Positively time for some positiveness - We Played Well!

[Jersey Girl]

OK so everyone knows I'm not a 'glass is half full' type of girl, I hate Sather and truly believe we will never win anything until he finally retires to Banff on his own volition in 15-20 years or so.

That said, I don't understand the incessant negativity regarding our chances in this series - I actually thought we played well last night - REALLY WELL. Yes, I can feel the change in momentum in this series as well as anyone, but my goodness, if we play the rest of the series like we played last night, I think we really have a fighting chance here. I'm not kidding.

I thought we had more jump last night than in any game since early in the Flyers series. We carried a lot of the play, but we certainly had a lot of bad puck luck - I'm still not sure how that optical illusion of a shot by Zuke stayed out. And we did everything we wanted regarding traffic and deflections in front of Fleury - just no luck of a puck finding it's way into the net.

I think AV is doing a masterful job of pushing buttons, and I really like the way he's handling the schedule questions. Going into last night he said his team was as fresh as can be, to attempt to implant that into his players' minds, and last night he calls it a stupid schedule - to implant into his players' minds that they'll be feeling better Wednesday night. Totally agree with Trautwig's take on this (and totally disagree with Brooks here) - terrific motivation.

Oh, don't get me wrong - if and when the time comes, I'll be blasting Sather. I still completely disagree with the Richards signing and the Nash, Clowe and St Louis trades - and I said as such in all those threads at the time they happened. I'm really getting sick of being right. And the person who told me the day of the St Louis trade we just acquired the best winger in the world owes me an apology - you know who you are!

And we really need a lot more from a lot of players - the usual suspects, and also some that don't get mentioned in this regard as often - Zuke, McDonagh, Boyle, Hagelin, Girardi, etc.

Oh, and memo to Hank - it's legal to pound your stick on the ice in the last five seconds of a power play to let your team know the player is about to come out of the box - how many times can we get caught like this before Benoit Allaire at a practice stops making sure Hank's butt is firmly planted on the goal line for a second, and says - 'Oh Hank, I forgot to tell you one thing goalies tend to do in North America...' Seriously.

I honestly believe we can win this series - Pittsburgh is not all that good (being down to the Bruins would be a whole different animal), and at some point Fleury will go back to being Fleury - hopefully before the handshakes instead of after. We win the next game we go back to Pittsburgh a revived, younger, fresher, stronger team.

Then next summer Sather can trade more of our future for Joe Thornton, or Dan Boyle, because that's what Nash/St Louis/Whoever needs to get going. And so it goes...

Click to read more...

 

[silverfish]

Kind of sums up the board's mentality today that no one has responded to this thread.

 

[GraveyTrain9]

bottom line is we cannot score a ****ing goal... we have not scored a goal on Marc-Andre Fleury in 120 minutes of hockey.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Kind of sums up the board's mentality today that no one has responded to this thread.

I hold Jersey Girl in high regard as a poster. In this case, I just don't agree with her. I'm not sure they played well. And two other remarks:

1) I don't think AV has done a good job. What I give him a ton of credit for this season was his unwavering belief in his system and his players. Now he's shuffling players in and out of the line up on a game by game basis.

2) I don't think that at this point they can win the series. Not enough heart and not enough skill to make up for the lack of skill. Las year, Torts said that the power play's woes "took on a life of its own." I see a lot of that. Unless St. Louis and Nash break out in a big way (and soon) this team can't win if for no other reason than they are not forcing the Pens to have to match up against one particular. And, finally, they have given confidence to a goalie who was sorely lack it.

 

[NYRKindms]

I guess I don't know what to say to anyone who comes away from last nights game saying the Rangers played well.

They played a terrible hockey game and gave up. The Pens simply didn't need to press because at no point were the rangers dangerous. There was no bite or snarl to their game. They basically accepted their loss like good little boys and packed it in

The Pens can go from not caring to playing at top level at the drop of a hat. We saw exactly what they can do to the Rangers in game 2. They just didn't need to go there to beat last nights version of the rangers.

They might be able win this round but a lot of things are going to have to break their way for that to happen. The Rangers have to play at their top level consistently for 60 minutes in order to have a chance. The Pens do not.

 

[Jersey Girl]

They played a terrible hockey game and gave up. The Pens simply didn't need to press because at no point were the rangers dangerous. There was no bite or snarl to their game. They basically accepted their loss like good little boys and packed it in

I don't know, I respect your opinion but I honestly didn't see it that way. I really don't feel like they gave up at all.

We outshot them 16-7 in the second and 9-1 in the third. I know shot totals are not the be all/end all - Mr. Nash's constant flicks of the puck on net from the blue line are a prime example - but I just don't feel like they packed it in like they did Sunday night.

That's me.

 

[JCrusher*]

I do think the PP at least looked betetr with Diaz out there. We had terrible puck luck hitting 3 posts that all could have been goals. However the Rangers had many oppurtinties to cash in and they failed to do it

 

[Dr. Ogrodnick]

They were better than game 2 and the power play looked a little better. That being said, they were still a perimeter team that got to very few rebounds and created little traffic in front. So even though they were better than game 2 they weren't close to the level they need to be at to win games in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Times are tough when I'm the sole voice of optimism!

I can also see us winning game four, some member of the lunatic fringe posting that we just beat the Penguins and we can beat the Bruins too, and me being the sole voice of negativism!

 

[Giacomin]

The Rangers are down 2-1 in the series. A win tomorrow night at MSG and they are right back in the series. I remember being at game 5 against Ottawa 2 years ago when The Rangers got shut out and the fans were saying the same thing. A win will change everything!

 

[ThePokeCheck]

I still have faith in us winning this series. I generally try to stay away from this forum when we lose because a lot of people in here just pull the curtain down and we're the worst hockey team in the world.

I'm pretty sure the players still have faith and I hope they don't come around here, because there's no way they should feel like this series is lost. We need a few good bounces and gain momentum from that. As far as I'm concerned we've been the best team so far this series, allthough the score sais nothing of it.

 

[Doctyl]

IDK about us winning this series, but I dont think we are close to being done yet.

 

[Ian]

I think this is the first time I've ever agreed with your entire post, hah.

LGR!

 

[schabadoo]

I guess I don't know what to say to anyone who comes away from last nights game saying the Rangers played well.

They played a terrible hockey game and gave up.

Yeah I watched a different game. Outside of multiple posts and a hot goalie, it was the Rangers' game.

 

[xsniper11x]

While I wouldn't say I'm thrilled with the effort, it sure didn't look as doom and gloom as one would think based on the mood here (surprise surprise). The team did play well in spurts, but def not a 60 min effort. They hit 3 posts, the PP looked significantly better out there with Diaz and MSL running the show, and, to the Pens credit, there were some unreal defensive plays made by Martin and a Letang. We outplayed the Pens, and a few inches here or there of puck luck (that 2 on 1 where a puck just barely caught a stick is a great example, as well as posts and puck hops). Could've made it in an entirely different game.

If the rangers PP continues to play like it did last night and we put forth a similar, but consistent, effort rest of the series, I think they can win this. Game 2 was the awful throw away game. Game 3 was def a major improvement.

 

[SA16]

We played a very good game yesterday just people are overly results oriented in their focus. If those 3 posts went in and we won 3-2 and absolutely nothing else was different everyone would say wow we played a great game we outshot them over 2:1 we controlled the play the whole time. Since they all just barely missed now all of a sudden we were terrible, had no jump, gave up etc...despite playing EXACTLY the same game give or take less than 1 inch in shot accuracy.

If we play like we did yesterday we will have a chance in this series. If we play like we did in game 2 we have no shot. Diaz needs to stay in the lineup. He's a huge help to the PP by being willing and capable to fire quick low shots. Also, other than our first powerplay yesterday our powerplay looked very strong. We actually got in the zone, held it there, and generated chances.

 

[*Bob Richards*]

I still think we can pull together and beat the Pens gritting our teeth.

That said, we'd still get merked by Boston, LA, Anaheim or Chicago.

 

[BlaqICE]

OK so everyone knows I'm not a 'glass is half full' type of girl, I hate Sather and truly believe we will never win anything until he finally retires to Banff on his own volition in 15-20 years or so.

That said, I don't understand the incessant negativity regarding our chances in this series - I actually thought we played well last night - REALLY WELL. Yes, I can feel the change in momentum in this series as well as anyone, but my goodness, if we play the rest of the series like we played last night, I think we really have a fighting chance here. I'm not kidding.

I thought we had more jump last night than in any game since early in the Flyers series. We carried a lot of the play, but we certainly had a lot of bad puck luck - I'm still not sure how that optical illusion of a shot by Zuke stayed out. And we did everything we wanted regarding traffic and deflections in front of Fleury - just no luck of a puck finding it's way into the net.

I think AV is doing a masterful job of pushing buttons, and I really like the way he's handling the schedule questions. Going into last night he said his team was as fresh as can be, to attempt to implant that into his players' minds, and last night he calls it a stupid schedule - to implant into his players' minds that they'll be feeling better Wednesday night. Totally agree with Trautwig's take on this (and totally disagree with Brooks here) - terrific motivation.

Oh, don't get me wrong - if and when the time comes, I'll be blasting Sather. I still completely disagree with the Richards signing and the Nash, Clowe and St Louis trades - and I said as such in all those threads at the time they happened. I'm really getting sick of being right. And the person who told me the day of the St Louis trade we just acquired the best winger in the world owes me an apology - you know who you are!

And we really need a lot more from a lot of players - the usual suspects, and also some that don't get mentioned in this regard as often - Zuke, McDonagh, Boyle, Hagelin, Girardi, etc.

Oh, and memo to Hank - it's legal to pound your stick on the ice in the last five seconds of a power play to let your team know the player is about to come out of the box - how many times can we get caught like this before Benoit Allaire at a practice stops making sure Hank's butt is firmly planted on the goal line for a second, and says - 'Oh Hank, I forgot to tell you one thing goalies tend to do in North America...' Seriously.

I honestly believe we can win this series - Pittsburgh is not all that good (being down to the Bruins would be a whole different animal), and at some point Fleury will go back to being Fleury - hopefully before the handshakes instead of after. We win the next game we go back to Pittsburgh a revived, younger, fresher, stronger team.

Then next summer Sather can trade more of our future for Joe Thornton, or Dan Boyle, because that's what Nash/St Louis/Whoever needs to get going. And so it goes...

Jersey Girl, you may be one of the only sane people remaining on these boards. After reading all the negative comments last night, I was beginning to think that no one on this board actually watched the game. Game 2 is an example of a game in which it looked like the Rangers gave up, NOT game 3. We outshot and out hit the Penguins 2:1 and we even out chanced them. A defensive breakdown and a bad pass at the worst possible moment cost us the game. Overall, it didn't look like we were a team that "gave up". To me, it looked like we fought until the end. I firmly believe that this board has a heard mentality. One person thinks we played bad and everyone follows. Open your eyes, people. We didn't play a bad game last night. Obviously the powerplay failed us once again, but even that started to look better on our last 2 attempts. Yes, we lost, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.

 

[xsniper11x]

Jersey Girl, you may be one of the only sane people remaining on these boards. After reading all the negative comments last night, I was beginning to think that no one on this board actually watched the game. Game 2 is an example of a game in which it looked like the Rangers gave up, NOT game 3. We outshot and out hit the Penguins 2:1 and we even out chanced them. A defensive breakdown and a bad pass at the worst possible moment cost us the game. Overall, it didn't look like we were a team that "gave up". To me, it looked like we fought until the end. I firmly believe that this board has a heard mentality. One person thinks we played bad and everyone follows. Open your eyes, people. We didn't play a bad game last night. Obviously the powerplay failed us once again, but even that started to look better on our last 2 attempts. Yes, we lost, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.

Agreed. There's a difference between blind optimism, blind pessimism and just trying to be objective. I do my best to be objective (although its easy to get emotional when it comes to your favorite team).

Objectively, I feel the Rangers played terribly in game 2 and looked like a materially better team in 3 (but had pretty awful luck, it happens). If they built off that game, I'd be very happy.

Objectively, it's also fair to say that one should avoid GDT at all costs the second the team goes down. It's a whole new level of depressing. Like, spending a saturday night listening to Radiohead while watching Requiem for a Dream, level of depressing.

 

[aufheben]

I still think we can pull together and beat the Pens gritting our teeth.

That said, we'd still get merked by Boston, LA, Anaheim or Chicago.

I don't know, this is exactly what I expected would happen. Can't finish the Flyers in less than 7, fizzle out in 5 against the Penguins. Obviously the series is still only 2-1, but they could really put the nail in the coffin next game.

Shut out by Fleury (who everyone loves to talk so much **** about before the playoffs) in consecutive games, I'm not overly optimistic about coming back in this series...

 

[KingP]

All we have to do is win tomorrow and then its best of 3

 

[Riverdale]

120 minutes. No goals.

That is not playing well. I respect your opinion and the post, but the Rangers are not playing well.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Jersey Girl, you may be one of the only sane people remaining on these boards. After reading all the negative comments last night, I was beginning to think that no one on this board actually watched the game. Game 2 is an example of a game in which it looked like the Rangers gave up, NOT game 3. We outshot and out hit the Penguins 2:1 and we even out chanced them. A defensive breakdown and a bad pass at the worst possible moment cost us the game. Overall, it didn't look like we were a team that "gave up". To me, it looked like we fought until the end. I firmly believe that this board has a heard mentality. One person thinks we played bad and everyone follows. Open your eyes, people. We didn't play a bad game last night. Obviously the powerplay failed us once again, but even that started to look better on our last 2 attempts. Yes, we lost, but it wasn't for a lack of effort.

We weren't bad last night, but we weren't good, either. Not good enough, at least.

It's the playoffs. The moral victories mean nothing at this point. Outshooting an opponent 2:1 and losing should not be looked at as a positive.

 

[Cassano]

Stralman and Lundqvist carrying the team at least! Go Sweden!

 

[BlaqICE]

We weren't bad last night, but we weren't good, either. Not good enough, at least.

It's the playoffs. The moral victories mean nothing at this point. Outshooting an opponent 2:1 and losing should not be looked at as a positive.

I'm not saying it's a positive, I'm saying that there are times when teams play well and still lose hockey games. I'm just curious, in your mind, is there any circumstance in which a team can play well and still lose a game, or can a team only be considered to have played well when they win?