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

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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.

No doubt. After game 4 in Pittsburgh I wrote a scathing post about the Rangers but I didn't post it. I was so angry. I'm not calling anybody out and really at this point it's not about being right or wrong on a message board. Some posters should just know better than act offended by what's being said about the Rangers.

In the end we all want the same thing.
 
We've seen firsthand the effects of the fatigue. Whether or not it will affect the Kings remains to be seen.

How many times did the Kings comeback last night?

Some of those guys were flat out flying in the OT?

People wishing for Fatigue are doing just that: wishing.

This is going to be a straight up war. We're going to see exactly what the Rangers are made of because the Kings are superior to anybody they've faced so far. Which I'm totally fine with because I think we stack up pretty well against them.

It begins and ends with Hank. No matter how well we play, Hank will have to be brilliant. I think he is up to it.
 
Some of those guys were flat out flying in the OT?

People wishing for Fatigue are doing just that: wishing.

Don't disagree with the rest of your post, but it's worth noting. In the playoffs, teams fly until they hit a wall. It isn't a gradual weardown. Sometimes, they hit that wall and have a last, valorous, gasp of effort before they can't do it anymore. So, did LA hit that wall at 3-1 and give that last gasp in game 7? Or does LA still have more to give? It's definitely a storyline, and I don't think it's wishful thinking at all. Might not be right, but a valid argument nonetheless.
 
No doubt. After game 4 in Pittsburgh I wrote a scathing post about the Rangers but I didn't post it. I was so angry. I'm not calling anybody out and really at this point it's not about being right or wrong on a message board. Some posters should just know better than act offended by what's being said about the Rangers.

In the end we all want the same thing.

Your a better man than I. I posted it and in retrospect it was a great lesson about whining.

The Rangers will always have that special standing among hockey fans that will have them being insulted no matter how bad or good they are. The New York Rangers just bring out the irrational and the provincial in many.

Makes me proud to be a Rangers fan.
 
No doubt. After game 4 in Pittsburgh I wrote a scathing post about the Rangers but I didn't post it. I was so angry. I'm not calling anybody out and really at this point it's not about being right or wrong on a message board. Some posters should just know better than act offended by what's being said about the Rangers.

In the end we all want the same thing.

And, if thats the case, I hope these some posters don't give a flying **** what other people are saying.

This is a time to be happy and concentrate on the finals. 99% of us would be trashing the Eastern team too if it wasn't the Rangers.
 
Don't disagree with the rest of your post, but it's worth noting. In the playoffs, teams fly until they hit a wall. It isn't a gradual weardown.

Lets just hope they wear down a little first.
 
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.



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.



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.



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.

Regarding Quick:

The Rangers often seem to be facing "hot goalies". The truth is that the Rangers lack of offensive production makes the opposition net minders look like all stars.
Quick was facing the chicago offense not Montreal who truly has little offense. My point, don't write off Quick's play to date when analyzing the SCF. He should face a much less threatening offense playing NY.

IMO: if the Rangers win the series, it's the overall team defense that will be the difference. They need to take LA out of it's offensive flow. Is Lundy the best in the NHL? Possibly. He will need to play like it but without the rest of the team forechecking, blocking shots, intercepting passes, slowing down LA rush into the zone Lundy will give way. His job is to make the great save when the D breaks down. Too many breakdowns and it won't matter who's in goal. As much as the media needs a face representing the franchise I believe too little credit has been given to the play of the guys in front of Lundy.
 
Before the St. Louis trade, I was expecting maybe a 2nd/3rd round trip, but the trade changed everything. That turned the Rangers into a legitimate threat. The difference between Callahan and MSL is, clearly, astronomical.

You've championed MSL in the past when we were rumoured to be interested in him...

He sure did struggle initially, but he's picked it up at the right time thats for sure.

He has made a dramatic difference on this team.
 
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.

I'm hoping he's a little rusty. What a blue line they have. This is going to be awesome. Me Giddy.
 
How many times did the Kings comeback last night?

Some of those guys were flat out flying in the OT?

People wishing for Fatigue are doing just that: wishing.

This is going to be a straight up war. We're going to see exactly what the Rangers are made of because the Kings are superior to anybody they've faced so far. Which I'm totally fine with because I think we stack up pretty well against them.

It begins and ends with Hank. No matter how well we play, Hank will have to be brilliant. I think he is up to it.

They've played 3 straight 7 game series against the best teams in the league; I don't think fatigue is farfetched.

That said, **** yes I'm hoping they're tired, haha.
 
Rangers need to tag Gaborik good. He needs a crushing shoulder hit.

Our defense needs to step up and start hitting. We play too nice.

Staal needs to bring more physicality....
 
Can't wait for this game. I wish the finals started tonight. LA has gotten a decent break with the scheduling. 2 full days off after game 7 and another 2 days off after game 1.
 
Hawks make no attempt to clog up the neutral zone. They think they can out score everybody and they aren't often wrong. No teams score a lot of goals against the Rangers. People are making the Kings out to be the 80's Oilers. They aren't.
 
Gaborik must have been having a field day with seabrook and Hjalmarsson (sp) just getting left wide open. He won't have those kind of freebies with our guys.
 
Btw if anyone watched the game last night you would notice two things the commentators were pointing out

1.by the time the third period came every king player were gasping for air when they got back to the bench

2. The kings were rolling 3 lines not 4
 
Their blueline outside of Doughty does not impress me in the slightest.

Muzzin and Voynoy are both pretty good as well, and arguably just as good, if not better, than Staal and G. I think Staal and Girardi are better but it's really close, and Voynoy and Muzzin can both put up points.

After them, though, I take Stralman over any of their other dudes.
 
Their blueline outside of Doughty does not impress me in the slightest.

I'm hoping they give us every reason to be quietly unimpressed. Not counting on it though. They can be very effective and physical. I'm hoping the Rangers can use their speed against them.

We'll see.
 
Muzzin and Voynoy are both pretty good as well, and arguably just as good, if not better, than Staal and G.

After them, though, I take Stralman over any of their other dudes.

Voynov is NOT that good. IMO, he's one of the more overrated players around the league. Everyone seems to drool over him, I don't understand it. Solid player, but he's not as good as Girardi, Staal, or Stralman, IMO. Muzzin is a product of Doughty. He's very dangerous offensively, I'll give him that.

Martinez is a very good defenseman, but outside of him, the other four do not worry me at all.
 
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