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Season prediction for our boys

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For me, the Rangers success will hinge on how they perform down the middle of their lineup, Pavelec included.

Obviously thin at center and looking for players to step up their game or fill into roles. AV already changed his mind with Miller and it took 3 days of camp. It will be an issue all year and their depth will be tested there, especially if there are any long term injuries.

Stepan will be missed big-time from a defensive pov. He did a ton of little things that didn't always get noticed, even though he was very sub-par on the dot. They need to have a better percentage there and it needs to be a priority.

My biggest concern is the backup goaltending and Hanks workload. I understand why they want to leave it loose and not specify a schedule for him but it could backfire on the team. They need a fresh Lundqvist heading into the stretch and playoffs. Even though I trust Allaire and his scouting of Pavelec feel like they wont give him a long enough leash to get his game going. They will be quick to go back to Hank and it could lead to fatigue and possibly injury if they go to him too often.

If Pavelec gets hot and goes on any type of run they need to stick with him until he loses. Even if it goes into prime time matchups at the Garden. And hes the type of goalie who can do that. Once he loses, yank him and go back to Hank. But im hoping that theyll be able to get a few good runs out of him to keep Hanks minutes down to a manageable amount. Otherwise he will be overused. You can already tell that AV doesn't trust Pavelec and its not a good sign. Why would he? The guy hasnt been a good goalie lately and even he was surprised that the Rangers came knocking so quickly.

Continuing "down the middle" - the defense, specifically how Shattenkirk performs on the PP will be big. For once they have a proper looking unit, but I wont believe it until I see it. They need to be a force on the PP, AT HOME and on the road and use that fear to their advantage. Its whats been missing almost every playoff appearance theyve had in the last decade or so.

I like the makeup and mix of this team. I feel its a good mix of youth and vets. They can definitely challenge for the top spot in the met and i expect them to make the playoffs. But the equilibrium of the league is a fragile thing so like others have suggested they need to get off to a solid start.
 
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SingnBluesOnBroadway said:
Why would the Rangers be able to get a backup?
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You mean why wouldn't they? Besides, even if they did, the original poster did cite several other factors that would greatly hurt our chances of even making the playoffs. I, for one, remain confident that we'll reach the second round -- but maybe I'm simply unaware of my rose-colored eyewear. I'd say, somewhat arbitrarily, that we have the following scenarios:

40% chance -- get no further than the second round
30% -- get no further than first round
20% -- miss the playoffs by a close margin
10% -- other (miss playoffs by a wide margin or make it past the second round)
 
2d in Metro (not all others play consistent enough to stay ahead of us), ECF,
then they either tighten up and refuse to lose,
or not
 
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Ori said:
AV was asked about Table prediction - he was in good mood this day back from Lake P. so I`ll post his interview here.

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I tell ya, you listen to AV and really is a very likeable guy and in reality is a very good coach.

If he would just not be so god damn stubborn and loyal to a fault to some of "guys", he could be a great coach.

As important as guys like Hank,Shatty,Zibby,Hayes...etc are for our success this season, just as crucial is AV needs to step up his game this season and make better decisions. We can't have the AV of that very winnable Ottawa series to appear too often otherwise no matter how well the players perform, AV's decision making processe's will F things up.

Hopefully the addition of Ruff will help in this area. We'll see soon enough. Drop the puck already....:)
 
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Riche16 said:
Ehhhhh I say bubble team... as others have mentioned too much rides on players who don't show often enough. The defense will move the puck when they have it but will they have it enough? I say they make it in as a wildcard and maybe win 1 round
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I would say that a lot rides not so much on players who do not show enough, but on players who need to take another step or two forward. That and AV being able to adapt his system to help Henke, not just rely on him to steal games.
 
This team is better than last season's when they barely missed ECF.

I'd say they win SC or at minimum will make it to ECF.

At forwards, all of our young core should improve compared to last season with the biggest improvements coming from Buch and Vesey but also from Ziba, Kreider, Miller and Hayes.

Defense should be exponentially better, there's really shouldn't be any debate (yeah yeah AV will AV but I do not buy it with all organizational changes and comments)

Before the start of last season I said Hank will have 2-3 good years in the next 5. Well he had a bad season in 16-17 but I expect him to have a bounce back season. OP will be a decent back up.

This is how I justify being so optimistic going into the season.
 
I see a lot of question marks, but also a lot of upside.

IMO, the lynch-pin up front is Zibanejad. If he's healthy, focused and consistently firing on most cylinders, he's a 25 goal, 60 point player. I think he sets the standard for the other centers following him. Probably second to him is Buchnevich. If he puts the pieces together, it gives the Rangers another 20 goal, 40-50 point winger and that's a big difference from a depth standpoint.

On the back end, I think Skjei is an important piece. If he avoids a sophomore slump, and builds on where left off last season, he gives the Rangers another guy who can log a ton of minutes and play in every situation. That impacts everything from McD, all the way through the rest of the defense. I'd say the second guy I'm watching is Smith. If he remains as good of a fit for this team as he appeared to be, it gives the Rangers a very stable top four and his personality could be a big boost to the locker room.

In goal, I think Lundqvist bounces back. I don't think he's quite the 2012 version we'd love to see, but I don't think he's as far off as some of his detractors would lead you to believe. I think Pavelec will do just fine as a backup.
 
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I hope and think Rangers will be fun to watch. As for the question about ECF loss, it would definitely hurt but losing in ECF would mean the team played 7-8 months of really good hockey and I would sign up for that.

I expect the team to make postseason. I think Rangers are good enough to get there even with question marks on center position. If Zibanejad and Hayes prove to be capable of being legit Top6 Cs for the team and Henrik improves a bit from his last season (less C-games from him), I think Rangers will be contenders who can definitely get out of the East.
 
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I am encouraged by the improvements on the blue line, especially if Staal is kept on a short leash. The right side, which was a dumpster fire last season from a personnel standpoint could/should become a real strength. The depth at center has taken a hit, but I trust the coach and forwards to squeeze every ounce of offense out of the lineup - in other words, Im glad they patched up the D, even at the expense of the forwards. Thats a trade off the team needed to make. Hopefully these changes will decrease the time the team will have to defend, but they will have to defend nonetheless and I think thats the major concern on this team. They don't have a center that is particularly good in his own end, theres still questions around the defense in this area, and if Lundqvist has another declining season, that issue could snowball quickly.
 
Thinking playoffs but not ECF or beyond. If our centers hold up that is. It is a little troubling. I am not very worried about Pavelec under Allaire
 
Pierre LeBrun and Craig Custance did a season preview podcast. LeBrun said Lundqvist reminds him of Pekka Rinne. Great and then not so good. Pierre likes the job Jeff Gorton is doing adding young players to the organization.
 
Im thinking playoffs and 1st/2nd round exit. Theres a lot of things to be excited about, but the Rangers (still) lack that game breaking talent that Stanley Cup winning teams always have.
 
Maximus said:
We can't have the AV of that very winnable Ottawa series to appear too often otherwise no matter how well the players perform, AV's decision making processe's will F things up.
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Well that answers that. The answer is "No", AV will not adjust his vaunted system to help the goalie. For his system to work, once again the goalie needs to be the best player on the ice each night. There will be no tweaks that will subdue the odd man rushes or heaven forbid, allowing the opposing players to have a free path to the goal. AV knows best.
 
Bleed Ranger Blue said:
I am encouraged by the improvements on the blue line, especially if Staal is kept on a short leash. The right side, which was a dumpster fire last season from a personnel standpoint could/should become a real strength. The depth at center has taken a hit, but I trust the coach and forwards to squeeze every ounce of offense out of the lineup - in other words, Im glad they patched up the D, even at the expense of the forwards. Thats a trade off the team needed to make. Hopefully these changes will decrease the time the team will have to defend, but they will have to defend nonetheless and I think thats the major concern on this team. They don't have a center that is particularly good in his own end, theres still questions around the defense in this area, and if Lundqvist has another declining season, that issue could snowball quickly.
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In the early games the d has been awfull. No one can make a breakout pass and they have all been weak in their own end
 
Now that we’re close to the All Star Break, it’s fun reading these over the top predictions... anyone sticking with their Stanley Cup Champion call?
 
Bricho said:
Now that we’re close to the All Star Break, it’s fun reading these over the top predictions... anyone sticking with their Stanley Cup Champion call?
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I think my prediction was pretty solid

Off Sides said:
Unless their offense becomes a good defense I believe they are going to be in for a long season where they can outpace most of the non playoff teams but struggle against the teams who are on a level above. I'd put them in the wild card race and like always it will come down to Lundqvist.
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We basically don't have a first line. Nash-Zib-Butcher is a good second line, no more. Miller-Hayes-MZA would be a weak second line because of Hayes.

With Stepan (and Lindberg) gone and Kreider out for the season, the already weak forwards from last year became among the worst in the KHL. On defense, Shatty and ADA were supposed to shore things up, but one is out for the rest of the season while the other hasn't played well enough to bear out Kampfer. Defense is pretty bad too.

Hank has been better than expected. If not for him, we'd be out of the playoffs race by now. Still probably won't make it.
 
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