Pre-Game Talk: Stanley Cup Final: New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings

[Ben Grimm]

Go Rangers!

 

[Pizza]

I agree with everything you say, except this. Like I said in the pick your poison thread, the Kings are us with worse goaltending and better offense. If the Rangers win, it's because of their franchise goaltender. Quick IS overrated. He's a good goalie with two monstrous post-season runs, sure. But he's been nothing but average this post-season, which is much like his career numbers outside of one huge year.

Henrik Lundqvist is an excellent goalie. Henrik Lundqvist, in fact, is the best goaltender in the world at this very moment. As a Rangers fan posting on a hockey board, I feel I should go out of my way to enunciate that fact. Quick is not on Hank's level. No matter what narratives exist, there is no goalie that has been as good as Henrik Lundqvist. Sure, there might be some eventually (maybe Bob in CBJ, who had a good season this year to avoid becoming a one year SSS wonder, and maybe Tuukka in Boston) but Henrik Lundqvist is unequivocally the greatest at his craft this very moment.

Ever since Hank demonstrated how good he was and could be consistently, there have always been guys coming out with one monster year that people point to to say Hank ISN'T the best. Bobrovsky, Price, Quick, Ryan Miller, etc. Nobody, especially not Jon Quick, has come close to exhibiting such a consistent stretch of dominance than Henrik Lundqvist has ever since he threw on the NYR sweater.

Sure, in a 7 game series any goalie can play out of their mind, and Quick could absolutely dominate us and make Hank look like a scrub. Hell, given 20 games any goalie can play out of their mind- Halak springs to mind instantly, where he put on one of the most amazing clinics in goaltending over 14 games i've ever seen. What happened after that? He reverted back to what he is: a good goalie who can play very good for short stretches. Jon Quick is closer to Jaroslav Halak than he is to Henrik Lundqvist.

Saying Quick is on Hank's level is simply not true (and i'm not saying that's what you're saying, just the general consensus of hockey fandom) and it's pretty much the sole reason this series is much closer than the main boards here will say.

When Quick is on he can be flat out brilliant. The Kings are good enough all around to make any goalie look bad.

Even Hank.

They are up on a pedestal for a good reason. They belong there.

Again, last night proved how good they are. But as I've been saying the Rangers are pretty good too. And the one opportunity they may have is how heavily favored LA is. As of right now if the Rangers win this thing it could go down as one of the bigger upsets SCF history...at least imo.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Got to be honest, I wanted to face Chicago. They seemed to get a bit more one-dimensional as the playoffs went on. Stop Kane and you're in good shape.

LA is much deeper. They can roll 4 lines like the Rangers and probably have a better 4 lines to do it with.

That said, Rangers have the advantage on D and in net. (Quick was difficult to watch last series).

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I think the Kings will quickly disabuse you and anyone else of the notion that have many or any weaknesses.

I think we have a better chance than most are giving us, but this will truly be the toughest challenge the Rangers will face. The Kings are just that good. They absolutely proved it again last night. Still, I'm confident. I think we have a good team too. One things for sure, if we somehow come out on top, anyone saying that some how we are not deserving is just another dope you can ignore.

Yeah, a lot of his reasons we have an advantage seem more like wishful thinking than anything else. And you can't discount the potential return of Robin Regehr - could be back for game one. He's a good defenseman.

That said, if the Kings are as sloppy in their own end as they were in games 5-7, we have a chance.

 

[Son of Steinbrenner]

Meh. I think you're trying to connect dots that have nothing to do with one another.

Meh, I really don't care what you think I'm trying to do. I explained twice why I brought it up. If I was calling people I out I would call people out. The level of indignation is hard to stomach.

EVERY team on this board has the same kind of rants we have on our board. If you think we're special...we're not. Check out this thread from the Kings board, and there are many more like them



http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1622923

I don't think we are special and I don't care about posts from other boards. Again, I am speaking to the posters who are are acting offended now when they were saying the same things 7 ****ing weeks ago.

Like I said, there are many more like them all over their board. And all over every other team's boards too. Are you taking those negative posts by Kings (or Flyer, or Penguins, or Canadiens) posters and using them against them? Probably not, because you don't care about that - and fans of other teams don't care about our internal posts either.

No I'm not using those posts against them. I don't participate in other boards. Why would I go to another teams board where I never post and criticize them? That is trolling....I'm also not using anybody's old posts on this board against them. Do you see me doing that?

A lot of national media is saying our chances against LA are small, and I promise you it has NOTHING to do with Ranger fans' posts on HF boards, or any other boards for that matter.

So what. I never implied the predictions of the national media had anything to do with this board. I was speaking to the fans of this board that are acting offended that posters are using the SAME ****ING ARGUMENTS they used just 7....short......weeks.....ago...

Bottom line is a lot of people think the Kings (and the Blackhawks, and the Ducks, and the Blues, etc.) are better than us because of what they've seen on the ice, not because of what they read in a forum - and hopefully over the next two weeks our boys prove them wrong.

Bottom line is some of the things that are being said today, June 2nd by fans of other teams AND Kings fans were said on this board...by the same people.....that are offended. If you think that isn't hypocritical I don't care. It's disingenuous for some fans to act offended when they said the same things. If you think I'm trying to connect the dots oh well. I haven't called anybody out (which is easy, psst...we have post histories)

Some fans looked at this team in February and March and said this team had a shot and were mocked. Now it's lets forget that all that because I want to be offended too!!! Ok, but let me remind you that our post histories are public and some fans in threads this season posted that they were going to call out the people that said anything can happen. Some of those fans are posting....in this very thread.....

Do you think if the Rangers lost to Philly, Pittsburgh, or Montreal the people that posted in the St Louis threads for example wouldn't take every chance they could to mock anybody that gave this team a chance this year? Of course they would. I didn't even do that in this thread...I'm just pointing out that many of the arguments on the playoff board were used here by our fellow Ranger fans.

 

[Thirty One]

Any chance you have the percentages we win broken down to each game/team? That was interesting to see for the Pitt series.

I'll have my preview in full up tomorrow morning.

I'll be sure to post it here (I love me some clicks).

 

[Jersey Girl]

Meh, I really don't care what you think I'm trying to do. I explained twice why I brought it up. If I was calling people I out I would call people out. The level of indignation is hard to stomach.





I don't think we are special and I don't care about posts from other boards. Again, I am speaking to the posters who are are acting offended now when they were saying the same things 7 ****ing weeks ago.




No I'm not using those posts against them. I don't participate in other boards. Why would I go to another teams board where I never post and criticize them? That is trolling....


So what. I never implied the predictions of the national media had anything to do with this board. I was speaking to the fans of this board that are acting offended that posters are using the SAME ****ING ARGUMENTS they used just 7....short......weeks.....ago...



Bottom line is some of the things that are being said today, June 2nd by fans of other teams AND Kings fans were said on this board...by the same people.....that are offended. If you think that isn't hypocritical I don't care. It's disingenuous for some fans to act offended when they said the same things. If you think I'm trying to connect the dots oh well. I haven't called anybody out (which is easy, psst...we have post histories)

Some fans looked at this team in February and March and said this team had a shot and were mocked. Now it's lets forget that all that because I want to be offended too!!! Ok, but let me remind you that our post histories are public and some fans in threads this season posted that they were going to call out the people that said anything can happen. Some of those fans are posting....in this very thread.....

Do you think if the Rangers lost to Philly, Pittsburgh, or Montreal the people that posted in the St Louis threads for example wouldn't take every chance they could to mock anybody that gave this team a chance this year? Of course they would. I didn't even do that in this thread...I'm just pointing out that many of the arguments on the playoff board were used here by our fellow Ranger fans.

Not worth arguing. I'm just going to say I disagree with your entire line of thinking 1,000%, as I think you are WAY off base here, and leave it at that.

Let's Go Rangers!

 

[Fletch]

Rust...

it there really fatigue? A couple days off should be enough for these athletes to recharge. Perhaps it gets to be an issue if the Rangers get up on them quickly and benches get shortened, but I don't see them as getting too gassed. Granted, when they won the Cup they breezed to the finals, but truth be told, they have played in one more game than has the Rangers so I do not think there would be much of a factor. Sure the Rangers have had more time off this stretch, but that's not always a good thing. The schedule starts off well for the Kings. Two days rest, play on Wednesday. Two days rest, play on Saturday. I think the fatigue factor should be very even and the Kings may even have an edge in sharpness (and in "game" shape) having played more recently. This all likely me not decide the game, but on fatigue, I do not see it as being an edge for either team going into Wednesday's first game.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

The Kings have played a lot of hockey. A lot.

I've been listening to Sirius NHL and Mad Dog on Sirius and pretty much all fans not of the NYR persuasion and the "experts" are all saying the same thing: Kings in 5 or Kings in 6.

Interesting. Honestly, I've watched nearly every playoff game and I'm not impressed to the point that I'm thinking the Rangers are 100% doomed. They aren't.

Keys for me:

Kopitar. Who's going out there to shadow this guy? Stepan with a dose of Moore and the 4th line? I don't know that Stepan can play him evenly or close to evenly. Might be trouble for us.

Doughty - considering what we got from Mac Truck last series, I'm hoping that he can keep his game elevated and match DD. If he can do that, we're definitely in the series.

Goalies - from what I've seen, Quick hasn't been terribly spectacular. I think the Habs backup was playing better, to be perfectly honest with you.

And all of these questions about OMG! How are we going to deal with them done the middle. I mean, that's fair enough, but how are THEY going to deal with our speed on the Wings? Who on the Kings is dealing with Kreider? Hagelin? Zooks? Personally, I think our top 6 > their top 6 and I think our goalie > their goalie. Their forwards > our forwards. But, you know what? That's exactly what I said about the Penguins.

I hope the Kings take don't take us seriously and read the predictions.

I think this series goes 7 games. And it's 50/50 after that.

Wut.

I hope you mean our top-6 defense.

 

[Ola]

Defense is the key!

We can't be carried away because it's the finals. Play really solid D. Keep the puck within the team. Try to keep LAK to 1-2 goals a game, then we got a chance.

 

[aufheben]

We've seen firsthand the effects of the fatigue. Whether or not it will affect the Kings remains to be seen.

 

[RangerBoy]

NHL announces Steve Kozari,Wes McCauley,Dan O’Halloran,Brad Watson will be the referees for the Stanley Cup Final.

https://twitter.com/JSportsnet/status/473570023760343041

Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock didn't make the cut. They missed the Prust hit on Stepan. Joannette tripped Stepan in the Pittsburgh series.

 

[Son of Steinbrenner]

Not worth arguing. I'm just going to say I disagree with your entire line of thinking 1,000%, as I think you are WAY off base here, and leave it at that.

Let's Go Rangers!

How am I off base? Compare the arguments from our board to what's being posted now. My point is posters can't act offended when people say this team isn't good enough when we have thread after thread of THEM saying the same things......7 weeks ago.....

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Offense wins you games, defense wins you championships.

I have had a brilliant start of the year with the Seahawks winning the Superbowl, now the Rangers in the final. Who knows...

 

[Jersey Girl]

https://twitter.com/JSportsnet/status/473570023760343041

Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock didn't make the cut. They missed the Prust hit on Stepan. Joannette tripped Stepan in the Pittsburgh series.

Won't be the same without Justin St. Pierre

 

[haohmaru]

Wut.

I hope you mean our top-6 defense.

Yeah, top 6 D. That's why forwards are separate.

 

[SixGoalieSystem]

https://twitter.com/JSportsnet/status/473570023760343041

Marc Joannette and Kevin Pollock didn't make the cut. They missed the Prust hit on Stepan. Joannette tripped Stepan in the Pittsburgh series.

And Scott Driscoll tried to fight Carcillo

 

[Levitate]

Interesting. Honestly, I've watched nearly every playoff game and I'm not impressed to the point that I'm thinking the Rangers are 100% doomed. They aren't.

I mean, I'm biased, but yeah I think the Rangers have a shot. Why not? They are a good team, they have depth, they have talent. People just seem to discount St Louis as "old" or something and forget he's one of the best offensive players in the game still, even if the Rangers scoring is more by committee this season. They discount Nash, Kreider, etc as guys who just don't stack up. The center depth is shat on despite those guys being legit talented just not super star talented. No one says anything about what a player Zuccarello is, no one knows a damn thing about Stralman and Staal it appears.

No one seems to realize that the Rangers have been rolling 4 lines and 3 D pairs and any line is a threat to score against any opposition out there, and instead they claim that the Rangers lack depth and can't compete

The team is solid top to bottom and has the best goalie in the NHL in net. I'm in no way guaranteeing any kind of win or anything, I just think people overlook the strengths of this team because you don't see anyone with gaudy numbers or whatever. They're a strong team and I think they'll compete hard.

Kopitar. Who's going out there to shadow this guy? Stepan with a dose of Moore and the 4th line? I don't know that Stepan can play him evenly or close to evenly. Might be trouble for us.

I look at it as how the Rangers handled Crosby or Malkin or Giroux. He's a great player, to some degree you can only limit the damage he can do, but the Rangers were able to do it to the other top offensive stars they've faced so far in the playoffs, and Kopitar is a huge reason Gaborik is scoring so much so if you can limit Kopitar, you're going a long ways towards taking Gaborik out of the game as well.

This isn't an easy thing but it's similar to what the Rangers have already had to face. Giroux/Voracek, Malkin/Neal, Crosby/Kunitz, etc.

Doughty - considering what we got from Mac Truck last series, I'm hoping that he can keep his game elevated and match DD. If he can do that, we're definitely in the series.

Again, similar to what they've faced before...Subban was running wild until he played the Rangers and got stopped cold. Rangers have to do the same thing to Doughty if they can. I'd look for the speed guys like Kreider and Hagelin to force him to back up and play more conservatively than he'd like, much like Subban had to.

Goalies - from what I've seen, Quick hasn't been terribly spectacular. I think the Habs backup was playing better, to be perfectly honest with you.

I'm always wary of a goalie that could "flip a switch" and put the hurt on the Rangers but Quick hasn't been special these playoffs and the Rangers gotta keep playing their game and getting pucks and bodies to the net.

Ultimately I think the big thing is that the Kings ARE stronger up and down the lineup than the teams the Rangers have faced in general, but most of their strengths are also things the Rangers have faced so far. So if they bring their A game and everyone lays it all out there, they could definitely win this.

 

[Jersey Girl]

How am I off base? Compare the arguments from our board to what's being posted now. My point is posters can't act offended when people say this team isn't good enough when we have thread after thread of THEM saying the same things......7 weeks ago.....

Your point was that posters from the main boards are going into our 'rant' threads and using those posts as reasons the Kings will win. I think that's beyond ridiculous, but if it works for you, run with it by all means.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Yeah, top 6 D. That's why forwards are separate.

Ah, alright, then I agree with you.

The biggest edge the Kings have on us is their top-6 up front. That said, if Nash continues his production from last series, it'll be closer.

 

[haohmaru]

How am I off base? Compare the arguments from our board to what's being posted now. My point is posters can't act offended when people say this team isn't good enough when we have thread after thread of THEM saying the same things......7 weeks ago.....

Who cares?

Of course they can say whatever they want - and they can still be right about it. Sometimes teams come together and find their game and look like a totally different team and you can change your mind about them because they look nothing like the team that came out of the gate. This team has been among the top 6 or 7 in the league since January and actually had more points than either Chi or LA in that timespan.

I'm not one of them, though. I liked the St. Louis trade. I said all year the Rangers have a decent team and a good chance to do damage in the playoffs.

I mean, I get the criticism, but if a team gets hot and makes the Final, you have to be a little understanding about how perspective might change.

 

[Son of Steinbrenner]

Your point was that posters from the main boards are going into our 'rant' threads and using those posts as reasons the Kings will win. I think that's beyond ridiculous, but if it works for you, run with it by all means.

No it wasn't my point but whatever......Also, I didn't mention our "rant" threads like the Fire Sather and AV MUST GO threads. I specifically mentioned threads where well thought out discussions took place.

I don't think those fans are going into our threads. I think those fans are making the same arguments you find Ranger fans making 7 weeks ago.

My original post said it all, that posters can't act shocked or offended that people aren't respecting the Rangers. It's been a season long story here on this board.

 

[Pizza]

Meh, I really don't care what you think I'm trying to do. I explained twice why I brought it up. If I was calling people I out I would call people out. The level of indignation is hard to stomach.





I don't think we are special and I don't care about posts from other boards. Again, I am speaking to the posters who are are acting offended now when they were saying the same things 7 ****ing weeks ago.




No I'm not using those posts against them. I don't participate in other boards. Why would I go to another teams board where I never post and criticize them? That is trolling....I'm also not using anybody's old posts on this board against them. Do you see me doing that?


So what. I never implied the predictions of the national media had anything to do with this board. I was speaking to the fans of this board that are acting offended that posters are using the SAME ****ING ARGUMENTS they used just 7....short......weeks.....ago...



Bottom line is some of the things that are being said today, June 2nd by fans of other teams AND Kings fans were said on this board...by the same people.....that are offended. If you think that isn't hypocritical I don't care. It's disingenuous for some fans to act offended when they said the same things. If you think I'm trying to connect the dots oh well. I haven't called anybody out (which is easy, psst...we have post histories)

Some fans looked at this team in February and March and said this team had a shot and were mocked. Now it's lets forget that all that because I want to be offended too!!! Ok, but let me remind you that our post histories are public and some fans in threads this season posted that they were going to call out the people that said anything can happen. Some of those fans are posting....in this very thread.....

Do you think if the Rangers lost to Philly, Pittsburgh, or Montreal the people that posted in the St Louis threads for example wouldn't take every chance they could to mock anybody that gave this team a chance this year? Of course they would. I didn't even do that in this thread...I'm just pointing out that many of the arguments on the playoff board were used here by our fellow Ranger fans.

Hard to disagree with anything your saying here SOS. I was so down on the Rangers a few weeks ago, I probably posted some of the most negative rants I've ever posted here...which is saying something. I've had some doozy's over the years.

 

[Levitate]

Defense is the key!

We can't be carried away because it's the finals. Play really solid D. Keep the puck within the team. Try to keep LAK to 1-2 goals a game, then we got a chance.

For sure, those are the big strengths of the Rangers. Good defense and goaltending, transitioning the puck, and timely goals from up and down the lineup. Not that the Kings can't play tight games as well (they're obviously very good at it) but not getting into a track meet with them is the best course of action I'd say.

And I mean...the Kings are indeed an excellent team with few weaknesses and all of that, but I dont' want to sit here kissing their ***** all day and talking about how great they are and all of that, everyone knows that. Screw it, I want the Rangers to win the Cup. I'd prefer it if they swept the Kings, I'd take it if they went 7 games and won it, doesn't matter to me in the end, just win. Every team the Rangers have faced in the playoffs is a good team no matter how anyone wants to spin it, and now they're in the finals facing another good team. Well **** it, go out there and punch them in the face and taking the ****ing cup from 'em

 

[Son of Steinbrenner]

Who cares?



Of course they can say whatever they want - and they can still be right about it. Sometimes teams come together and find their game and look like a totally different team and you can change your mind about them because they look nothing like the team that came out of the gate. This team has been among the top 6 or 7 in the league since January and actually had more points than either Chi or LA in that timespan.

I'm not one of them, though. I liked the St. Louis trade. I said all year the Rangers have a decent team and a good chance to do damage in the playoffs.

I mean, I get the criticism, but if a team gets hot and makes the Final, you have to be a little understanding about how perspective might change.

I am understanding about how perspective might change. I just don't understand how fans are shocked other fans don't "get" why the Rangers aren't getting respect. That's my only point.