The game against the Wild showed why I believe that this team, as constituted, is not built for playoff success. The Wild scored by whacking the puck continuously at the goalmouth. The same place where the Bruins embarrassed the Rangers from. The Rangers generate no pressure whatsoever on the Wild goalmouth. If the cannot generate off of the rush, they are sunk as they do not go to the net to score.
That type of hockey will not suffice in the playoffs. You need to win battles in the dirty areas of the ice. Taking all your shots from the outside will not result in wins. Nor will not clearing the bodies from in front of your own net.
Not sure how AV can address this, but in many ways this is the way that his Van teams lost.
I say this all the time.
Net front presence is a mindset that a player has to have instinctually. You have to be willing and determined to battle your way to get there, and continue to battle to stay there so that you CAN get those repeated whacks at pucks.
When I refer to this team as soff, and they ARE SOFF, it's with that lack of mindset, willingness and determination to get, battle and stay in those dirty areas of the ice that represent prime scoring areas.
It's part of the reason why I think Torts system was flawed in nature as it directs the focus of play away from that area (keeping the puck along the walls and behind the net)
The Rangers top 9 I feel are pretty much all more than willing to play a perimeter game.
Callahan was a guy that played a solid net front presence game before he hurt his shoulder and is probably a guy that will get back to that. We miss that with his absence. It's no endorsement to overpay the guy to the tune of 6x6, but I'm referring to his mindset here.
Kreider is a big bodied guy that should be imposing his physical will on teams in front. But right now? I think he's to mentally soft and unwilling to engage consistently enough to be a presence there.
It's a charachter trait that seems to have permeated alot of the draft picks we have and for me that's a HUGE problem because if the same guys are scouting and drafting the kids that we have in the system now (Fast, Kristo, Lindberg and Miller along with Duke, Butchy, MSC, Boo) then I fear it's a type of player that we can expect to see coming through the pro ranks for the next 3-5 years.
I think they need to look for more guys that are more interested in going through the opposition than around it.
They say the shortest distance from point A to point B is a straight line. we need to make sure that we start drafting guys that are willing to do what ever is needed to get from point A to point B is the shortest amount of time needed.
THAT is a tough team.
We do not have that.
is their a way to make Rick Nash more aware of whats going on? What a stupid comment he said for anyone who didnt see? He can't be this dumb?
