Post-Game Talk: Rangers vs. Lightning, Game 4

[Glen Sathers Cigar]

The Rangers are at their best when they're transitioning quickly and pushing the pace. Last night was rife with the Rangers players doubling back and keeping the puck in our own zone instead of advancing with possession through the NZ. Sometimes there was nothing there but sometimes they're doubling back when there is an outlet and it's causing us to get stuck in our own zone.

They really need to make some adjustments to be able to counter Tampa's NZ clogging. It is possible, we did it all through game 1 and 2.

 

[duhmetreE]

P.S. I remember reading Cirelli can't shutdown Zibs or something to that extent.

It turns out our top talent is easily shutdown and we have no one to shutdown the opposing top line.

It is one of the reasons why we find more success at home.

---

It's blatant Tampa is trapping. We need to come through the NZ with speed. If we're dumping it in, there needs to be speed entering the zone. Everything is stagnant. Everyone is standing still. No one is moving their legs. Puck support is abysmal. We look lost....

 

[McRanger92]

P.S. I remember reading Cirelli can't shutdown Zibs or something to that extent.

It turns out our top talent is easily shutdown and we have no one to shutdown the opposing top line.

It is one of the reasons why we find more success at home.

---

It's blatant Tampa is trapping. We need to come through the NZ with speed. If we're dumping it in, there needs to be speed entering the zone. Everything is stagnant. Everyone is standing still. No one is moving their legs. Puck support is abysmal. We look lost....

Credit to Cirelli for playing well in Tampa. The issue with Mika is that he is our top offensive and defensive center and he cant really do both on the road. Goodrow and Copp were supposed to help take the defensive responsibility off Mika, but clearly both guys are not operating at 100%

 

[will1066]

The Rangers are at their best when they're transitioning quickly and pushing the pace. Last night was rife with the Rangers players doubling back and keeping the puck in our own zone instead of advancing with possession through the NZ. Sometimes there was nothing there but sometimes they're doubling back when there is an outlet and it's causing us to get stuck in our own zone.

They really need to make some adjustments to be able to counter Tampa's NZ clogging. It is possible, we did it all through game 1 and 2.

They're just not a confident dump and chase group. Doubling back because they are trying to carry it through the zone and if they don't think there's an entry, they want to keep possession and try again -- or at least dump it in with some speed. Unfortunately the officiating is letting go tons of interference -- not surprisingly.

 

[nevesis]

Panarin was a disgrace tonight. But in his mind, no harm no foul.

Maybe that idiot Gallant will send him a message instead of playing him even more?

Sorry, but just brutal

Regarding your avatar, Meshuggah is one of my all time favorite bands, and I only wish the Rangers would listen to them before each game, we'd never f***ing lose.

 

[NCRanger]

They're just not a confident dump and chase group. Doubling back because they are trying to carry it through the zone and if they don't think there's an entry, they want to keep possession and try again -- or at least dump it in with some speed. Unfortunately the officiating is letting go tons of interference -- not surprisingly.

Or they're afraid of being called for phantom icings, which still happen anyway.

 

[HonestGabe]

Especially with the injuries now, I'm not sure why we wouldn't try to counter Tampa matchup wise and at least make Cooper's job difficult.

For better or worse, Gallant runs the same combinations into the ground game after game.

If One of Strome or Chytil is out, run with this:

Panarin Mika Kreider
Laf Strome/Chytil Kakko
Goodrow Copp Motte. (use this as a shutdown line)
Hunt Rooney Reaves/Blais (if he can go)

 

[ponzu4u]

I'm a Reaves fanboy.

He has no business playing in game 6. He hasn't been outstanding, but he has looked markedly better at home with last change. He has received 6 minutes of penalties in the last two games, 4 of which (being singled out against Maroon when they were jousting and the slashing call after he was boarded) were wholly unwarranted and 2 of which (tripping Bogosian) we never even got to see. His effort on the Bogosian goal was embarrassing, but beyond that I've been pleasantly surprised. He's a guy who has played a very disciplined game all year long but somehow gets reputation calls for a reputation he hasn't done anything recently to earn. If he's playing a conservative game and getting penalized, we shouldn't dress him. If he's going to pick up ticky tack penalties anyway, it's time to stop the scrumming that he gets called for and start forcing the issue with these guys. I'd much rather he take a 2 minute rough for punching someone in the mouth than 2 minutes for a weak retaliatory slash to someone's skate.

Agreed. After that BS Sergachev pulled towards end of the game last night, I was hoping Reaves would skate over to him once they got out of the box and just start whaling on him. Down 3-0 with like 5mins to go in the game and a complete dearth of offense, why not send a message to TB, who IMO has been gooning it up the whole series? TB players seem to be acting a lot tougher than they actually are (McD I know you were a proud Ranger but I'm particularly looking at you...!)

 

[will1066]

Rangers, Artemi Panarin couldn’t generate enough offense

The Rangers and Artemi Panarin struggled offensively in five-on-five situations in their 4-1 loss to the Lightning in Tampa, Fla.

nypost.com

 

[Jaromir Jagr]

I'm a Reaves fanboy.

He has no business playing in game 6. He hasn't been outstanding, but he has looked markedly better at home with last change. He has received 6 minutes of penalties in the last two games, 4 of which (being singled out against Maroon when they were jousting and the slashing call after he was boarded) were wholly unwarranted and 2 of which (tripping Bogosian) we never even got to see. His effort on the Bogosian goal was embarrassing, but beyond that I've been pleasantly surprised. He's a guy who has played a very disciplined game all year long but somehow gets reputation calls for a reputation he hasn't done anything recently to earn. If he's playing a conservative game and getting penalized, we shouldn't dress him. If he's going to pick up ticky tack penalties anyway, it's time to stop the scrumming that he gets called for and start forcing the issue with these guys. I'd much rather he take a 2 minute rough for punching someone in the mouth than 2 minutes for a weak retaliatory slash to someone's skate.

I don't think Reaves should be in the lineup ever, but I do agree with your sentiment of how he needs to play if hes dressed. Unfortunately, I think Tampa is the exact type of team he is least effective against. He skates in mud and they care clogging the NZ. We need skaters who can dump and chase and get in on the forecheck, applying pressure. Hunt + Brod would be significant upgrades over Reaves & Rooney.

 

[CLW]

Goodrow has no business on the second line. Leave the fourth line alone, unless Blais is ready. Second line hasn't been great anyway so putting Hunt there isn't messing with anything.

It's really unfortunate how the kid line is being underused.

"unfortunate" is doing a lot of work here. Gallant is fantastic at the rah rah stuff, but his "skate faster, hit more, man up" stuff gets monotonic fast and there isn't much else. I'm already bored.

 

[Maliks PlusMinus]

Give me back some Dryden Hunt

 

[Crease]

Credit to Tampa, they are back-to-back champs for good reason. The Rangers can win this series, but they need:

Strome and Chytil back healthy
Panarin, Copp, Kreider, Fox and Trouba to be better
More 5v5 time for the Kid Line
More PP time for Miller

Two wins from the SCF. Last three teams standing. What a ride it's been so far.

 

[Larrybiv]

The Final might suck anyway.

They're taking this thing deeper and deeper into June.

Mid-90's next week in Tampa. Mid 90's this weekend in Denver. It's almost officially summer and the real shit is coming. I'm sure we're not far behind.

They know ice melts, right?

Remember the Fog Finals? Haha. I think that is a thing of the past though. The technology and the ways they go about making decent enough ice to play, is supposedly "good enough".
Our team is relatively so used to playing on "less than" ice, that when they finally play on "great ice" they start missing passes anticipating a bounce or 2.
I am more concerned for these players, playing "every other day".
It's nice for rythym sake, but jeez. Imagine sleeping just every other day. Has to be very similar. The body simply isn't "healing itself", because there isn't enough time in the day/week.

 

[CLW]

The early Maroon goal set the tone. That game may have been winnable if we were allowed to get into it.

Once again, 4th line and 3rd pair on for the goal.

Those chuckleheads are the reason the Pittsburgh series ever went 7.

They don't play a ton but Gallant still plays his 4th line too much. I understand the energy/health aspect that we've talked about, but the kids look good. Take four minutes from the scrubs and give them to Laf-Chytil-Kakko.

From a nuts and bolts roster perspective, that's probably the thing that needs to improve the most. Injuries healing over the summer will give us a good starting 4th line automatically. We still need to have options better than Reaves or Rooney to step in. Then again we already do (Hunt, Brodzkinski). It might just be a matter of taking Gallant's toys away. We desperately need another defenseman. Maybe Schneider is ready next year. He really wasn't this year and we got ourselves stuck with him.

It really is a game of margins and breaks. Trouba had the puck on his stick in the o-zone with Kakko completely open in the slot with a wide open goal at 0:30 for a tap in but flubbed a shot instead. Tampa scored on the next shift...

Don't think you can take GG's toys away, he'll just make some new ones for himself - the problem is his mindset.

 

[Larrybiv]

Not taking anything away from Colorado. They have been through the heartbreak, and they seem to have found that extra gear that Tampa did after the Columbus sweep. I expect them to win the Cup as long as Francouz/Kuemper can make the easy saves. Its not like Tampa is generating a huge amount of offense this series, they are more capitalizing on our mistakes

I had predicted Colorado, literally since mid-season. Calgary was my 2nd choice out west. Anyway, the East was such a competitive crapshoot, but NOW that it's the Rangers getting this far....."should we advance" I really think we have the best chance to beat the Avs, because Tampa simply couldn't keep up with their speed. (Not even saying we WOULD, but have a better chance)
Tampa's Only advantage would be Vasilevskiy.

 

[CLW]

I think this loss was a little bit in the cards. Look, we were playing our best hockey at the most important time of the season. Our kid line played its best hockey. Tampa is a disciplined team that knows what it takes to give them a chance, and they got GWers. Up until G3 they were struggling without Point.

Then things turn, we lose Strome, we get off our bearings a bit. Ultimately we are a team that have leaned very hard on our top guys. This also challenged us against Carolina in a series that could have gone either way and which we ended up winning after facing brutal goaltending.

We could have won G3, and sure that would have increased our odds, but honestly, it doesn’t guarantee a thing. You have to get to 4 and just like Tampa could win 4 in a row going from 0-2 they could win 4 in a row going from 0-3 to 4-3.

Now it’s a tied series which boils down to a pure best of 3. First to 2 wins. We don’t have a perfect team, very much borderline contender at best, and if we play without core players and struggle — we can’t count on winning many games at this stage of the season.

To win 2 more and to eliminate Tampa, we need to turn the tide — and I think we need some help there. Tampa taking penalties, Vasilevsky giving up goals, injuries/ big hits, or whatever. But that is what I think, with this team, who knows. All of a sudden they destroy Tampa for a game or two no matter what. But…

We need speed down the middle in the worst way, as you keep saying. Chytil was flying out there until he got his head banged, and I guess concussion protocol kicked in. I'd try to get Kupari off LA. I know I know small chance blabla. On the road our opponents take Zib out and that's that, especially if GG refuses to give minutes to the Kids. Panarin is a shell of his former self and Strome doesn't really scare anyone. Copp is a good player but more a complementary one. With Zib, Chytil, Kupari (as an example) down the middle we'd have the speed AND skill to crack the trap and sidestep checking lines with our depth. Tampa is also suffering badly with the loss of Gourde and with Point out.

 

[nyrleetch]

I had predicted Colorado, literally since mid-season. Calgary was my 2nd choice out west. Anyway, the East was such a competitive crapshoot, but NOW that it's the Rangers getting this far....."should we advance" I really think we have the best chance to beat the Avs, because Tampa simply couldn't keep up with their speed. (Not even saying we WOULD, but have a better chance)
Tampa's Only advantage would be Vasilevskiy.

After Calgary beat Dallas, and put up 9 on Edmonton, I was all in on them making the SC final. Whoops.

As far the Rangers, It's tough getting upset because they've really overachieved, but this series is there for the taking. Tampa hasn't been that impressive through the first four games, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Really need to come out early tomorrow and set the tone, need that first goal, with the Garden rocking.

If worst case and Strome/Chytil aren't in, I assume Rooney is in (ugh) and it seems Hunt is favored over Gauthier/Brodizinki.

I would give Gautheir a shot if both are out, maybe utilize that speed with fresh legs, we also need someone driving to net, even if it won't result in a goal.

 

[Kocur26]

So the biggest game of the year could see a lineup of ;

Johnny Brodz
Rooney
Mckegg
Hunt
Nemeth

Schneider was overwhelmed- he could be booted .

 

[Bruin]

Bummer that your boys lost but now they are headed home where their record on home ice is almost perfect with just 1 loss to the Pens in these 2022 playoffs. I'd hate to see this go 7 but it's looking like it might so use that home ice to finish those clowns off.

 

[CLW]

P.S. I remember reading Cirelli can't shutdown Zibs or something to that extent.

It turns out our top talent is easily shutdown and we have no one to shutdown the opposing top line.

It is one of the reasons why we find more success at home.

---

It's blatant Tampa is trapping. We need to come through the NZ with speed. If we're dumping it in, there needs to be speed entering the zone. Everything is stagnant. Everyone is standing still. No one is moving their legs. Puck support is abysmal. We look lost....

Everything has been stagnant since pre-season. It's why our 5v5 game sucks much of the time. It's one of my pet peeves. Sure some games Zib, Kreider and Panarin are given the space to roam to deadly effect but when it's not given we simply lack the basic puck moving game to create it for ourselves.

 

[Larrybiv]

Credit to Tampa, they are back-to-back champs for good reason. The Rangers can win this series, but they need:

Strome and Chytil back healthy
Panarin, Copp, Kreider, Fox and Trouba to be better
More 5v5 time for the Kid Line
More PP time for Miller

Two wins from the SCF. Last three teams standing. What a ride it's been so far.

The only way thats happening is we take but 1 or 2 penalties AND GG takes a hold of his balls and demotes the Panarin line.
Kid line should be the 2nd line, based on effectiveness. Period.

 

[will1066]

You all are so lucky that as I was typing out this post, my phone battery changed from 40% to 39%.

 

[chosen]

They play so dickless on the road. Luckily we have home ice

I remember them winning a Game 7 on the road.

 

[chosen]

Kinda funny to see some folks moaning about Strome being out when almost everyone seemed to want to never see him again in a Rangers jersey.