Larry Brooks: Rangers season at crossroads--already

[GordonGecko]

I don't know how you expect the Rangers to magically score more goals in the playoffs, where it is traditionally tougher to score.

Yeah because when you're on a 5 on 3 PP the opposing team clearly has an insurmountable advantage

 

[Tawnos]

I don't know what you're asking for in your last few posts.

This team, this organization, has had trouble scoring goals since Jagr and his boys left. Its largely because they've lacked an abundance of goal scorers.

I don't know how you expect the Rangers to magically score more goals in the playoffs, where it is traditionally tougher to score.

In the case of Tortorella, a gameplan that allowed the team to move the puck up the ice so they can dump it and get in on the forecheck. I wouldn't really start by saying the goals suffered in the playoffs. Rather, the offensive opportunities suffered in the playoffs. Obviously that means the goals suffered too. Playoff games are exercises in momentum. Forecheck and offensive opportunities create momentum in your favor. Being stuck in your zone and having to dump and change once you finally get it out creates momentum in the other team's favor. Too often in the playoffs the last 3 years, the other team controlled the momentum.

It wouldn't have required a whole new system from Torts. Just a tweaking of the one they were playing. He showed that he had no interest in doing that (and again, I'm not faulting him. It's not easy to do that kind of thing). He wasn't going to tweak and what was happening wasn't working, so he had to go.

 

[True Blue]

So about those cross roads?

The level of "compete" in this team is resembling those that were shown under Blow, Muckler & Sather as a coach. Most of this season could have been straight out of the dark years.

The question that really needs to be asked is how does a team that was acknowledged as one of the most hard working in the NHL, now resemble those that paraded around MSG during the wonderful years of NYRCC. The fundamentals look as of Ulanov is skating around on defense. And the effort is resembling that of Kamensky. Detestable.

 

[polarbearcub]

Hey guys. I'm curious as to what you think of av. Is he getting lots of the blame for the rangers poor start?

I liked av for most of his time in vancouver but at times his team would completely implode on itself (ie finals) sometimes it would seem like the team didn't give a ****. Other times they would work their ***** off. In my mind this had a lot to do with av giving the room to the players and just blindly trusting the leadership group. At the end of his tenure here the canucks got stale and lazy.

I've got to think what's happening to the rangers can't be mostly coaching as when av came to vancouver the team had become lazy under Crawford, and those first few years under av they were a hard working gritty team.

 

[True Blue]

At the end of his tenure here the canucks got stale and lazy.

Apparently, this time it started at the beginning of his tenure.

I am not a believer in "players/ feel good coaches". AV let the players run the asylum and now cannot take it back. He fed into their flights of fancy that Tortarella somehow stifled their creativity. He imported floating players. Funny how the Sedin twins can cover up flaws.