Just How Good Are the 2013-14 Rangers?
- Thread starter Thirty One
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McSauer
Defense Wins Games
I second this
I'll 3rd it.
This team has a shot if they can pick up after the Olympic break where they left off. Goal tending and defense are solid, 4 offensive lines rolling with contributions from all lines and the coaching system looks like a well oiled machine.
I don't think Pittsburgh has the depth or defense to make them as scary in a playoff series as they are in regular season. Boston scares me more because they're built like NYR in team concept, but bigger with Dmen who can really shoot. Tampa will be tough too, especially getting Stammer back. I put NYR up there with all 3 of these teams for a grind it out series.
Brooklyn Rangers Fan
Change is good.
Seems like it's always fans of other teams that are optimistic about our chances, this time a Flyers team.
The answer to this question is... does it matter what we think right now?
The playoffs are also defined by intangibles such as luck, momentum, streaks, players that rise above the pressure, players that succumb to the pressure, players that are fresher for whatever reason... amongst consistently good play from whatever team.
The hot team tends to be the one that gets the farthest. The hottest 8th seed could sweep the coldest 1 seed (in past tense ranking system analogies).
Hypothetically, any of the 16 teams that enter the playoffs is a contender. They have the ability to contend for the cup while 14 teams do not.
We have flaws... but then again so do other teams. Chicago and Anaheim have struggling for a while. They were the hottest topic just 2 months ago. Could anyone beat them? Apparently so.
How do we know who will be streaking, especially if that team will be us?
What I do know is that we have the ability to streak and when we streak upward we've been lighting teams up offensively like no other. When we streak downward we've been losing 1 goal games...
Seems we are pretty legit. The intangibles we encounter will define the season, as they do for every team, every post season.
The playoffs are also defined by intangibles such as luck, momentum, streaks, players that rise above the pressure, players that succumb to the pressure, players that are fresher for whatever reason... amongst consistently good play from whatever team.
The hot team tends to be the one that gets the farthest. The hottest 8th seed could sweep the coldest 1 seed (in past tense ranking system analogies).
Hypothetically, any of the 16 teams that enter the playoffs is a contender. They have the ability to contend for the cup while 14 teams do not.
We have flaws... but then again so do other teams. Chicago and Anaheim have struggling for a while. They were the hottest topic just 2 months ago. Could anyone beat them? Apparently so.
How do we know who will be streaking, especially if that team will be us?
What I do know is that we have the ability to streak and when we streak upward we've been lighting teams up offensively like no other. When we streak downward we've been losing 1 goal games...
Seems we are pretty legit. The intangibles we encounter will define the season, as they do for every team, every post season.
StepansLabyrinth
Rational Police
- Jul 2, 2009
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aufheben
#Norris4Fox
Thirty One
Safe is safe.
- Dec 28, 2003
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Yeah. 2nd round exit is better than 22/30 teams do.I like how this has become a pessimistic view on this board the last few seasons.
I like how this has become a pessimistic view on this board the last few seasons.
I don't really mean it to be pessimistic.
But I am not expecting them to win the cup. I want to see how Nash does in the playoffs this year and what AV's system can do with this group.
You can't just reveal my identity like that
If Larry Brooks posted here would you tell everyone who he was too?!
Flavius
Da Gawd
MTrangers
Registered User
Your well-oiled machine just dropped a game to the worst team in the league.
No offense, but you are deluding yourself if you believe that Pitt is not a scary team in the playoffs. 2 guys that can score any time on anyone on the ice at any given time.
Boston is not built like the Rangers. Chara nullifies Nash completely. And that is even if Nash shows up. His playoff mo has not needed a top defensemen to be shut down.
I have said this before. The Rangers are not built to be successful against teams like Boston. Boston owns the boards and will punch the Rangers squarely in the mouth. It is debatable if the Rangers have what it takes to give as good as they get. Which is a main component of being a successful post season team.
You truly see the Rangers as being as good as the 'Pens or 'Bs? Because that is what your statement means.
One of many reasons that I am not set against making trades. The goal should not be to be on the next rung down, after the best teams in the conference.
Without a first line, one round and bye bye. I don't see Hank and the D being able to win a series by themselves after a round in the PO's.
Regarding the 2 bolded parts:
1) The Oilers also beat the Pens earlier this season and I believe it was with Dubnyk in net. The Pens managed to score a grand total of 1 more goal against an infinitely worse goalie than the Rangers played. You're better than this. You know that a 1 off game doesn't mean anything. (San Jose got shutout by them).
2) The Bruins are a great team. They dominated the Pens defensively last year and dominated us in every aspect. That said let's stop pretending like they're unbeatable or something. They were a minor miracle away from losing in the first 2 rounds to 2 mediocre opponents. They can be had. I remember fans on this site saying that the reason Toronto gave them trouble was their skating. Well this year the Rangers are a good skating team and they actually are much more well rounded than Toronto, although we don't have the top end talent that they have. Toronto is certainly not some sort of physical bruising team. Boston is beatable. Odds are against us, but let's not pretend like they're in a different league.
To me that is the problem. I do think that Boston is in a different league. So while yes, anything can happen, that is a very hard thing to hang your hat on. I do not see the Rangers stacking up very well against this team.
Sure seems like a lot of Ranger fans have talked themselves into being the 3rd best team in the east. Thats fine, and something I dont necessarily disagree with.
I do, however, think that Pittsburgh and Boston are the clear cut class of the East - and that the margin between those teams and the rest of the conference is a wide one.
In other words, for those folks talking themselves into Pittsburgh and Boston being "flawed" and the possibility of the Rangers knocking them off, they also better be ready to apply that same logic to the Rangers -- meaning theres a chance they could get knocked off by a seemingly inferior team.
Whats this all mean? Nothing. We'll see what happens. But the bottom line is that the Rangers need to formulate a mindset headed into the trade deadline. And, given the circumstances, my opinion is it would be foolish to forego longterm thinking for what might happen in this playoff run. Leave that sort of thinking to Pittsburgh and Boston.
I do, however, think that Pittsburgh and Boston are the clear cut class of the East - and that the margin between those teams and the rest of the conference is a wide one.
In other words, for those folks talking themselves into Pittsburgh and Boston being "flawed" and the possibility of the Rangers knocking them off, they also better be ready to apply that same logic to the Rangers -- meaning theres a chance they could get knocked off by a seemingly inferior team.
Whats this all mean? Nothing. We'll see what happens. But the bottom line is that the Rangers need to formulate a mindset headed into the trade deadline. And, given the circumstances, my opinion is it would be foolish to forego longterm thinking for what might happen in this playoff run. Leave that sort of thinking to Pittsburgh and Boston.
I think, around here anyways, the quote needs to be altered to "anything can happen....as long as its good for the Rangers"
One game doesn't mean anything. They won 4 of 5 coming into the break including beating the best in the East.
No offense taken and I don't think I'm deluding myself. 2-first round exits, a 2nd round exit and a 3rd round exit in the last 4 seasons. Their defense is suspect, especially with Letang out, Fleury is a better regular season guy than post season and they've got 2 good offensive lines, albeit 2 awesome lines.
I think you need a bigger sample size to give Nash a playoff MO. Chara doesn't automatically nullify Nash, but for arguments sake that's the idea of having 4 lines that can roll. NY's top scorer is playing on the "3rd" line, even though I think they're playing like a 1st line. This team hasn't had this scoring depth in years.
As I mentioned, Boston is scary with their size. What I meant by saying they're built similar is solid goal tending, defensive depth and able to roll 4 lines, but they have more size and big shooters on the blue line. That's a definite battle for a post season series but that doesn't mean you just roll over and quit.
I see The Rangers being able to compete with these teams in a playoff series. No guarantees on winning or delusions of dominating these teams, but this NYR team is solid enough that a few bounces their way over the course of a series and they definitely have a shot. It seems like you're ready to just forget the playoffs and just let Boston and Pitt play for the conference championship.
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