basically runs all youth hockey has the rule that if you dive and take a player out it’s an auto penalty. The NHL should consider that for sure.

I thought the NHL did change the rule to that a couple years ago

 

[Larrybiv]

I su

Would like to see where he stands on the team in terms of giveaways. That's not the easiest stat to measure cause if you look at the box scores, they don't always get credited accurately. With that said, looking at the box score Lafreniere hasent coughed up the puck in the last 3 games. He has like 1 giveaway in the past 6 games.

Rangers do have 2 players in the top 25 leaguewide that cough up the puck. They are also 2 of the best players on the team, so its tough to factor how much this actually hurts a players value. Panarin and Fox are both on that list.


I do see hesitatation with Lafreniere. Sometimes it seems that he gets the puck and is a step behind in making the right decision. I think that will come with playing time though. When he is on, we see glimpses of what everyone was expecting when he went 1OA. Unfortunately we don't seem to see this on a regular basis. Im also on the side of the fence that doesn't like the usage of the player. Limited icetime, limited role, buried on a depth chart. Glad that Gallant has caved in and he was getting more minutes.

I suppose if you don't have the puck, you can't cough it up. Panarin and Fox being in the top 25, doesn't surprise me. They both ALWAYS have the puck. Bet many other great players are in that top 25 as well. Pretty much makes me feel that I am correct.

 

[RangerLifer]

I agree. And if there is one great thing we can take away from this game,... It's that Chytil is back! He logged 17+ minutes, which is close to his season high with no ill effects. This is great news going forward.

AMEN!!