Series Talk: New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils (Rangers 1-0)

[EdJovanovski]

Confirmed

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[HockeyBasedNYC]

I mean the natural progression of things would suggest the Rangers win this series, because they reached the conf finals last year and largely the same group took their lumps and went through it.

They always talk about that. Building to become a champion.

But what worries me about the Devils is they are so young and loose its that never-been-here attitude that can sometimes make a difference. But theres gotta be a little bit of nerves on their end right?

 

[Kords]

If Kane flips the switch and turns into Conn Smythe Kane than we will know that the Rangers curse has officially been lifted.






I’m fully anticipating him costing us a few goals/games from bad turnovers and probably about a point per series production sadly. The curse is too strong….

 

[DanielBrassard]

Jovo in here pimping Lemieux again?

Lmao, why must we be subjected to these lovefests for players who suck?



Avery was actually good at hockey when he wanted to be good at hockey. The trolling element in 2008 just made it that much better, he completely clowned on them both by being productive and doing all of the side show stuff.

Yeah Avery was a legitimate top-6 forward at that time, along with everything else.

 

[Larrybiv]

I’ll be a 2nd person to say I hope Trouba crushes those midgets

I think society doesn't like that word midget. So for the sake of humanity lets just say....."I hope Trouba crushes those little men". There, I said it.

 

[Synergy27]

If Kane flips the switch and turns into Conn Smythe Kane than we will know that the Rangers curse has officially been lifted.






I’m fully anticipating him costing us a few goals/games from bad turnovers and probably about a point per series production sadly. The curse is too strong….

If the latter happens that isn’t a curse. It’s just dumb management.

We knew Kane had injury issues coming in. We paid accordingly. I would hope they had a mutual agreement that he’d manage his reps until the games mattered.

If we get regular season Kane in the playoffs we might still win because he’s just a depth piece for us, but it’s looking pretty unlikely that he’s going to be a driving force to victory.

 

[Larrybiv]

Such a disappointment to get 10 playoff wins. 10 totally fluke wins......doesnt count.

I know where "Brassard" is coming from, b ut he's wrong.
I know were your sarcasm is coming from and you're right.

You don't get 10 flukey wins. They deserved those wins, regardless of the circumstances. With that said......those 10 wins and 20 games COUNT big time in PO experience for everyone. Not even mentioning that sour taste Tampa left in their mouths. This is a great opportunity for some to redeem themselves.
Shesty getting off to a great start would be really nice, because he could easily get it done, but hopefully won't "have to". Dont ever wanna hear a facetious "Igor, Igor, Igor" ever again.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

So no word on them canceling the Billy Joel's concert on Sat the 22nd?

Guess that means an afternoon game on Sat or a 2 day break after game 2 and we play Sunday night after the Knicks 1pm game.

 

[bogans]

I think society doesn't like that word midget. So for the sake of humanity lets just say....."I hope Trouba crushes those little men". There, I said it.

When the Trou Trou train is on the tracks all little men better look the f*** out.

 

[Leonardo87]

So no word on them canceling the Billy Joel's concert on Sat the 22nd?

Guess that means an afternoon game on Sat or a 2 day break after game 2 and we play Sunday night after the Knicks 1pm game.

I hope they just move the concert, or make it a Sat afternoon game.

 

[Rangers2319]

yeah im hoping for a sat afternoon game, 1pm

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Wonder when the sched will be finalized...cant be too long from now

 

[MrAlmost]

I am really just curious to see how they come out against the Devils. The team has been pretty low energy all season with the exception of a few games. It is just hard to gauge if they played as hard as they could all year, or if they just went through the motions to get back to the playoffs. I know Tampa on the second year of their back to back and last year were very pedestrian in the regular season and were then much tougher in the playoffs.

But then there is Colorado, which was pretty much the same all year last year. I hope we were saving 5th and 6th gear is what I'm saying, cause if not, we ain't gonna get out of the first round. We just have too much trouble against the fast, aggressive, heavy forecheck teams. Moreso than last year when at the end of the year at least we played that way too.

 

[EdJovanovski]

So no word on them canceling the Billy Joel's concert on Sat the 22nd?

Guess that means an afternoon game on Sat or a 2 day break after game 2 and we play Sunday night after the Knicks 1pm game.

Hope so because I have hockey that night

 

[Leonardo87]

yeah im hoping for a sat afternoon game, 1pm

I have an afternoon party on Sunday, will be able to make the game if it‘s on Sunday , since it will later, likely a 7:30 start to give them time for the Knicks clean up. But, prefer it Sat, so don’t have to rush.

 

[Leonardo87]

Wonder when the sched will be finalized...cant be too long from now

There are still two series that have not been decided, they are playing tonight. So should hopefully get the full schedule when all the match ups are set.

 

[cheech70]

Jacob Trouba said it feels "different" going into the playoffs this year due to "more of an expectation amongst the group." The captain said that has the #NYR locked in. "We’ve talked. All the words have been said... We're ready to play."

 

[Matt Rentfree]

Wonder when the sched will be finalized...cant be too long from now

I don't know how accurate it is, but NHL.com has our first game as being Tuesday, time - TBD.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

I mean as much as we are fearing the Devils, which is fair - the current construction of the Rangers, if everyone plays to their abilities - could explode at any moment and crush any one.
There is just too much talent there.

This is a possibility, not an expectation.

 

[pld459666]

Weren't we 4-0 against tampa in the regular season last year.

Every year, people put way too much stock into regular season games when they really mean nothing.

Wins and losses mean nothing.

How you match up with teams means a whole lot.

Absolute predictor? NOPE, but a very good indicator.

 

[haveandare]

The rangers came in last season with no playoff experience except for maybe Kreider and Panarin and made it all the way to game 6 of the conference finals. I think too many here put too much stock in playoff experience.

Huh? Trouba, Copp, Motte, Vatrano and Goodrow had like 100 game of playoff experience between them, plus Kreider who had 80 himself and Panarin and Mika who both had I think 25-30ish.

 

[bhamill]

There's way too many people dismissing the Devils just because they haven't been in the playoffs with this core before. Like they are not going to be capable of bearing down, figuring it out, and running us off the ice like they have so far in the regular season.

This is tangentially related to the concept frequently espoused on this board about how much playoff experience matters, which is, in reality, not all that much. A little, but it gets way overhyped. Example: We had zero playoff experience last year and were maybe a bad Trouba penalty away from being up 3-0 in the conference finals against the Lightning, which would have almost certainly gotten us to the Cup finals.

Talent matters far more, and the Devils have a lot of it.

So do we, of course. It's not to say we have no chance in this series. But this is a bad matchup for us. The only team I'd rather play less in probably the entire league is the Bruins.

Like, people are saying just hit the Devils and slow them down and we win. Oh, is that all? You don't think other teams may have thought of that at some point this season? It's hard to do.

It’s not just that they have no experience, which is still a valid point, but it’s that they have played no playoff style hockey all year. Which is very pertinent. I’ve watched them. They don’t respond well to tight checking games or being hit. That’s playoff hockey. If they’d been playing a brand of hockey that works in the playoffs, the lack of experience is still a thing, but it’s not as BIG a thing.
As much as you think this is a bad matchup for us, it’s a WORSE matchup for them. We’ve SHOWN we can play the winning playoff style hockey that they don’t respond well to AND we have an even better and even more experienced team than last year. We also have a major goaltending advantage.
BUT this is why the games get played. There are no guarantees.

 

[bhamill]

Uh yes Hughes is fragile. He’s been hurt a few times now by routine hits. And I guess you forgot Hamilton getting exposed against Washington a few years ago when he kept getting afraid to play pucks because he didn’t want to get hit to make a play. It eventually led to a goal against so maybe your memory is 0 for 2

The last NYR NJD game Devs players were pulling up to avoid hits by midway through the 2nd period. Imagine the 5th period and on of dealing with it.

Huh? Trouba, Copp, Motte, Vatrano and Goodrow had like 100 game of playoff experience between them, plus Kreider who had 80 himself and Panarin and Mika who both had I think 25-30ish.

People forget why we acquired some of those players. Especially Goodrow.

 

[AlaBlueShirt]

I am really just curious to see how they come out against the Devils. The team has been pretty low energy all season with the exception of a few games. It is just hard to gauge if they played as hard as they could all year, or if they just went through the motions to get back to the playoffs. I know Tampa on the second year of their back to back and last year were very pedestrian in the regular season and were then much tougher in the playoffs.

But then there is Colorado, which was pretty much the same all year last year. I hope we were saving 5th and 6th gear is what I'm saying, cause if not, we ain't gonna get out of the first round. We just have too much trouble against the fast, aggressive, heavy forecheck teams. Moreso than last year when at the end of the year at least we played that way too.

To me the biggest problem has been that they have lacked emotional spark. The regular season grind wasn't that fancy after rallying through two game 7's to ECF. Let's see if they find the groove.

 

[The Gloaming]

Wins and losses mean nothing.

How you match up with teams means a whole lot.

Absolute predictor? NOPE, but a very good indicator.

It's really not. Year after year, playoffs between two teams look nothing like the regular season. People need to step away from the ledge. The Devils cared way more about the regular season matchups against the Rangers than did the Rangers.

 

[Cmox]

Trocheck and Goodrow will be the main pricks but yeah, no where near Avery’s level.