Post-Game Talk: Rangers @ Lightning ∙ 12/29

[Shesterkybomb]

Good game against a good team. Can't win them all. It was fun too at least.

I'm not really worried about the PP. The goals aren't coming but that's just how it is. PPs are hot and cold. Things could be improved but I'm sure the goals will come.

Trouba is a serious issue in all three zones and he has had a huge hand in losing winnable points this year. I don't know what it will take to fix it. He's clearly injured but are we just gonna run him out there all year and playoffs when he's doing his best to f*** us?


This is a weird remark considering several of their best PP chances did not come off Mika 1-Ts.

I agree they rely on it a little too much and do not utilize Fox's wrist shot enough but this night wasn't one of them.


I think Trochek and Kreider are leigitmately very unlucky this year. Lots of posts. Lots of huge saves. Lots of just-misses.

Zibanejad is just continuing his ES decline and it starts with his loss of foot speed. He has a really hard time opening lanes to take clean shots now and I can't understand how he loses the puck as easy as he does.

Imo our even strength issues stem from usually having 2 bottom 6 players in our top 6, its easy to shut down a line if you only have to worry about 2 players on it. And this isnt just a Gallant thing, its a ranger thing, Hunt, Fast, Hagelin etc etc all had some sort of success on those lines but for the most part teams let those players do what they wanted and focused on the top players on the line. It needs to stop.

 

[Larrybiv]

Imo our even strength issues stem from usually having 2 bottom 6 players in our top 6, its easy to shut down a line if you only have to worry about 2 players on it.

Probably a very solid and bold point.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Probably a very solid and bold point.

Im not sure why it bolded the whole thing...it did it before to me too.

 

[ArPanet]

Man i wish Kreider had an edge to his game

put him opn another team and watch what happens

 

[Larrybiv]

Yeah don't believe people who say we played really well. I just saw Shesty making huge save after huge save. We had decent stretches, but TB was the better team tonight

Agree. we played much better than many of our 7 game winning streak and certainly better than our previous losses to Pitt and Wash.
But, I make no mistake into thinking that TB was ready for us. They played probably THEIR best game even through their previous 5. What I find amazing is that they played the night prior (Mont) and there were NO real signs of them being exhausted by the 3rd period, which usually is commonplace. I guess thats what being CHAMPS brings. They KNOW how to deal with such things. I hate that effin' team, but I do have much hated respect.

 

[McRanger92]

This is just ugly for us, a quote from Brooks
"The Rangers are not getting anywhere near the production they need from Zibanejad, who had gone eight straight games without a goal and 11 straight without a five-on-five goal before his first-period tally Thursday. Indeed, Zibanejad entered playing ranking 86th of the 97 forwards with 450:00 in five-on-five goals per 60:00 at 0.5. Trocheck ranked tied for next-to-last at 0.35."

double standard right there.

Shocking that theres a double standard between our top line center who has scored at a PPG pace and a 21 year old 1st overall pick trying to find his game in the NHL. Thats how the world works guys.

As for Mika specifically he needs to be better, flat out. The big guys (Mika/Panarin/Kreider) have played like betas far too much this year, which is a little corny and cliche narrative admittedly but its hard to disagree with from what I've seen. Deferring on passes, giving up on plays, not moving their feet. Its a real big picture issue for the organization. If they miss the playoffs or make it and bow out early, i think theyll look to move one of them. Which is something that I would be in favor of if it gets to that point.

 

[Larrybiv]

So if we are up there in goal scoring and still not scoring enough in terms of our chances then uhhh why are we firing our coach again?

Yeah, we all can hoot and holler about GG and some of his moves/non-moves, we ALL know better, right? Wrong. He throws wide darts, we hit bulls eyes, right? Wrong.
Some of it is on GG, because he tends to allow the "professionals" to have a very long leash, but when push comes to shove it is on the PLAYERS.
GG trusts that they will be fine, so it's up to them to prove him RIGHT.

 

[will1066]

KZK had a great first shift then a few decent ones but all in all was meh. Trocheck and Chytil lines looked better to me.

The power play is now a sore point ironically when our 5v5 play has improved.

 

[Leonardo87]

Laf was scratched? Didn’t even notice.

Poor Kakko, points and him just don’t seem to agree.

Looking at that play, the league could have let those assists (Lindgren, Kakko) stand but they felt the Tampa player had re-gained possession even if it was a quick chop at the puck rather than a pass. I guess the rule is they have to gain full possession for the assists to be canceled out. But I’ve seen opposing players put the puck in their own net and assists still get awarded. I dunno.

They played a good game, don’t get the negativity.

 

[Rangers in 7]

Laf was scratched? Didn’t even notice.

Poor Kakko, points and him just don’t seem to agree.

Looking at that play, the league could have let those assists (Lindgren, Kakko) stand but they felt the Tampa player had re-gained possession even if it was a quick chop at the puck rather than a pass. I guess the rule is they have to gain full possession for the assists to be canceled out. But I’ve seen opposing players put the puck in their own net and assists still get awarded. I dunno.

They played a good game, don’t get the negativity.

The assists should have stood. No way they can deem stamkos chopping at the puck in a scrum as possession. But whatever. Kakko played well again. I really wish we could be giving him more minutes!

 

[JimmyG89]

Gallant is so quick to change lines to try and spark the team, but is entirely reluctant to make the same move on the powerplay.

The unit needs a shakeup. This isn't a top 5 powerplay struggling for a little bit, this is the 18th ranked powerplay. It's middle of the pack. Now is the perfect time to make that change.

Trocheck would be off that unit and so would Kreider. Put Chytil and Kakko out there in those spots. Goalies are sitting on the Zibanejad one timer. It's a great weapon to have, but it's plan A, B, and C on the first unit. Washington had this issue with Ovechkin for a while. I'd prefer something like this:

Kakko
Zibanejad - Chytil - Panarin
Fox

Kreider
Trocheck - Kravtsov - Lafreniere
Trouba (should be Miller)

Kreider doesn't have the vision or ability to make passes that come down from Panarin. Kakko has that and has shown the ability to make passes from behind the net to the front.

Chytil has very good hands and one of the best wristers on the team. I'd say put Lafreniere in that spot, but him being benched doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies that it would be an option right now.

Chytil in the bumper spot gives Mika a pass option when the puck moves over to him, also giving him a better chance to score off the one timer. If a team and goalie has to be aware he could pass to the slot for a one-timer, it changes things and it can pull a defender up to Chytil and allow Kakko to leak back door for a tap in. And the goalie may not overcommit to it since Mika can bump the pass to the middle and the goalie can be caught sliding too far to the left.

Kreider becomes the net front on PP2, you can have Trocheck and Lafreniere on the halfwalls and since Gallant won't put Miller on PP2 and Trouba has that spot no matter what, Kreider will have a lot of deflection opportunities. Kravtsov gets the bumper spot.

 

[Kocur26]

Something needs to change- dramatically.
It’s gonna take a risk of assets but we are soft - slowish - too many one and dones.

Boston beats us in 5 maybe 4

TB still beats us in 6

 

[Rangers in 7]

Gallant is so quick to change lines to try and spark the team, but is entirely reluctant to make the same move on the powerplay.

The unit needs a shakeup. This isn't a top 5 powerplay struggling for a little bit, this is the 18th ranked powerplay. It's middle of the pack. Now is the perfect time to make that change.

Trocheck would be off that unit and so would Kreider. Put Chytil and Kakko out there in those spots. Goalies are sitting on the Zibanejad one timer. It's a great weapon to have, but it's plan A, B, and C on the first unit. Washington had this issue with Ovechkin for a while. I'd prefer something like this:

Kakko
Zibanejad - Chytil - Panarin
Fox

Kreider
Trocheck - Kravtsov - Lafreniere
Trouba (should be Miller)

Kreider doesn't have the vision or ability to make passes that come down from Panarin. Kakko has that and has shown the ability to make passes from behind the net to the front.

Chytil has very good hands and one of the best wristers on the team. I'd say put Lafreniere in that spot, but him being benched doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies that it would be an option right now.

Chytil in the bumper spot gives Mika a pass option when the puck moves over to him, also giving him a better chance to score off the one timer. If a team and goalie has to be aware he could pass to the slot for a one-timer, it changes things and it can pull a defender up to Chytil and allow Kakko to leak back door for a tap in. And the goalie may not overcommit to it since Mika can bump the pass to the middle and the goalie can be caught sliding too far to the left.

Kreider becomes the net front on PP2, you can have Trocheck and Lafreniere on the halfwalls and since Gallant won't put Miller on PP2 and Trouba has that spot no matter what, Kreider will have a lot of deflection opportunities. Kravtsov gets the bumper spot.

This makes so much sense it hurts. And because it so much sense it will never happen

Something needs to change- dramatically.
It’s gonna take a risk of assets but we are soft - slowish - too many one and dones.

Boston beats us in 5 maybe 4

TB still beats us in 6

Boston would never beat us in 4

Having Igor literally keeps us in any series. Like ever

 

[huerter]

Imo our even strength issues stem from usually having 2 bottom 6 players in our top 6, its easy to shut down a line if you only have to worry about 2 players on it. And this isnt just a Gallant thing, its a ranger thing, Hunt, Fast, Hagelin etc etc all had some sort of success on those lines but for the most part teams let those players do what they wanted and focused on the top players on the line. It needs to stop.

Lol at thinking we wouldnt kill to have Fast or a healthy Hagelin on any line. Have them play 30 minutes each even.

Gallant is so quick to change lines to try and spark the team, but is entirely reluctant to make the same move on the powerplay.

The unit needs a shakeup. This isn't a top 5 powerplay struggling for a little bit, this is the 18th ranked powerplay. It's middle of the pack. Now is the perfect time to make that change.

Trocheck would be off that unit and so would Kreider. Put Chytil and Kakko out there in those spots. Goalies are sitting on the Zibanejad one timer. It's a great weapon to have, but it's plan A, B, and C on the first unit. Washington had this issue with Ovechkin for a while. I'd prefer something like this:

Kakko
Zibanejad - Chytil - Panarin
Fox

Kreider
Trocheck - Kravtsov - Lafreniere
Trouba (should be Miller)

Kreider doesn't have the vision or ability to make passes that come down from Panarin. Kakko has that and has shown the ability to make passes from behind the net to the front.

Chytil has very good hands and one of the best wristers on the team. I'd say put Lafreniere in that spot, but him being benched doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies that it would be an option right now.

Chytil in the bumper spot gives Mika a pass option when the puck moves over to him, also giving him a better chance to score off the one timer. If a team and goalie has to be aware he could pass to the slot for a one-timer, it changes things and it can pull a defender up to Chytil and allow Kakko to leak back door for a tap in. And the goalie may not overcommit to it since Mika can bump the pass to the middle and the goalie can be caught sliding too far to the left.

Kreider becomes the net front on PP2, you can have Trocheck and Lafreniere on the halfwalls and since Gallant won't put Miller on PP2 and Trouba has that spot no matter what, Kreider will have a lot of deflection opportunities. Kravtsov gets the bumper spot.

47:45 mark

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Shocking that theres a double standard between our top line center who has scored at a PPG pace and a 21 year old 1st overall pick trying to find his game in the NHL. Thats how the world works guys.

As for Mika specifically he needs to be better, flat out. The big guys (Mika/Panarin/Kreider) have played like betas far too much this year, which is a little corny and cliche narrative admittedly but its hard to disagree with from what I've seen. Deferring on passes, giving up on plays, not moving their feet. Its a real big picture issue for the organization. If they miss the playoffs or make it and bow out early, i think theyll look to move one of them. Which is something that I would be in favor of if it gets to that point.

It is shocking because when there's a double standard it can look like the coach is picking on the young player for crap the others are doing too. How many points would mika have if we took the pp from him? Kreider?

Lol at thinking we wouldnt kill to have Fast or a healthy Hagelin on any line. Have them play 30 minutes each even.




47:45 mark

Neither are top 6 players on cup teams. After they left here neither played in the top 6.

 

[SA16]

The assists should have stood. No way they can deem stamkos chopping at the puck in a scrum as possession. But whatever. Kakko played well again. I really wish we could be giving him more minutes!

You don't need possession. You just need to make an intentional play on the puck. It's always scored that way.

 

[Rangers in 7]

You don't need possession. You just need to make an intentional play on the puck. It's always scored that way.

Ehh I wouldn’t really say stamkos intended to throw the puck right up the middle….either way it doesn’t matter. Could have went both ways

 

[Larrybiv]

Be honest, did anyone even notice Laf was scratched?

No, was just said a few posts ago. You cannot really pinpoint ONE player not being involved last night. So, what if Laf played, would he have been like everyone else, OR would he have stood out like a sore thumb? I suppose GG had that answer already in his back pocket (the pocket with the darts)

 

[Larrybiv]

Sure, but putting Chytil in a skills competition is like asking Panarin to fight someone, its not his thing. If he wanted to give him a go get him rah rah he would have started him in ot.

Agreed, thats EXACTLY what he should have done. but its always gonna be the same ole, same ole. It's like he doesnt trust them with decision making. I somewhat get it, but at some point he HAS TO. If he doesn't do it now (or preferably at the start of the season) then when the hell is he going to? I suppose next year, or never. Who knows?

Im not sure why it bolded the whole thing...it did it before to me too.

Nothing wrong with bold, the context was deserving of it.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Lafreniere - Zibanejad - Kakko
Panarin - Chytil - Kravtsov
Kreider - Trocheck - Goodrow
Vesey - Brodzinski - Gauthier

Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Schneider
Harpur - Trouba

Shesterkin
Halak

PP1
Kreider-Zibanejad-Kravtsov
Panarin-Fox
PP2
Chytil-Trocheck-Kakko
Lafreniere-Schneider


Kreider stays net front on PP & Fox stays at the point, Panarin takes over left circle one timer, Kravtsov right circle one timer, Zib takes Trochecks position. They should also move around a bit more on the PP, ours is probably the most stationary in the league. We can occasionally skate around and have Mika at the left circle and Panarin distributing, Kravtsov is also pretty good in the bumper spot with that backward catch & release move that he invented and Draisaitl copied the following week after Krav did it in the WJC.

 

[leetch99]

Im not sure why it bolded the whole thing...it did it before to me too.

LMAO......you will soon be out of ink.

 

[leetch99]

I wonder if GG would shoot WIDE with a few of those darts.

Gerard Gallant would either be in the crease mucking it up with 3 players and or in the corner fighting tooth and nail for a puck.

 

[Larrybiv]

You don't need possession. You just need to make an intentional play on the puck. It's always scored that way.

Not always, believe me they hand out assists that weren't nearly as warranted as Kaapo's and Lindgren's. Same play that was TB players, rest assured 2 assists. IMO

 

[hackeyman]

Be honest, did anyone even notice Laf was scratched?

ABSOLUTELY ! I kept looking for a Ranger to be slothing along the boards looking like they were lost and I couldn't find them.

 

[ReddestRum]

Be honest, did anyone even notice Laf was scratched?

Who is that?