Post-Game Talk: wing

[Fitzy]

Not sure how you'd quantify that....

We are at the bottom of the league at giving up High Danger Chances. We are really weak in the middle of the ice and weak through the neutral zone. We concede so much space to the opposing team.

IF anything, I'd argue Shesty is a Vezina/Hart candidate in spite of Gallant's system.

We've been bottom of the barrel all season at 5v5. There's no sugar coating it. Shesty and our Special Teams have led us to over perform.

Shesty is the best in the world at stopping shots clean. His one big weakness is his size, which makes him more vulnerable to deflections and screens.

NYR have made clearing the front of the net and avoiding those kinds of traffic situations a big priority this season. They've gone in with the philosophy that if Shesty sees it, he'll stop it, which has made a huge difference.

There's no disagreement from me about the advanced stats and high danger scoring chances. Sure. We've quantifiably given up a lot of them. But part of that is the way our team is playing defense. Our team would much sooner give up a dangerous shooting chance than a deflection or rebound opportunity.

You could tell Jones wasn't used to playing with the NHL club last night- he didn't do his job clearing the net front and the puck pinballed in.

 

[Lgrsean]

Pic related is 99% of the reason for that. Gallant has nothing to do with that.

So was it all Igor when he coached Vegas to the finals their 1st year in the league? .583 point percentage w/ Florida. .601 w/ Vegas. .684 so far with the Rangers. The guy sure wins a lot for such a loser.

 

[duhmetreE]

Shesty is the best in the world at stopping shots clean. His one big weakness is his size, which makes him more vulnerable to deflections and screens.

NYR have made clearing the front of the net and avoiding those kinds of traffic situations a big priority this season. They've gone in with the philosophy that if Shesty sees it, he'll stop it, which has made a huge difference.

There's no disagreement from me about the advanced stats and high danger scoring chances. Sure. We've quantifiably given up a lot of them. But part of that is the way our team is playing defense. Our team would much sooner give up a dangerous shooting chance than a deflection or rebound opportunity.

You could tell Jones wasn't used to playing with the NHL club last night- he didn't do his job clearing the net front and the puck pinballed in.

There's a part I agree with but also don't like. They give, or attempt to give, Shesty clean lanes to see the puck... sure in theory that sounds good.

How it gets to that point is another point of contention. We are probably one of the worst teams in the neutral zone, in both facets of the game. We let other teams/players just freely skate into our zone. We literally give them all the space they want until they get to the dots... Our gaps/spacing/puck pressure has been abysmal all season. Just as bad as our spacing/puck support on offense. We are also really sloppy at covering the high danger areas if the team maintains possession/cycles.

There's just way too many issues to overlook. I do not conflate our record with Gallant's coaching. It doesn't mean he does everything bad but there are some inexcusable things.

We are where we are because of Shesty and Special Teams. I want to believe things tighten up but at what point will that happen?

 

[Fitzy]

There's a part I agree with but also don't like. They give, or attempt to give, Shesty clean lanes to see the puck... sure in theory that sounds good.

How it gets to that point is another point of contention. We are probably one of the worst teams in the neutral zone, in both facets of the game. We let other teams/players just freely skate into our zone. We literally give them all the space they want until they get to the dots... Our gaps/spacing/puck pressure has been abysmal all season. Just as bad as our spacing/puck support on offense. We are also really sloppy at covering the high danger areas if the team maintains possession/cycles.

There's just way too many issues to overlook. I do not conflate our record with Gallant's coaching. It doesn't mean he does everything bad but there are some inexcusable things.

I agree with most of this, but my reading of the game is that the bolded is a direct consequence of the commitment to clearing the net front. You watch our defensive zone coverage and it's pretty clear that's priority number one. That opens up a lot more time and space in the shot for good scoring chances.

As for Gallant- my biggest complaint all season has been the transition game with, and without heavy forecheck pressure. I don't know exactly where the root of the problem lies, but for me part of it is that the third and fourth lines have been a trainwreck all season. Maybe Gallant gets some blame for that, but our bottom 6 has been terrible in most combinations he's had to offer this season.

Chytil, McKegg, Gauthier can't collect a pass in the neutral zone and turn it into something productive if their lives depended on it.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

So was it all Igor when he coached Vegas to the finals their 1st year in the league? .583 point percentage w/ Florida. .601 w/ Vegas. .684 so far with the Rangers. The guy sure wins a lot for such a loser.

And he got fired from all those jobs. He ever win a championship.

There's a reason he continues to be fired.

 

[duhmetreE]

I agree with most of this, but my reading of the game is that the bolded is a direct consequence of the commitment to clearing the net front. You watch our defensive zone coverage and it's pretty clear that's priority number one. That opens up a lot more time and space in the shot for good scoring chances.

As for Gallant- my biggest complaint all season has been the transition game with, and without heavy forecheck pressure. I don't know exactly where the root of the problem lies, but for me part of it is that the third and fourth lines have been a trainwreck all season. Maybe Gallant gets some blame for that, but our bottom 6 has been terrible in most combinations he's had to offer this season.

Chytil, McKegg, Gauthier can't collect a pass in the neutral zone and turn it into something productive if their lives depended on it.

I dont know what I was expecting tbh. I was looking for pre-covid NYR or Gallants Vegas... where the forecheck/pressure was relentless. Attacking. We are no where close to that and I don't know anymore

This team is frustrating to watch. 5v5 it feels like we are massively underachieving.

 

[jay from jersey]

I dont know what I was expecting tbh. I was looking for pre-covid NYR or Gallants Vegas... where the forecheck/pressure was relentless. Attacking. We are no where close to that and I don't know anymore

This team is frustrating to watch. 5v5 it feels like we are massively underachieving.

a lot also stems from our center ice position. It’s largely where the breakdowns occur.
Zibby’s best D is when he has the puck on his stick, because the other team doesn’t have it. None of Zibby/strome/chytil are particularly strong defensive centers.
None of them are physical.
Even Rooney isn’t the greatest, but he’s the best of the bunch.
When you have breakdowns on D from the center being defensively exposed, it snowballs into other areas.
It’s a big reason why I would like strome replaced. We have no match up center whatsoever.
Barron was being groomed as a big N/S responsible center for the last 2 years, but GG won’t put him there.
It’s also a big reason why I think if chytil doesn’t switch to wing, he’s likely gone from any future plans.
The hope was Barron can come in next year and fill the 3C roll, but I have no clue what their plans are for this kid.
We need at least 1, preferably 2 responsible 2-way centers.
Guys your not afraid to throw out there with a lead.
Cutting strome loose at the end of the season and swinging a big trade is def a good start.
Hopefully they at least put Barron at 4C and give him a chance to work his way up

 

[Loff]

One of the weirdest shootouts I've seen in a while. It was so bad aside from Igor.

 

[Lgrsean]

And he got fired from all those jobs. He ever win a championship.

There's a reason he continues to be fired.

But no reason why he made the finals in the Knights 1st year in the NHL and has gotten the points he has out of his last 3 teams?

The Rangers are on pace for 112 points. What pace would they be on with a better coach in his first year? 132 is the highest in NHL history when Montreal won the cup 4x in a row. Bowman had already been the coach for 5 seasons and already won 2 cups, so maybe that's not a fair comparison for Gallant though.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

So was it all Igor when he coached Vegas to the finals their 1st year in the league? .583 point percentage w/ Florida. .601 w/ Vegas. .684 so far with the Rangers. The guy sure wins a lot for such a loser.

And guiding a not so great Canadian roster to a World Championship after falling to 0-3.

To me, thats one of his biggest accomplishments as a coach.

You can debate his system and merits all you want. You can talk about how Shesty is the reason for the great success this team has had.

But when you boil it down this team has basically secured a playoff spot with 40+ games to go havng to deal with injuries along the way, covid crap, an extremely young d corp, a very tough schedule in the first half and all as a coach in his first year. He has done a good job.

The other thing is it was all unexpected for the most part. So making this team a Cup favorite isnt the bar that was set. Sure there are a lot of warts on this team. Many other teams have them as well. Are they a paper tiger? Maybe. But they keep winning and they have the game breaking talent and coach to show they can keep it up.

 

[Lgrsean]

And guiding a not so great Canadian roster to a World Championship after falling to 0-3

I don't know what to believe. On one hand, his results speak for themselves, his former and current players and employers all respect him.

Here's a quote from when Vegas hired him, before he coached them to the finals - "In the eight months of vetting, we never heard a negative word about Gerard Gallant, the person," McPhee said. "He will bring to our club a plan, a calmness as we grow. As a coach, he has been someone his former employers really respect and liked, as a man and a coach."

But then on the other hand, if you listen to sadclown he's a born and bred loser.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

But no reason why he made the finals in the Knights 1st year in the NHL and has gotten the points he has out of his last 3 teams?

The Rangers are on pace for 112 points. What pace would they be on with a better coach in his first year? 132 is the highest in NHL history when Montreal won the cup 4x in a row. Bowman had already been the coach for 5 seasons and already won 2 cups, so maybe that's not a fair comparison for Gallant though.

They'd probably be on pace for 112 points but they'd be playing a whole lot better and look like a team that will actually compete in the playoffs.

 

[Boris Zubov]

I dont know what I was expecting tbh. I was looking for pre-covid NYR or Gallants Vegas... where the forecheck/pressure was relentless. Attacking. We are no where close to that and I don't know anymore

This team is frustrating to watch. 5v5 it feels like we are massively underachieving.

I'm going to guess Gallant hasn't changed his desire for his team to play that way. Currently our roster as constructed doesn't have the players capable of executing that system. We are a slow plodding team up & down the lineup. Even guys like Panarin & Fox aren't very quick, as agile as they may be.

 

[duhmetreE]

I'm going to guess Gallant hasn't changed his desire for his team to play that way. Currently our roster as constructed doesn't have the players capable of executing that system. We are a slow plodding team up & down the lineup. Even guys like Panarin & Fox aren't very quick, as agile as they may be.

then our puck movement needs to be crisp... which is just as poor

 

[Boris Zubov]

then our puck movement needs to be crisp... which is just as poor

Agreed, not only are we not a fast team skating wise, we also play extremely slow. We react to the other team, instead of forcing the opponent to play at a pace we dictate.

 

[leetch99]

Detroit fans have been insufferable so I wouldn't mind Raymond's numbers tanking.
But he's produced whereas Laf hasn't.

Produced on the PP...not so much 5 on 5 . I had looked it up a couple of weeks ago .

 

[leetch99]

So was it all Igor when he coached Vegas to the finals their 1st year in the league? .583 point percentage w/ Florida. .601 w/ Vegas. .684 so far with the Rangers. The guy sure wins a lot for such a loser.

I like Gallant...but I would almost bet that if we had 20 guys here all playing for an extension or a new contract or a contract period...then our effort on many nights would indeed be improved .

 

[Lgrsean]

I like Gallant...but I would almost bet that if we had 20 guys here all playing for an extension or a new contract or a contract period...then our effort on many nights would indeed be improved .

That's all of professional sports though, right? I mean, I work harder at my job when I know there's money on the line, and I don't even make half, or a fiftieth of what bread makes.

 

[leetch99]

I dont know what I was expecting tbh. I was looking for pre-covid NYR or Gallants Vegas... where the forecheck/pressure was relentless. Attacking. We are no where close to that and I don't know anymore

This team is frustrating to watch. 5v5 it feels like we are massively underachieving.

Our bottom 6 sucks and guys like Panarin - Zibs and Strome -Chytil and Kreider are either too slow or too soft or too pretty or too nice to play that game . At this point Gallant in his fairness simply has the wrong mix up front to play like that . Igor covers up the faults and Turk just grins and sucks it up but he is madder then a hornet on the inside with some of these inconsistent stars....

 

[leetch99]

then our puck movement needs to be crisp... which is just as poor

Yup...I was thinking that the other day while watching some Penguin videos.....we need to increase the practice tempo .

 

[CLW]

Yup...I was thinking that the other day while watching some Penguin videos.....we need to increase the practice tempo .

I thought so too watching the Wings execute the basics at a much higher tempo last night. Especially in the first period.

 

[will1066]

It was only their second game after a long break, so im going to give them the benefit of a doubt. Usually takes 5 games to get back in the groove.

 

[Unpredictable1]

Some fans choose to be happy only when the Rangers win by convincing fashion. Playing well means nothing if they lose. Winning means nothing if they play poorly. Winning record means nothing after a single loss. All of it is inherently contradictory, but that doesn't matter.

This is my favorite.

 

[Anthony5967]

Have any of you showed up to games on the road to try and catch some guys before they go into the arena? I’m looking to go against Tampa in March at Amalie and wanted to bring my little sister out for the game. Wondering if there’s a good time and spot to go? Thanks all

 

[duhmetreE]

Yup...I was thinking that the other day while watching some Penguin videos.....we need to increase the practice tempo .

You practice how you play and you play how you practice.

I said it before the break, Gallant, IMO has been too soft on them... As he said he would be because of the scheduling...

There's also still no vocal leadership on the team. If anything a bonafide vocal leader needs to be added.