aufheben
#Norris4Fox
Who's our Eric Staal, Anze Kopitar/Jeff Carter, Bergeron/Krejci, Crosby/Malkin? We don't even have a true 1st liner center.
Just How Good Are the 2013-14 Rangers?
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Who's our Eric Staal, Anze Kopitar/Jeff Carter, Bergeron/Krejci, Crosby/Malkin? We don't even have a true 1st liner center.
Callagraves
Block shots
- Jan 24, 2011
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It's impossible to say how many playoff rounds a team can go.
In the playoffs, it's not how good a team is, it's how well they play.
In the playoffs, it's not how good a team is, it's how well they play.
- Jul 20, 2005
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Here's a graphic from the piece:
Over the same span the Rangers are:
8th in goals for (135 goals, 2.87 GPG)
4th in goals against (106 goals against, 2.26 GAG)
6th in goal differential (+29)
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
- Dec 28, 2003
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aufheben
#Norris4Fox
All right, I'll change the discussion, who was our any of these players in 11-12. That seems the standard for greatness and a team that this team has been constantly compared to.
I remember two years in a row a Buffalo Sabres team that was fast as hell, deep, but didn't have great top end talent (Drury and Briere were NEVER elite players) making consecutive conference finals. Hell they should have won the whole thing in 05-06 barring injuries. I'd say our D and goaltending is better than that team's.
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
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aufheben
#Norris4Fox
This is just illustrating my point. I said I don't think they can win the Cup, not that they couldn't make it far. In fact, I said they could make it far.
Good enough to make the playoffs.
With enough luck to go to finals.
On paper, would have to be luckier than 69 mets to win finals.
Why I have been advocating trade certain pieces now to improve outlook next year/after.
With enough luck to go to finals.
On paper, would have to be luckier than 69 mets to win finals.
Why I have been advocating trade certain pieces now to improve outlook next year/after.
Well the Sabres beat one of the best regular season teams since the lockout in 06 in 5 games and then would have probably won the cup if not for injuries.
And why is elite defensive talent nothing? You ask me who is our Kopitar and Carter, where are they now? 29th in the league in scoring, setting records for futility.
Except 99.9% of your trade proposals are either blatantly ripping off the Rangers or blatantly ripping off their trade partner.
aufheben
#Norris4Fox
Anze Kopitar has more points than any FWD on the Rangers, and in addition to that he is a front runner for the Selke trophy. Jeff Carter has 20 goals and would be 3rd on the Rangers in pts (ahead of Stepan) despite playing 10 less games, also 20 goals (5 more than Brad Richards, again, in 10 less games).
Sometimes you guys act like we're the only good defensive team in the league.
I thought my opinion that this team has potential to go deep in the playoffs, but ultimately fall short of a Cup, was pretty down to earth. I simply don't put quite as much stock in numbers as others.
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There is, and the Rangers are squarely in it, with a boatload of contracts running out this summer. Interesting place to be.
Im going to go ahead and bet that the Rangers won't win the Stanley Cup (really going out on a limb) and would prefer they focus on longer-term issues than the immediate run.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
The West is going to be an absolute war, with a pretty big possibility that the team that comes out of it will be far from full strength. The Blackhawks got lucky last year in facing a beat up Kings team and then a beat up Bruins team. As much as San Jose, St Louis, Chicago, Anaheim, and maybe the Kings are superior to us, they might not be if we made it as far as the finals.
As for the East... I think it's pretty clear that we're as good, and likely better, than Tampa, Toronto, Montreal, and Columbus. I consider the rest of the playoff hopefuls in another tier down. In the East, I think it's Boston and Pittsburgh and we're the best of the rest. Boston and Pittsburgh aren't without their flaws, though. If Eriksson doesn't pick it up, Boston's top-6 forwards are overrated, offensively. We know what Pittsburgh's issue is. Would anyone really be shocked to see Pittsburgh upset in the first round or Boston upset in either of the first two rounds?
No team is really as bad as they are when slumping. That describes us early in the season and in December. No team is really as good as they are when they're hot. That describes us over the last month. What will we be in April?
As for the East... I think it's pretty clear that we're as good, and likely better, than Tampa, Toronto, Montreal, and Columbus. I consider the rest of the playoff hopefuls in another tier down. In the East, I think it's Boston and Pittsburgh and we're the best of the rest. Boston and Pittsburgh aren't without their flaws, though. If Eriksson doesn't pick it up, Boston's top-6 forwards are overrated, offensively. We know what Pittsburgh's issue is. Would anyone really be shocked to see Pittsburgh upset in the first round or Boston upset in either of the first two rounds?
No team is really as bad as they are when slumping. That describes us early in the season and in December. No team is really as good as they are when they're hot. That describes us over the last month. What will we be in April?
And they're still 29th in the league in scoring, just finishing a 6 game stretch where they scored 3 goals. But hey they were all by Kopitar so they must be amazing.
Not saying that they have a great chance, just that you seem to think it'll take a miracle.
aufheben
#Norris4Fox
I do. I'm not the only one who has said this, I don't understand the obtuseness. I never said the Kings were contenders this year or not. I was citing them as an example of a Cup winning team that had top-end talent that we simply don't have.
Are Brad Richards, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan going to lead this team to a Cup?
BobMarleyNYR
Rangers future on D
How would you define realistic?
But seriously.
Realistic: Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Toews, Kane, Sharp, Keith, Hossa, Getzlaf, Perry, Fowler, Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, Chara, Thornton, Pavelski, Couture, Marleau, Vlasic
Halfway serious: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Nash, Callahan
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
- Dec 28, 2003
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What does this post mean?Realistic: Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Toews, Kane, Sharp, Keith, Hossa, Getzlaf, Perry, Fowler, Bergeron, Krejci, Lucic, Chara, Thornton, Pavelski, Couture, Marleau, Vlasic
Halfway serious: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Nash, Callahan
Better than most not as good as some.
The X factors with the Rangers:
Goal Tending
Solid D
Emerging depth
If Hank keeps it going and we can keep injuries to a minimum...watch out. The Rangers could catch a lot folks by surprise. That number would inlcude many on this board.
The X factors with the Rangers:
Goal Tending
Solid D
Emerging depth
If Hank keeps it going and we can keep injuries to a minimum...watch out. The Rangers could catch a lot folks by surprise. That number would inlcude many on this board.
Blue Seat Spartan
Permanent Vacation
Dark horse challengers, that's for sure. What the Rangers lack in a true No. 1 center, they make up in forward depth and balance through the lineup. Add a solid six on the backline, with Henrik Lundqvist in net, and the Rangers could be a dangerous team that catches fire when the playoffs roll around. Think of a contemporary version of the 1993 Montreal Canadiens: no true top line of center, but mobile D and goaltending helped them win the Stanley Cup as the top teams of the then Wales Conference dropped like flies in a series of upsets around them.
At the time of the LA Kings playoff run, if you'd told me just before that Dustin Brown would be a PPG wrecking ball throughout the playoffs, I probably would've been as skeptical as if you suggested that Zuccarello will do the same this year. Going far in the playoffs has always struck me less as a competition between top-end talent, it's always unpredictable who plays well and how well they play. Sure Kopitar was a monster during that cup run, but take last year--Toews was absent offensively for much of the post season--meanwhile Bickell was unbelievable. I actually see us as more competitive because we seem to have a roster built to get contributions from everywhere.
Well you're saying "I don't think they can". I don't think they're favorites and I wouldn't bet on them but I just don't think it's a ridiculous notion either. We don't have top talent but we have depth and VERY few teams in the NHL can say that. Most teams are one line teams.
Tawnos
A guy with a bass
There is an X factor here that we haven't really talked about, which is what effect, if any, the coaching change will have on the team in the playoffs. I maintained, at the time, that a big part of the coaching change was about preventing the scale of our offensive drop-off from the regular season to the playoffs. Games are tighter, so you expect some amount of drop, but for the last three years, it's been through the floor. Having a less conservative system might mitigate that. And, if it does, our chances of winning games are much, much better.
aufheben
#Norris4Fox
There's teams that have top end talent and depth. Favorites is another word for contender. I think Hank will have to play out of his mind for this team to win a Cup. Like, a historical performance.
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