Post-Game Talk: Los Angeles Kings @ New York Rangers |Game 3| 6/9/14

[mandiblesofdoom]

LA's a heck of a team. They defend in front of their net very well.

 

[aufheben]

Luck? Every single Kings goal this series was a direct result of some boneheaded play, usually by multiple Rangers. They made a ton of lazy, dumb mistakes, and the Kings capitalized.

 

[bigbluebird]

I'm sure there's a lot of people laughing at the Ranger's expense right now but I'm pretty proud of them for even getting this far and it has been so much fun getting to watch this team go to the finals. Sure it sucks right now but I'll be over it a day or two after it's over. Don't wallow in sadness over this, it's just a sport.

Exactly. I'm proud of them tbh. They've made some bone headed mistakes against a great team, but really, this may be their ceiling. It is what it is. All I ask is that they play f*N lights out on Wed.

Either way, I can't let this game/hockey in general destroy my life lol....

 

[trilobyte]

The Rangers didn't play well tonight. They continued making costly mistakes and caved in after being down 1 foreskin goal. Who gives up a goal in a SCF game with a second left? A weak goalie and weak team in front. ..

They started the 2nd like aholes and Lundqvist sucked on that 2nd goal.

Girardi pinched and they got burned...

Not a SC CALIBER TEAM

A completely dumb play by Danny G. He slid when there was no reason. There was no Kings player that may have received a pass. Girardi would know that. No defenseman should make half-hearted plays on the puck like that.
No, I am not nit-picking. It was a really bad mistake and you can say what you like about Henrik on that goal, but it was tipped and I am pretty damned sure that he wondered why Girardi made that boneheaded play.

 

[Raspewtin]

The bolded is my problem with the company line about Hank. This series, he hasn't been THE problem; but had he shown up with his best game in each of the last three games, this team would be up 2-1 in the series at worst.

I don't get why we can pay our goalie like he is the best goalie in the league, but then turn around and not expect him to be the best goalie in the league when it counts. At best, the "goaltending duel" in this series has been a draw. At worst, Hank has lost it so far (I would argue this). Regardless of whether you agree on my assessment between those two options - unless you choose the third unwritten option and think Hank has performed better than Quick (in which case, I'd call BS) - then that's not good enough from Hank.

Even though Quick wasn't stellar through the first two; he sure as **** came up with some pretty monster saves - on breakaways, on cross ice one timers, etc. Hank was good; but we didn't see him making a ton of those types of saves. And tonight, the performance of Quick speaks for itself.

In this series Hank has been good. Not bad. But not great. Good doesn't win championships.

God I hate how right this post is.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Losing game 2 hurt more than this. In game 2 they just seemed destined to win. Tonight had a surprisingly sour taste right off the face-off.

 

[mjdlight]

Considering tickets were $76 bucks in game 4 in 2012.. Yea. No thanks.

Its not every day you get to see a Stanley Cup Finals game though. Who knows when I'll get a chance again?

 

[Zil]

Difference between this team and the 93-94 team? Depth and talent.

The 93-94 team was a Stanley Cup favorite and was as deep as they come. The 11-12 team and 13-14 team weren't as deep as Stanley Cup favorites.

Depth? This team has plenty of depth. The 94 team won after dumping most of its depth. Messier, Kovalev, Graves, and Larmer were the only forwards to put up significant points. Those four plus Leetch and Zubov were basically the entire offense. The advantage the 94 team had was in superstar talent. This roster lacks a Messier and it lacks a second defenseman who can put up points.

Team needs to have more players who contribute. Richards needs to go. Nash needs to go. They need to use that $14.4M to bring in players that are game breakers and make it count.

Richards has to be amnestied. He's killing the team. I don't think there's a deal to be made with Nash that would be worth pulling the trigger on. He's at least generating chances. Richards is just ****.

We don't have a Kopitar, Carter, Gaborik, or Williams up front.

We don't have a Kopitar, but you're exaggerating the quality of the rest of that roster. Carter is playing way, way, way over his head scoring-wise. We had Gaborik and he managed to disappear every playoffs. Williams is overrated and feasting off his teammates. He's a good player, not a great one.

As good as McDonagh is, we don't have a Doughty. The Kings are just so much deeper. And you're looking at them facing arguably the most shallow team to make the SCF post lock out. It's a mismatch.

This is just stupid. Doughty has no significant advantage on McDonagh. None. The last three years Doughty put up 36, 22, and 37 points. Over that same span McDonagh put up 32, 19, and 43 points. That's a one point difference over three years. One. It's the same deal in the playoffs this year. Doughty has 17 points in 24 games. McDonagh has 16 in 23.

Did anyone really expect to win the Cup with players like Richards and Nash, players who are supposed to be key contributors, bringing nothing to the table? Every Stanley Cup winner has a multitude of guys who are having fantastic post season runs. We don't have that, AT ALL.

The Kings have ****ing horseshoes up their *****. Every bounce has gone perfectly for them. We outshot them 32-15 tonight. They had game 2 giftwrapped for them by the refs. They don't deserve to be up 3-0 in this series at all.

 

[yrrebbor]

God I hate how right this post is.

Because it's true?

 

[Raspewtin]

Because it's true?

Yeahh.

 

[5 4 Fighting]

As much as it hurts to say it, Hank isn't the best goalie in the world. Quick is exceptional. His recovery is flawless, he is feisty, plays with fire, gets into the heads of the opponent. Hank is the complete opposite, seems to me like he keeps his anger bottled up, and that leads to breakdowns. What if he and Nash see a sports psychologist tomorrow?

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

A completely dumb play by Danny G. He slid when there was no reason. There was no Kings player that may have received a pass. Girardi would know that. No defenseman should make half-hearted plays on the puck like that.
No, I am not nit-picking. It was a really bad mistake and you can say what you like about Henrik on that goal, but it was tipped and I am pretty damned sure that he wondered why Girardi made that boneheaded play.

Pearson was open down LW. He was trying to cut off the passing lane + low shot. It was a bad bounce.

 

[NikC]

If ranger fans were honest they would admit that Girardi is not a very good defenseman.

Regardless of the regular season the guy has been making critical mistakes in big games over the last 3 post seasons...

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Luck? Every single Kings goal this series was a direct result of some boneheaded play, usually by multiple Rangers. They made a ton of lazy, dumb mistakes, and the Kings capitalized.

Luck was a factor, but I tend to side with this. Ton of mistakes. Lots of what ifs.

 

[Eric Sachs]

Considering tickets were $76 bucks in game 4 in 2012.. Yea. No thanks.

You seem to have a strange memory of the 2012 SCF.

Game 4 was in LA. With a chance to win the Stanley Cup on home ice, tickets were astronomically high.

If you're going to take a shot at the Devils, at least do it right.. Game 5 was the dirt cheap one!

 

[Blueshirt Believer]

Sooo we should get another crack at this in two or three decades right?

Depends on how management approaches this. If AV gets what he wants(better players for puck possession); we will back sooner than you think.

If management panics and decides they need to start brining in grinders/band aids...yeah we may never get back again with Hank.

I really hope Sather retires in the offseason. I have more faith in Gorton having patience and vision.

I can see Sather making an impulsive move.

 

[tomobson]

Bench Richards for the love of god.

 

[5 4 Fighting]

I'd kill for a Spezza right about now.

 

[Blueshirt Believer]

If ranger fans were honest they would admit that Girardi is not a very good defenseman.

Regardless of the regular season the guy has been making critical mistakes in big games over the last 3 post seasons...

Dan is a great D man but he isn't a legit #1. He is too panicky against top lines.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

It's because a lot of us know this probably won't happen again. Like it or not, we definitely were lucky to not match up with Boston, who can systematically execute this team. This run has been magical in literally every sense of the word.

MSL is 38. Richards is buyout fodder. Hank is 32. We have no 1sts for two years (though I can live without them after this run.). No high end talent coming up except for a few reaches. This is the year. If this team was eliminated in 5 by Pittsburgh we''d be *****ing about the same things we ***** about every off season. No high end scorers, no #1 center, etc. This is the same flawed team everyone has complained about all season.

Just being real with this post.

Bollo Ruongo pls

We have a a 24 year old elite defenseman and plenty of our players are still rather young. Yes MSL is 38, but he's still a very good player. Having him for the entire regular season will be an upgrade to the forward group. I think Miller could end up being an upgrade on Richards, honestly.

We need to add some offense to the blue line. I don't think that's an impossible task. I'm sure we could sign Stralman and flip Staal for an offensive guy.

 

[ImIdaho]

Bollo Ruongo pls

We have a a 24 year old elite defenseman and plenty of our players are still rather young. Yes MSL is 38, but he's still a very good player. Having him for the entire regular season will be an upgrade to the forward group. I think Miller could end up being an upgrade on Richards, honestly.

We need to add some offense to the blue line. I don't think that's an impossible task. I'm sure we could sign Stralman and flip Staal for an offensive guy.

I'd rather trade Girardi than Staal but that's only pertinent to Staal signing an extension with us.

 

[OverTheCap]

The Kings are a very good team, it's more than just luck. Their centers have outplayed our centers (they don't have the equivalent of Beaver on their roster), they have hard-shooting defensemen that are capable of hitting the net and getting their shots through, their net presence is spectacular, they have a functional power play, and they can capitalize on mistakes. And tonight they proved that not only are they team that can come back when down a few goals, but they can protect a lead with surgical precision.

The Rangers have competed well against a tough opponent, but lack of execution, PP woes, and uncharacteristic mistakes have cost them.

 

[Tikkanen10fan]

They should be getting out of the way of the puck. let him make those saves without it getting redirected

 

[trilobyte]

Pearson was open down LW. He was trying to cut off the passing lane + low shot. It was a bad bounce.

Then Girardi should take Pearson and let Hank handle the shot.
Don't screw it up by doing half the job.

 

[Tikkanen10fan]

Maybe he should go in the locker room and do it.

Keenan giving it to the Rangers right now on the postgame. Good!!