Team sucks despite having alot of last year's problems correct themselves. Why?

[Hunter Gathers]

Staal looks about done as a top-end player thanks to the injury. Girardi has regressed.

Right there is why our team is struggling (along with adapting to AV's system and Hank's inconsistent play) if you want to look at it defensive-wise.

I put more blame into changing systems and fully expect this team to be playing better sooner or later, but I think we have seen the best that Staal can be before his injury. And that's really unfortunate.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Staal looks about done as a top-end player thanks to the injury. Girardi has regressed.

Right there is why our team is struggling (along with adapting to AV's system and Hank's inconsistent play) if you want to look at it defensive-wise.

I put more blame into changing systems and fully expect this team to be playing better sooner or later, but I think we have seen the best that Staal can be before his injury. And that's really unfortunate.

Honestly, I dont know how much it has to do with the injury. Staal struggled mightily early in Torts' tenure when he was asking the D-men to push it more.

Staal (and Girardi) just aren't cut out for that type of game.

 

[Puckface NYR*]

You're discussing individual problems, not team problems.

We are 5th from the bottom in goals scored. Same old story.

I also think switching to man to man coverage was stupid as ****.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

You're discussing individual problems, not team problems.

We are 5th from the bottom in goals scored. Same old story.

I also think switching to man to man coverage was stupid as ****.

Welcome to the boards. Every loss is due to 1 or 2 players.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Honestly, I dont know how much it has to do with the injury. Staal struggled mightily early in Torts' tenure when he was asking the D-men to push it more.

Staal (and Girardi) just aren't cut out for that type of game.

Yeah, but Staal looked great under Torts pre-injury.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Yeah, but Staal looked great under Torts pre-injury.

True, but eventually Torts wound up playing a style that would make a lot of defensemen look great.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Why? We have no first line center. 2 good 2nd liners. We have no star player but Nash. We had so many question-marks going in... Kreider, Zuccarello, Brassard, Pouliot, Richards, Stepan, Del Zotto... the obscurity has all but erased itself now--we don't have a very good roster.

Guys like Staal and Girardi weren't question marks, but Girardi's been on a downswing since his All-Star year, and Staal has not shown sufficient communication on the ice, so here we are. It's 12/8/13. Lil' Wayne still sucks.

 

[Raspewtin]

True, but eventually Torts wound up playing a style that would make a lot of defensemen look great.

Do you believe Staal was a product of Torts' system? Serious question.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

Honestly, if we got 3 of those regulation losses to OT, everything would look a lot different.

If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas...

Our lack of Bettman points are why we find ourselves in this situation, but I agree with Scott Arniel's pre-game assessment of the Rangers' biggest issue with consistency: taking breaks within games, especially at home. You can't expect to have a winning record if you're putting up a 20+15-minute effort instead of a 60-minute effort.

 

[Puckface NYR*]

Do you believe Staal was a product of Torts' system? Serious question.

Staal was fantastic under Renney. It's the injuries that have done him in. That said, our D has been good enough to win most games (i know some of you will reference the blowouts) but again, the problem has been scoring. We have a 5 goal game, then get shutout or score 1 goal.

Not going to win when you can't score. We've seen this year in year out.

What bothers me most is trying to take a team, void of top end talent and trying to make them the Canucks. AV should have stuck to what made the Rangers good, while slowly integrating things that could improve the offense.

Instead he made the whole team do a 360 and the man to man STILL isn't working. I sit right behind the goal and was at the game last night. There was a play where a DEVIL (can't remember who) came down the left hand boards, it was Falks man. He then began to cross the ice and Falk stayed with him (as he should) but Moore, thinking they were going to switch men (ala last season) went to him too, leaving his man wide open in the slot.

We've seen this so often this year. I think man to man is ten times harder to play then zone and the rangers had mastered that. Defense was not the problem, truly have absolute no idea why they switched that.

 

[Oak]

It happens every ****ing year. We get some half-expected surprises (this year it's Kreider and McDonagh), but instead of complimenting good veterans, those surprises have to lead the team through the whole ****ing year. I'm starting to think other players just coast because they see someone else picking up the slack, cause they care.

McDonagh and Kreider have stepped up VERY admirably, but the entire defense, and some notable impact forwards now feel it's okay to give half effort. At least that's what I'm seeing.

I don't think its fair to say McDonagh stepped up because he never actually stepped down. He has been the anchor in D for the past 3 seasons, but his offense went up this season bc AV is actually letting him shoot.

MacTruck is the best player on our team, and in my eyes has been the most consistent in the past 3. I think I have only seen him make 2-3 mistakes since I started paying attention to him. He is beast mode.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Long-winded is fine and your Downie/Flyers assessment makes sense. I just can't fathom how with pro athletes it needs to ever come to that. The burning passion to fight to win, and a deep hatred to lose, these things should be built in. And I'm not singling out Callahan cuz 90 percent of the time he plays like this we end up finding out he was playing hurt.

My problem is the whole team. This season and last. The lack of fire, intensity, pride, and any semblance of killer instinct. Not to mention some of the bigger guys playing like they're 4'6 and skating in freakin ice capades. Boyle 6'7 and 245, Nash 6'4 and 220, Pyatt 6'4 and 230... these have to be the softest big guys I've ever seen. Why is Zuccarello's tiny ass playing with more physical presence and intensity than those three guys combined?! That's something I cannot wrap my head around. I don't disagree with your Downie/Flyers assessment, and my comment in the post game thread about sums up my feelings on that:

Blaming Toronto for the kicked in goal, blaming refs... none of that should have mattered. This team had no fire. A 2-0 lead and no kill switch was on. You have a 2-0 lead, start kicking the damn horse while it's down... throw some mean hits, play with some freakin fire, skate your ass off both ways and play like losing is not an option. Dammit... a crosstown rival comes in your ****in house and that's the lackluster vanilla effort you put in?

Enough with the ballet dancing perimeter punks who refuse to get dirty and play hockey. Enough with the doe-eyed 'we need to pick up our game' post game pressers. Bring in some guys who hate losing and are willing to play hockey... cuz this crap is getting old.​

Agree very strongly for this...feel like I've said it all in pieces in other threads but you summed it up very nicely. Any sort of fire is sorely lacking. The Rangers biggest strength in the past few years has been their team identity. It's not just about toughness it is about confidence and competitive fire. It came from certain players, and it came from the coach.

Over the last year and a half Sather has systematically dismantled it. Really par for the course. Half-assedly build something only to tear it apart on a whim. At this point I would be ok with more destruction, if only because there seems to be little left. But I have major doubts about what any attempts to retool will be building towards. I have no confidence that management even understands what it takes to win in today's NHL.

But ultimately, the sad reality is summed up by this:

This is the least fun I've had watching hockey (including the first half of 2006-07 and the 2009-10 season) since before the first lockout.

They will probably string some wins together soon. Lundqvist is due to get hot. They will be buyers at the deadline. Maybe win a round, maybe out in 7. Line Dolan's pockets a bit. And then the cycle will repeat.

PS - I said it in the Gabby trade thread when it went down...but I can't be the only one puzzled that the Rangers had their most successful season since 1997 and subsequently swapped 3 core players for 4 players from the Columbus Blue Jackets, perennial lottery participants. Makes sense.

 

[Puckface NYR*]

I don't think its fair to say McDonagh stepped up because he never actually stepped down. He has been the anchor in D for the past 3 seasons, but his offense went up this season bc AV is actually letting him shoot.

MacTruck is the best player on our team, and in my eyes has been the most consistent in the past 3. I think I have only seen him make 2-3 mistakes since I started paying attention to him. He is beast mode.

He's QBing the power play too, which has helped a lot. One of my biggest Torts criticisms was that he never let McD get a second of PP time. He's a super smart player and a very good passer, that overrides Del Zotto's shot which he never gets on net anyway.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Honestly, I dont know how much it has to do with the injury. Staal struggled mightily early in Torts' tenure when he was asking the D-men to push it more.

Staal (and Girardi) just aren't cut out for that type of game.

You're not wrong...but I though Staal was finally looking like a dominant #1 last year before the eye injury. I remember watching the Toronto game and thinking "the real Marc Staal is back". 11 points in 21 games.

Just sad. Another sad chapter.

 

[Oak]

To answer the OP I think our offense has improved but defense has weakened. D is what is causing our problems.

Girardi and Staal are disappointments this year, especially Staal. Sad what has happened to his career, all started by big bro too. Hank is not playing his usual self but I think that is in part to the new system and lack of help from the D. Our D used to be ****ing solid. Sadly this year its not. This is our problem.

 

[Machinehead]

Another thing wrong with this team: Anyone else not seen Hagelin in like a month, or is that just me?

 

[Puckface NYR*]

Another thing wrong with this team: Anyone else not seen Hagelin in like a month, or is that just me?

He's been drinking to much

 

[Oak]

Another thing wrong with this team: Anyone else not seen Hagelin in like a month, or is that just me?

Problem with Hagelin is outside of the wrap around he barely ever scores. He hasn't been on a good line to produce assists and his speed hasn't really been showing itself much.

Maybe he has been drinking?

 

[aufheben]

Hagelin, as much as I love him, is one of many players on this roster that routinely makes scoring a goal look painfully impossible.

 

[JCrusher*]

Hagelin, as much as I love him, is one of many players on this roster that routinely makes scoring a goal look painfully impossible.

i like hagelin. I wouldnt consider him a goal scorer but he is good at getting to pucks, decent passer, and great on the PK. He is a third liner which isnt bad but he is not a guy who will produce much offense

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

To answer the OP I think our offense has improved but defense has weakened. D is what is causing our problems.

Girardi and Staal are disappointments this year, especially Staal. Sad what has happened to his career, all started by big bro too. Hank is not playing his usual self but I think that is in part to the new system and lack of help from the D. Our D used to be ****ing solid. Sadly this year its not. This is our problem.

I think the question is: did every player decide to suck at once? Or was the switch to man probably not the brightest idea, given the personnel? My opinion is the latter...

 

[Leonardo87]

The entire defense (-McDonagh) and Callahan post/injury have been a complete joke.

Stepan's VERY slow start really hurt, but he's been much better lately.

It doesn't help that this team is already mentally weak.

Why is it every time a few players step up, half the team takes a step back?

I think more than half of Stepan's points are seconday assists, and he has scored a goal in 3 out of 30 games this season.

 

[Puckface NYR*]

I think the question is: did every player decide to suck at once? Or was the switch to man probably not the brightest idea, given the personnel? My opinion is the latter...

Agreed.

 

[JCrusher*]

I think more than half of Stepan's points are seconday assists, and he has scored a goal in 3 out of 30 games this season.

stepan has been invisble most of the year. We dont need him to score 25 goals but he needs to be more active on the puck and make better passes to nash and kreider. With those 2 on his line there is no reason why he shouldt be getting a ton of assists

 

[Mory Schneideur*]

I'd agree with this. Our teams are sucking it up. Confidence, cohesion, communication too maybe.

Cohesion and communication are good points! I watch Rangers games and I see the same problem that we seem to be suffering, a general discombobulation and total inconsistency.

Good news is there's lots of season left.

On a side note, you guys also seem to be suffering from the same problem we have where your big guns mysteriously stop producing. I have a feeling it's the way the organizations handle these type of players that leads to this.

Can't wait to play you guys in the Stadium Series! Haha