Post-Game Talk: What A Run: Thank you, 2013-14 New York Rangers

[Cassano]

Klein was fantastic all playoffs long. It took HFNYR a long time to realize how solid he was playing for us.

That OT winner was just a miscommunication at the worst time between him and Zucc.

He has the easiest matchups on the team and still was a mediocre possession player relative to,those matchups. He can't PK, he doesn't throw hits,,he doesn't clear the crease, lead a breakout and zero passing ability. IMO, Moore is covering up more for Klein than the other way around.

 

[I Eat Crow]

Losing in 1950, 1972, 1979, and 2014 while winning in 1994 is a 50/50 ratio now?

It was late and I was tired and upset. Since 79, we're on a lose one, win one streak, better?

 

[Cassano]

I made the grave mistake of trying to talk some sense into the morons on the mainboard. I swear it's like the mainboard is where all the 12 year olds go to talk about things they dont understand.

"3 of LA's wins were in OT"
"Nah rangers had no chance"

Do we have a doctor in the house for these people?

When a well rested team going into the finals gives up more than 40 shots per game in four of five games, they don't deserve much credit IMO.

Except Lundqvist...

 

[Cassano]

Can you tell me the winning lottery numbers while you are at it?
I don't understand the blind hatred you have for the man whatsoever. Even if stralman left, which i highly doubt sather is stupid enough to let happen, We still have Mclrath coming up.

The thought of mcilrath being a Stralman replacement frightens me immensely.

 

[Cassano]

12 hours after losing the Cup Final and this is what you're worried about? Give it a rest, at least in this thread. Let me tell you if Stralman hadn't bailed out his own screw up in game 4 at the goal line, the Rangers might have been swept. We wouldn't have heard a peep out of you about it.

Our entire defense had a spectacular playoffs, and that includes Girardi. We should be proud of them instead of crying about specific instances. No one on the team was a bum.

But he did bail himself out? That's why he's a good player. Good players make mistakes. Excellent players redeem themselves. In the case of Stralman, even a minor mistake from him is acceptable because he single handily carries the teams possession from the backend.

 

[Zil]

The thought of mcilrath being a Stralman replacement frightens me immensely.

He might not be an awful Klein replacement though if we need to clear cap room. Coincidentally is there a good way to determine the possession skills of minor leaguers and other prospects?

 

[silverfish]

He has the easiest matchups on the team and still was a mediocre possession player relative to,those matchups. He can't PK, he doesn't throw hits,,he doesn't clear the crease, lead a breakout and zero passing ability. IMO, Moore is covering up more for Klein than the other way around.

Positive relative corsi, and highest +/- for defenders on the Rangers in the playoffs.

You're obviously pushing a Stralman agenda, here. Which is fine. No one is going to argue that Klein is better than Stralman, but to completely write off Klein is just flat out wrong.

 

[SwedeAmerican]

Why?

The NHL hates the Rangers.

It's just the way it is.

Why? Why does the league "hate the Rangers?"

 

[ReolverHF]

I could have sworn I saw a bag of golf clubs behind Richards when they did pre-game interviews. I guess he thought since it was an early start, he could maybe get a few holes in after the game.

 

[Cassano]

He might not be an awful Klein replacement though if we need to clear cap room. Coincidentally is there a good way to determine the possession skills of minor leaguers and other prospects?

Blue Blooded posted an article a while back when McIlrath had poor numbers, only to be shot down by the masses suggesting he's still young/adapting.

 

[Cassano]

Positive relative corsi, and highest +/- for defenders on the Rangers in the playoffs.

You're obviously pushing a Stralman agenda, here. Which is fine. No one is going to argue that Klein is better than Stralman, but to completely write off Klein is just flat out wrong.

Yeah but Klein still had a relative poor corsi rating in comparision to his soft match ups.

 

[LORDE]

The series was done for after the Game 2 debacle. The ref's decided it again tonight.

That aside, its a game of inches. We don't bury our chances.

Sums it up perfectly.

Yes the refs blew this series like a $5 *****... But we don't finish. Not ever. Chance after chance, year after year... Player after player. The NYR can NOT finish.

Tainted loss because of refs and moronic plays in gm 1 by steps and G... But we still could have overcome... After all of THAT... we could have overcome and didn't because we can't finish.

 

[Tawnos]

Yeah but Klein still had a relative poor corsi rating in comparision to his soft match ups.

Stralmans matchups were pretty soft compared to the top 3.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I just quickly counted. LA lead for about 70 minutes in a 370 minute series. If that doesn't drive you to drink I don't know what will.

 

[Ail]

I'm not even mad. They are coming back next season with a vengeance assuming they don't **** up the off-season.

What a run. Henrik will win a 'Cup here. BOOK IT!

 

[Cake or Death]

It's amazing how all my teams have fallen short in my life, while other NY teams that I HATE seem to always win championships.

METS: 2006, 20 years since 1986 )just like this years 20th anniversary run with the Rangers)...they blow the pennant in Game 7 at home after Endy Chavez's amazing catch. Still end up losing the game. Cardinals win the World Series.

JETS: 2009/2010 Back-to-back AFC championship losses.

RANGERS: 2014, 20 years since the cup in 1994. They lose in the finals in the most heart-breaking fashion. A mixture of bad luck, and bad calls do them in.

I was fortunate enough to be there at game 7 in 1986 and I hope you get to experience it at some point...

I was also at game 5 against Houston that year in an awesome pitching match up, when Nolan Ryan went against Dwight Gooden. Ryan threw a 2-hitter, Gooden pitched 10 innings. Amazing game. Mets won in the 12th I believe.

I had to go through a lot of sucktastic seasons with the Mets before getting to see that Series win and I hope you get to see them do the same. Sadly, I stopped watching baseball when a fairly thin .270 hitting, 20-25 HR Barry Bonds 'magically' became the altered beast.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Well, everyone, it was a good run. And they gave a good accounting of themselves in the finals. I can't bring myself to go to the main boards, but I would hope that a 4-1 series loss with five overtime periods and some tainted refereeing would have lifted the level of respect for the team. Still, I do believe that the outcome was indicative of the overall play.

I had fun and I was thrilled to get the Pittsburgh monkey off our back and to beat those dirty, diving, whining Montreal players and their fans. (Who would've thunk that Philly was the opponent we would all respect the most - other than LA, of course - when all was said and done?) It was very enjoyable.

That said, at the end of the day, the team did not make it all the way - and I still think it has the same holes it has all along (#1C and, to a lesser extent, a RH PMD). In addition, we've made ours lineup smaller and sacrificed a couple of #1 picks to get this far. (I don't think the 29th overall pick in 2014 is as big a deal as the pick in 2015 could be.) There's plenty of work to do to get back to the SCF, much less win it. Very curious to see what moves management makes in the offseason...

 

[Cake or Death]

Sums it up perfectly.

Yes the refs blew this series like a $5 *****... But we don't finish. Not ever. Chance after chance, year after year... Player after player. The NYR can NOT finish.

Tainted loss because of refs and moronic plays in gm 1 by steps and G... But we still could have overcome... After all of THAT... we could have overcome and didn't because we can't finish.

Just out of curiosity, but how many goals do we actually need to score in game 2 to be safe from the refs? 5... 6... 7? We built a 4-2 lead to start the third and it took LA how long to score their 4th legit goal? We finished enough to win that game and should have walked out of there with a tied series. That freebie goal completely changed the complexion of the game and series. Much easier to play up 2 games to none, with room for error, than the refs forcing you to win 4 in 5, while that little nagging feeling sticks in the back of you somewhere that you know you got royally ****ed. Now I can at least somewhat understand how Flames fans feel after getting screwed in 2004. Different scenarios, but screwed is screwed.

 

[Ail]

This team slayed so many demons this year. Even did some demon slaying in the playoffs. That's huge.

The amount of experience this team gained over the course of this season and post-season in invaluable.

 

[Fugazy]

This team slayed so many demons this year. Even did some demon slaying in the playoffs. That's huge.

The amount of experience this team gained over the course of this season and post-season in invaluable.

I feel like this point is definitely being overlooked. It can only help the core of this team in the long run.

 

[Ail]

I feel like this point is definitely being overlooked. It can only help the core of this team in the long run.

Definitely, and a lot of the best teams in the past 20 years had to lose big before they understood what it took to win.

 

[EEL]

i just can't help but think that with a few different bounces this would be us.

this!

 

[Soth]

Series was tainted because for some reason the league, the Canadian media, and most of the rest of the hockey media wanted the Kings to win.

Really think they needed to prove to everyone that their "west is best" bull**** was going to be true.

I am guilty of thinking this before the series. But the rangers played great and changed my mind. What an amazing game 5 to watch.

Only the most ignorant people will say 'oh the kings won in 5 so they were the much better team'

People that saw the games know that those overtime games could have gone either way. And from what I saw the Rangers outplayed the Kings for a lot of this series, but unfortunately weren't rewarded for it.

 

[Megustaelhockey]

When the Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Final, did anyone here think, "Oh, it's great that we made it this far. Good run." Everyone wanted to win it all.

I don't know if there is a worse feeling than making it to the Final and then getting eliminated. Hopefully, the players on this team can take this experience, so totally unnecessary right now, and turn it into one of the tools that will help them become champions within the next couple of years.

 

[RangerLifer]

I am thinking shoulder. Whatever it is, it took a toll on his skating. When McD's shoulder hurt, it killed his speed, too (along with his passes).

I think it was his arm. I remember in game 1 of the series, he took a hit and he went to the locker room and came back to the bench. Everyone was wondering if he'd be back.