Pre-Game Talk: Series discussion: NYR vs MTL

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Yes it is very laughable.. our D core is top 3 in the league

Its not laughable at all when offensive output is put into the equation.

 

[True Blue]

My point was to say that Montreal's play against Boston is inflated because of an emotional incentive.

My beliefs are that the Rangers are the better team. Without the same emotional effect, I do not believe Montreal can take us in a 7 game series.

I think that you are overstating it. The incentive in the last series was to get to the conference finals. Who did not want that? The incentive in this series is to get to the Cup finals. Who is not going to play their tails off for that?

 

[Miamipuck]

My point was to say that Montreal's play against Boston is inflated because of an emotional incentive.

My beliefs are that the Rangers are the better team. Without the same emotional effect, I do not believe Montreal can take us in a 7 game series.

Furthermore, what you say is simply not true. Emotion is subjective. The effect is completely different for every person and every team. So no, I do not think that Montreal lacking the same emotion for this series is as significant as the Rangers lacking emotion. They likely will need it more than the Rangers to get past them.

I'm not saying the Rangers can win without playing passionate hockey, but I am saying that for Montreal's success, emotion is much more of a factor than it is for the Rangers.

You can't discount the emotional ties the Rangers received from MSL's Mom and on the same hand make it a big deal for Montreal playing their biggest rival. The Rangers had a huge emotional lift from MSL that may not be there this round. Just saying

 

[Mike8]

My point was to say that Montreal's play against Boston is inflated because of an emotional incentive.

My beliefs are that the Rangers are the better team. Without the same emotional effect, I do not believe Montreal can take us in a 7 game series.

Furthermore, what you say is simply not true. Emotion is subjective. The effect is completely different for every person and every team. So no, I do not think that Montreal lacking the same emotion for this series is as significant as the Rangers lacking emotion. They likely will need it more than the Rangers to get past them.

I'm not saying the Rangers can win without playing passionate hockey, but I am saying that for Montreal's success, emotion is much more of a factor than it is for the Rangers.

Thanks for your elaboration. I don't agree, but that's because I don't think the Rangers are the superior team. Given that you do, your explanation and belief here makes sense and is a fair point.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I'd probably rank it similarly. It's tough to just match one to one like that, though.

For example, you take Staal over Markov. I do too. But Markov's got these crazy good stretch passes that can break open a game. And he's pretty solid fundamentally. His real flaw is his skating now. And that's compounded by being paired with Emelin, who's also a bad skater. If they're caught out on the ice against BPZ, that's a little tougher for them. They'll manage, as they did against Boston (which can be a quick team, too), but it's not ideal.

So that's why I think it's tough to look at players 1 to 1 like that. The pairing matters. The opposition matters. The situation matters, as you know. And the two defenses bring some different strengths to the table.

Since we're on the topic: I've liked Moore in my viewings. How's he fared of late?

I don't disagree, and I don't generally rank players against each other like that. I think the top pairs are a bit of a wash, but that the Rangers have the advantage with their second and third pairings. Staal-Stralman has probably been better than McDonagh-Girardi, tbh.

As for Moore, he's been solid. Does his job quietly and makes a good third pairing witj Klein.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Calling someone cocky and saying Book it is ironically funny.

I've literally seen posts about Nash scoring goals before every single game.

one day it'll be true.

 

[Clown Fiesta]

Calling someone cocky and saying Book it is ironically funny.

Maybe he's confident? He's not bragging.

 

[RGY]

McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Stralman
Moore-Klein

vs

Gorges-Subban
Markov-Emelin
Beaulieu-Weaver

They're close, but I take our D corp 9 times out of 10. I'll take Girardi over Gorges, Staal over Markov, and Stralman over Emelin. Subban at the moment has the edge on McD, but McD on his game (which he has been the past 3 games) closes that gap. Weaver is better than Klein, and Moore/Beaulieu are mostly irrelevant.

I think the 5/6 pair is what separates the Rangers from the Habs. And I'd even say on most nights Staal-Stralman are stronger as far defensively and reliability goes than the Habs 3/4. Klein could be a 3/4 on other teams in the NHL, especially with the way he has played in these playoffs; he really has been something else and I think he hasn't been talked about enough.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

They have 2 very good offensive dmen but Rangers have edge defensively.

Toss up.

Montreal's defense should be exposed against teams in any of the next 2 rounds. Tampa had little balance and managed to find relative success getting the puck in the net. TB's problem was their poor goalie performance.

Boston took 3 games from them and could have eliminated them if they played with more discipline and passion. Montreal simply wanted that series more.

I think their defense is going to have a hell of a tough time against the Rangers. And when they become aggressive at home, which they almost always are, their defense and goalie will be ripe for odd-man rushes and our counterattack. They shouldn't be able to find too much success here. We are a nightmare match up for them.

 

[Mike8]

Markov and Emelin are both really slow.

Yup. And so is Weaver. That's tough for the club. Beaulieu playing with Weaver helps. It's good that Montreal no longer plays Bouillon or Murray.

For Ranger fans that are interested: Douglas Murray and Bouillon were splitting up #6 duties, playing alongside Weaver. It was an utter disaster, as neither player is truly NHL quality anymore. Beaulieu, a rookie, came in cold in game 6 and played exceptionally well in limited minutes.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

I think the 5/6 pair is what separates the Rangers from the Habs. And I'd even say on most nights Staal-Stralman are stronger as far defensively and reliability goes than the Habs 3/4. Klein could be a 3/4 on other teams in the NHL, especially with the way he has played in these playoffs; he really has been something else and I think he hasn't been talked about enough.

Eh, Weaver is REALLY underrated. He's kinda their Stralman, although a third pairing version rather than a second pairing one. He's better than Klein, imo.

 

[Miamipuck]

I don't disagree, and I don't generally rank players against each other like that. I think the top pairs are a bit of a wash, but that the Rangers have the advantage with their second and third pairings. Staal-Stralman has probably been better than McDonagh-Girardi, tbh.

As for Moore, he's been solid. Does his job quietly and makes a good third pairing witj Klein.

I think you can take the probably out, Staal-Stralman have been the stronger of the 2 pairings. Staal especially has been the Rangers best defenseman. Stralman has been playing significantly better than I can ever remember him playing.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

I don't disagree, and I don't generally rank players against each other like that. I think the top pairs are a bit of a wash, but that the Rangers have the advantage with their second and third pairings. Staal-Stralman has probably been better than McDonagh-Girardi, tbh.

As for Moore, he's been solid. Does his job quietly and makes a good third pairing witj Klein.

Yea, but can he sustain it? He played well against the Flyers, then absolutely started ******** the bed before he had to be benched for Diaz. Since he has come back, he's gone back to his physical and simplistic roots that make him a successful 3rd line defender. But I can totally see a loss of focus and regression, again, that makes him a liability.

If that drop of in play happens again, I wouldn't hesitate in putting Diaz on - especially since he'll likely have added incentive to want to play better.

 

[RGY]

Montreal's defense should be exposed against teams in any of the next 2 rounds. Tampa had little balance and managed to find relative success getting the puck in the net. TB's problem was their poor goalie performance.

Boston took 3 games from them and could have eliminated them if they played with more discipline and passion. Montreal simply wanted that series more.

I think their defense is going to have a hell of a tough time against the Rangers. And when they become aggressive at him, which they almost always are, their defense and goalie will be ripe for odd-man rushes and our counterattack. They shouldn't be able to find too much success here. We are a nightmare match up for them.

The last part of your post is a testament to AV as the coach and not Tortorella. I will say it again, I appreciate what Torts did while he was here but his style is not conducive to the new NHL. You need a transition game. You need to be able translate that great defense to offense. He couldn't get his teams to do that. This team can counterattack like no other. They really have the ability to put teams away but haven't been able to do so. Like you said, I think a more disciplined rangers team can run the table the rest of the way. They have become a much, much tighter group after the tragic passing of MSL's mom.

 

[RGY]

Eh, Weaver is REALLY underrated. He's kinda their Stralman, although a third pairing version rather than a second pairing one. He's better than Klein, imo.

I agree, I think Weaver has been a great pickup for them. Not overly big but physical out there and plays relatively smart. I disagree though that he is better than Klein. I think Klein's bigger frame gives him the overall edge. Klein has made a lot of smart steady plays as well. But it's not a huge gap.

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

I think that you are overstating it. The incentive in the last series was to get to the conference finals. Who did not want that? The incentive in this series is to get to the Cup finals. Who is not going to play their tails off for that?

Their incentive in the last series wasn't limited to wanting to get to the next round. It was founded on a personal level. I don't think that is overstating the effect that them playing Boston had.

 

[Holocene]

Wow, awesome post. Thanks for taking the time to post what I feel. Can't wait to hear what the Milsbury dough boy and Keith Jones have to say about our Rangers after we've dispersed of their choir boys in Pittsburgh. Now, it's Rangers/Canadiens. Go-ahead. Overlook us, like PK and company might be. Lol.

Yeah, I'm sure the Boston and Philly homers are crying over the Pens collapsing.

 

[nevesis]

“@PLeonardNYDN: Rangers will attend Martin St Louis' mother's funeral on Sunday in Montreal between Games 1 and 2”

 

[94wasagoodyear]

Gotta take 1 of the first 2.

 

[Wolfy*]

This will first of all be a huge goalie battle, biggest challenge for Hank in his career so far.

The Olympic gold and silver medalists meet again. As you know Price won that one with a shut out, while Hank allowed 3. But this time Hank has better defense in front of him.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Sure. I don't know where it ranks exactly (since there isn't an official ranking), but the Rangers' D is very good. But Montreal's is very good, too. As mentioned, I'd probably put the Rangers' ahead, but that doesn't mean Montreal's is bad.

Montreals is OK. They talk about Bealieu being more of a threat and a better dman than Klein or Moore. He played 7 minutes last game. Obviously there is a lot of faith in him. Georges is alright. Mike Weaver? Alexei Emelin? Outside of Subban & Markov its extremely unimpressive and very average.

 

[chosen]

Maybe he's confident? He's not bragging.

Maybe the people he's referring to are confident.

What could be cockier than Book it?

 

[chosen]

Montreal's defense should be exposed against teams in any of the next 2 rounds. Tampa had little balance and managed to find relative success getting the puck in the net. TB's problem was their poor goalie performance.

Boston took 3 games from them and could have eliminated them if they played with more discipline and passion. Montreal simply wanted that series more.

I think their defense is going to have a hell of a tough time against the Rangers. And when they become aggressive at home, which they almost always are, their defense and goalie will be ripe for odd-man rushes and our counterattack. They shouldn't be able to find too much success here. We are a nightmare match up for them.

Guess its a Rangers sweep if it's a nightmare matchup.

 

[LeetchisGod]

This series is going 7. About as even a matchup as there has been in the playoffs this year.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Wow, awesome post. Thanks for taking the time to post what I feel. Can't wait to hear what the Milsbury dough boy and Keith Jones have to say about our Rangers after we've dispersed of their choir boys in Pittsburgh. Now, it's Rangers/Canadiens. Go-ahead. Overlook us, like PK and company might be. Lol.

Lol seriously? Milbury ***** on the Pens constantly.

Frankly, Milbury is the best analyst I have seen so far these playoffs and it isn't even close.

And Jones is a Flyer, I seriously doubt he likes Pittsburgh.