Post-Game Talk: Rangers @ Snes -- 10/23/21

[gravey9]

1. Gallant sees the whole picture which DQ seemed to be totally incapable of. Right here, right now, it’s a skilled fancy line and 3 other lines that plays a fast straight forward game. It’s simple and effective in the sense that we will be competing in most games even if it’s not that pretty nor really gives us potential to like beat a prime Tampa team.

2. I of course love Blaise, but I also really like Hunt and Rooney deserves cred too. Reeves doing his job for sure. I was not a big fan of the Nemeth signing, but he has been solid for sure. The depth guys deserves cred, well, at least except McKegg…

3. Fox offensively was on prime Leetch level.

4. Ziba and Panarin won’t get many votes nor are they deserving, but they had position but couldn’t get on the inside first 50 minutes and the last 10 they did manage to do just that. Just saying, they weren’t totally useless.

5. Can’t help but to be pretty fed up with Geo, for some odd reason.

6. I don’t like Kreider on the first line. He should — IMO — be with Chytil.

Right now, the thing this team has gotten much better at is overall team D. Things have really improved since the Toronto game. Georgiev had a few difficult saves to make, but otherwise the team clamped down in front of him. That was impressive.

The goals against. First one isn't necessarily Georgiev's fault, but I feel like it's the kind of shot Shesty finds a way to stop. But also I hate the body language. I hate seeing a puck go in top corner and the goalie is standing there still frozen with his glove up like he's in shock. It's a bad look. And I was impressed the Rangers didn't collapse after it. And also impressed they didn't start cheating all over the ice when they were down. They kept their structure the entire game, even after being down 2. The second goal IS Georgiev's fault. Was he screened? Sure. But that shouldn't have beaten him. That's a right pad save and maybe a tough rebound. But it should not have gone in. Georgiev's battles in net seem to be mental more than anything. Both goals were at the start of a period. He needs to be just as focused then as he does 10 minutes in. Again, it was impressive to see the team not fall apart after going down 2-0. They still didn't cheat. They stayed on the right side of the puck for the most part all game. And that's how you stay in most games. But it does make offense harder in this league when you don't cheat.

The team needs to figure out it's PP. They have to find some other ways of operating other than the standard right handed one timers. We need to have a few set plays to the other side of the ice. Or to the middle. Or perhaps a set play that starts below the goal line. It's becoming too obvious to defend and far too predictable for the goalies. And the way we're playing so clamped down, we neeeeeeed the PP to get us a goal a game.

That said, in general the offense needs to find ways to get inside the paint. Especially when they're struggling. All of the goals were from like 5 ft out or less. That's the way you win when you're missing your 2nd line. And it's the way you score in the playoffs. The fancy goals are far and few between come playoff time. Deflections, screens, tips, etc. That's what we need to perfect.

Panarin may be hurt. He may not. He's also the only forward going east/west. He doesn't totally love playing in traffic and along the walls the whole game. there aren't many players on the team that play a style conducive to Panarin's game. He works better with Zibby than with Chytil, but it's not a work of art either. Zibby and Kreids would do well to have Laf or Kakko back with them.

Nemeth isn't a wizard with the puck and keeps it very very simple. But he's big, clears the crease and is strong along the boards. He's really useful beyond being a 3rd pairing D. He plays PK, he can be used late in games when holding a lead. He's solid and unspectacular.

Finally we are better in the 3rd period because of our size. We eventually wear teams out. The hitting works in aggregate.

 

[duhmetreE]

Some people seem to think Kreider will get a game suspension for the late hit, but I personally would be surprised.

Seemed like a textbook minor penalty to me

I wouldn't, with how Dolan called out Parros.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Some Sens fan on the mainboards was comapring Kreider to this. The logic made 0 sense to me

Comparing him to the psycho Wilson is just ignorant. Their goalie actually went into Kreider's knee and Kreider tried to avoid a him. 100% unintentional. The boarding was a 2 minute minor and nothing more.

 

[egelband]

Blais, Fox, Kreider. Wanted to give Rooney a vote too but just couldn’t. Georgiev was good but also bad. But good enough. Credit where it’s due. He could have melted down after the first goal but he bucked-up good.

 

[Embryo]

Kreider is my captain. Give him the C.

 

[egelband]

Trouba, Lindgren and Fox were great. KAM had a rough moment or two but was good.

Barron was good IMO he deserves more.

Hunt was good. Reaves was good.

Blais fight sparked the team imo. Took long enough to play with some energy and intensity. Kreider willed the team to victory. He was a one man forecheck after the 1st goal.. His forecheck led to both the following goals

Weird but I think Miller has better instincts on offense than he does on defense. Doesn’t change the fact that I still want him to focus 100% defense. Because I think that’s where his talent is best served. But he gets pucks through nicely and knows when to join the attack.

 

[egelband]

Hopefully this silences the Kreider haters, involved in all 3 goals. But it won’t. Don’t have anything else to say right now.

Everybody loves this Kreider. It’s when he plays passively people pipe up.

 

[duhmetreE]

Right now, the thing this team has gotten much better at is overall team D. Things have really improved since the Toronto game. Georgiev had a few difficult saves to make, but otherwise the team clamped down in front of him. That was impressive.

The goals against. First one isn't necessarily Georgiev's fault, but I feel like it's the kind of shot Shesty finds a way to stop. But also I hate the body language. I hate seeing a puck go in top corner and the goalie is standing there still frozen with his glove up like he's in shock. It's a bad look. And I was impressed the Rangers didn't collapse after it. And also impressed they didn't start cheating all over the ice when they were down. They kept their structure the entire game, even after being down 2. The second goal IS Georgiev's fault. Was he screened? Sure. But that shouldn't have beaten him. That's a right pad save and maybe a tough rebound. But it should not have gone in. Georgiev's battles in net seem to be mental more than anything. Both goals were at the start of a period. He needs to be just as focused then as he does 10 minutes in. Again, it was impressive to see the team not fall apart after going down 2-0. They still didn't cheat. They stayed on the right side of the puck for the most part all game. And that's how you stay in most games. But it does make offense harder in this league when you don't cheat.

The team needs to figure out it's PP. They have to find some other ways of operating other than the standard right handed one timers. We need to have a few set plays to the other side of the ice. Or to the middle. Or perhaps a set play that starts below the goal line. It's becoming too obvious to defend and far too predictable for the goalies. And the way we're playing so clamped down, we neeeeeeed the PP to get us a goal a game.

That said, in general the offense needs to find ways to get inside the paint. Especially when they're struggling. All of the goals were from like 5 ft out or less. That's the way you win when you're missing your 2nd line. And it's the way you score in the playoffs. The fancy goals are far and few between come playoff time. Deflections, screens, tips, etc. That's what we need to perfect.

Panarin may be hurt. He may not. He's also the only forward going east/west. He doesn't totally love playing in traffic and along the walls the whole game. there aren't many players on the team that play a style conducive to Panarin's game. He works better with Zibby than with Chytil, but it's not a work of art either. Zibby and Kreids would do well to have Laf or Kakko back with them.

Nemeth isn't a wizard with the puck and keeps it very very simple. But he's big, clears the crease and is strong along the boards. He's really useful beyond being a 3rd pairing D. He plays PK, he can be used late in games when holding a lead. He's solid and unspectacular.

Finally we are better in the 3rd period because of our size. We eventually wear teams out. The hitting works in aggregate.

Georgiev struggles to make the easy save and is atrocious 1 on 1. He hasn't seemed 'in control' so far this season. I have no confidence in him, but it is what it is.... he's a backup.

To the PP, unfortunately with all of the games on the road and our schedule, there's been like 1 practice over the past 2 weeks. It defaults to what the players want to do, BUT the coaches need to reign it in and add some structure. Our puck movement is too slow and deliberate. There's not nearly enough movement to create favorable shooting lanes. EVERYONE KNOWS Panarin is passing on the right wall. We're too far on the perimeter and lethargic. We need to pull it in tighter and move the puck faster. They had Laf in the bumper slot but ignored him every PP. There should be a set play for all of your shooters, not just Zibanejad who they force feed. Everyone needs to be a threat. We're predictable and easy to defend imo. It's criminal with the amount of talent on PP1.

Panarin is forcing a lot. He had his signature setups early in pre-season and the first few games of the regular season. Is it the new system? Hasn't adopted yet? He's not reading it right. Passing lanes are not there and he begins to coast. Things aren't opening up like they used to. He should continue to move his feet or just make the simple play. The team has struggled with using the middle of the ice, maybe a player like Blais could work, as he's always attacking the in the middle. He also needs to cut back on his shift length. When Stromer gets back I would like to see them play with either Blais or Chytil on RW.

I agree, Nemeth is unsexy but solid. He's been good on the PK. He's perfect as a #5.

Good point of the 3rd. We are wearing teams down... We simplify our game in the 3rd and it works. This will work even better in a 7 game series... but I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface of our potential forecheck game.

 

[Avery16]

How does Georgiev not have like 90 votes? He kept us in this game, it could have been 6-0 going into the third period if he didn't play so well.

Good one

 

[Avery16]

There’s a reason the Torts era gave rise to “the right way” meme. Given the right personnel, I have no problem with a team that plays that way.

Our fourth line got about 9 minutes of playing time tonight. I can’t remember the last Torts team that did that.

how many pissing matches has Gallant been in since here? Are there really fans who miss those antics?

 

[gravey9]

Georgiev struggles to make the easy save and is atrocious 1 on 1. He hasn't seemed 'in control' so far this season. I have no confidence in him, but it is what it is.... he's a backup.

To the PP, unfortunately with all of the games on the road and our schedule, there's been like 1 practice over the past 2 weeks. It defaults to what the players want to do, BUT the coaches need to reign it in and add some structure. Our puck movement is too slow and deliberate. There's not nearly enough movement to create favorable shooting lanes. EVERYONE KNOWS Panarin is passing on the right wall. We're too far on the perimeter and lethargic. We need to pull it in tighter and move the puck faster. They had Laf in the bumper slot but ignored him every PP. There should be a set play for all of your shooters, not just Zibanejad who they force feed. Everyone needs to be a threat. We're predictable and easy to defend imo. It's criminal with the amount of talent on PP1.

Panarin is forcing a lot. He had his signature setups early in pre-season and the first few games of the regular season. Is it the new system? Hasn't adopted yet? He's not reading it right. Passing lanes are not there and he begins to coast. Things aren't opening up like they used to. He should continue to move his feet or just make the simple play. The team has struggled with using the middle of the ice, maybe a player like Blais could work, as he's always attacking the in the middle. He also needs to cut back on his shift length. When Stromer gets back I would like to see them play with either Blais or Chytil on RW.

I agree, Nemeth is unsexy but solid. He's been good on the PK. He's perfect as a #5.

Good point of the 3rd. We are wearing teams down... We simplify our game in the 3rd and it works. This will work even better in a 7 game series... but I feel like we haven't even scratched the surface of our potential forecheck game.

Great post. I do want to add one thing about Panarin and his shift length. When he does these double shifts, the player most often screwed by it is Laff. That line that was so effective vs NSH was barely together at even strength for a variety of reasons tonight. But if Panarin is going to take these huge shifts, it's going to effect the rest of the LWs. and it's going to affect the line continuity. I would strongly suggest that one of our checking units be the line that comes out after the Zib line. Have the Chytil unit come out next. And then the other checking unit. At least for now. That way, the player that's getting short changed is Hunt and not our other offensive unit.

 

[duhmetreE]

Everybody loves this Kreider. It’s when he plays passively people pipe up.

Kreiders value will always be undersold IMO

When he's skating and forechecking, he tilts the ice drastically in our favor. He may not end up on the score sheet but he's the driver. He's bigger, faster and stronger than nearly all the defensemen in the league. If he wants it, he'll get it. He's at his best when he keeps it simple. Force the D to backup, create space for your linemates, get in on the forecheck and gain possession, get in front and screen etc.

I truly believe we will see the best version of Kreider this season. Lets just hope he stays healthy

 

[egelband]

It's been a while since we've had fans of other teams coming into our GDT to bitch and moan, so we must have done a few good things this game

Not one of those games where you'd say we 'deserved' to win', but did enough at the right times. Caught a break with Murray going down, but were good enough to capitalize on it. We were mediocre to poor for a lot of that game, it's amazing how much more dangerous we look when we just get pucks to the net.
CK had a massive last period, the 4th line worked hard all game and I'm really liking like Blais brings to the team.

It has been a while since this team has been able to grind out wins.
The grit - plus the top-end talent that will eventually shine through. Very encouraging.

 

[EdJovanovski]

1st in the division, 1st in the conference, 2nd in the league!

 

[Lua]

Panarin had that huge clutch setup, but he's just playing like he's depressed, man

Fox is looking to repeat

 

[duhmetreE]

Great post. I do want to add one thing about Panarin and his shift length. When he does these double shifts, the player most often screwed by it is Laff. That line that was so effective vs NSH was barely together at even strength for a variety of reasons tonight. But if Panarin is going to take these huge shifts, it's going to effect the rest of the LWs. and it's going to affect the line continuity. I would strongly suggest that one of our checking units be the line that comes out after the Zib line. Have the Chytil unit come out next. And then the other checking unit. At least for now. That way, the player that's getting short changed is Hunt and not our other offensive unit.

Even then, Hunt has been really effective at his role. He shouldn't be taking away from anyone. I just can't see any good coming out for him being out there for a 1:30... it's way too much, even worse is, this is the worst he's looked in his NHL career.

 

[egelband]

If Kreider had anger … he’d be WORSE than Tom Wilson …
Kreider’s combo of speed and size combined with anger would see a streak of hit from behind / side / clean victims …

The Tkachuck family are a sickening group of pie faces … enjoy that L “ Brady”

Cue the Canadian crybabies they’ll blame Kreider for goalie assault ….

That 3rd period of body smashing is something we haven’t seen in years …
The hitting - led to energy led to crisp snap passing led to a wake up win in a terrible terrible hockey city / rink.

Im wondering if Goodrow woke this squad up In the locker room.

The banging - we basically had two crash lines today due to the top sixer injuries - really wore down Ottawa. In the third Ottawa was slower. And we were stringing out plays and coming out clean with the puck, getting good looks at the end of shifts. Very impressive.
Opponents will cotton on and take our banging game more seriously. But that should also lead to the ice opening up for our scorers, I hope.

 

[mas0764]

Middle of the third I lost faith and complaint we have a goal scoring problem. My fault I lost faith in this great Team, amazed what we did today. 3 goals in the last 5 minutes. This team fights hard. Proud to be a Rangers fan.

And Geo was great to tonight!

Don’t take blame, they had to do something never done before in team history to win tonite.

For 55 minutes this team couldn’t generate a lick of offense. There is something wrong here despite the wins.

 

[LokiDog]

Our fourth line got about 9 minutes of playing time tonight. I can’t remember the last Torts team that did that.

how many pissing matches has Gallant been in since here? Are there really fans who miss those antics?

Torts antics and the way the team played under him, generally speaking, are not related. And I wouldn’t want an exact clone of the way that team played, but in general, personality aside, the Torts Rangers played committed, team hockey and everyone bought in. That’s all I was alluding too. I’m fine with not being run and gun globe trotters and instead having 4 responsible lines, a team that’s tough to play against and can hang around in any game.

 

[egelband]

NHL is taking a break for the Olympics, right? Could 18 for Ottawa actually join his country’s diving team? Does the diving competition even coincide with the NHL break??

 

[Tob]

Kreider is so the captain of this team it's not even funny. He had the chance that Murray got a glove on. He scores the PP goal, he bumps Murray, assist on the Lingren goal, retrieves the puck and cycles it before it gets puts on net for the Goodrow goal. Dirty net front goals and from the cycle is what you need in these games and in the playoffs and Kreider does it all. Zibanejad and Panarin doesn't doesn't.

 

[egelband]

I would not want to be mucking around with DNS for a migration like this (from what I can tell from the little popup bubbles). Put a load balancer in front so you don't need to worry about the records propagating and decouple the server move from the DNS change.

You’d think they put the new servers online and start routing some traffic to them while the old servers are still active. Then methodically migrate all traffic to the new servers. Then switch off the old ones. But it seems the just unplugged the old ones and booted up the new ones.

 

[egelband]

found this quote interesting

No update on Murray because it’s a groin injury and Ottawa is squeezing the last bit of juice out of the Kreider Goalie Killer meme.

 

[Emptyvoid]

You’d think they put the new servers online and start routing some traffic to them while the old servers are still active. Then methodically migrate all traffic to the new servers. Then switch off the old ones. But it seems the just unplugged the old ones and booted up the new ones.

Blue green deployment is way too complicated apparently.

 

[egelband]

These road wins and finding ways is very much an experienced NHL head coach thing. Managing the team on and off the ice that I don't think Quinn had a handle on. It's odd to remember that with AV and Torts we had these types of perseverance that we haven't seen in years. Last 3 years has all been about the parts being greater than the sum but so far with 10-93 sleeping and 24 and 16 out, we've been a sum is greater than the parts team. A lot of luck for sure but good experience for the team early on to have some faith in tough games.

If the roles were reversed, though, and it was fresh new HC Quinn replacing Gallant who had worn out his welcome after three bizarre seasons, I wonder if we get a similar result. Not saying it would have been one way or another. Just wondering.