Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: ViewFromSection129 on May 23, 2024, 11:59:18 AMI'm surprised with some of the takes on here.  I thought the Rangers last night were atrocious.  No pressure, no physicality.  Florida hit every Ranger, every time they could.  Other than Cuylle a few times, I remember very few Ranger hits.  You can't dump it in the offensive zone and expect to retrieve the puck without playing the body hard.  And their passing to get out of the defensive zone was poor.

This team has been league average at 5v5, and unless they get a decent amount of PPs or Igor steals a game, they look very pedestrian against top teams.  They have now been outshot in 8 straight games.

I said all along I wanted Boston instead of Florida.  And unless the Rangers change and up their game quickly, this one is going six at best.

It was an ugly, kind of boring game. The Rangers are not going to keep up with Florida at 5v5, but the goal should be to limit their high danger chances as much as possible. The Rangers pretty much did that, but the Rangers couldn't convert on their chances and the power play couldn't score. The raw number of shots on goal is hardly meaningful here.

Didn't realize Banks was rated so low last year by PFF. Thought he played better than that. Interested to see how the entire defense comes along. Think we could probably use another DL body similar to bringing in Robinson on the cheap last year.

Quote from: Gmo11 on May 23, 2024, 11:00:15 AMHe was thinking there was no way his teammate would take a shot at him.  He was clearly mistaken.  He's moving right to left to get into position to stop the shot that might come from the forward on his left where the pass was intended to go...it never got there because Laffy short circuited.

I'm talking about why he went out to play a puck that Gustafsson was very clearly going to get to pretty easily. That set up the whole play. Laf was taking away the cross ice pass and it slid off his stick. The actual goal was kind of just bad luck. Igor's play setting up the opportunity was an absolute brain fart.

Weird, bland, low event game last night. The Rangers didn't play poorly but I also wouldn't say they were good. Kind of held their own at 5v5, but two ugly goals (not really sure what Igor was thinking on that second one) cost them.

So do you we hang 20 in the rafters now or wait until his career is over?

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 14, 2024, 06:16:08 PMAfter I watched that goal and the replay I felt ill. I actually like Schneider and think he's a developing, pretty decent young player. But his complete lack of effort on that play was utterly inexcusable. That's the sort of thing I'd consider benching him for a game over and giving Zac Jones or Chad Ruhwedel a shot in his place.

The problem with that, of course, is that he isn't the only one who should be hanging his head after that game. There are plenty of others, including some who make much, much, much more money than he does.

If they're gonna bench anyone, it should be Trouba or Gustafson for Jones. They've been terrible (Trouba's shorty notwithstanding). I think Schneider got caught flat footed and stuck between giving Staal space and attacking him and just did neither. It was ugly and then only got worse from there.

Ultimately, while game 5 was ugly, it's just one game. Hopefully the Rangers come out better tomorrow night and look a lot more like the team from game 4. Carolina needed three bar and in goals to win on Saturday. If the Rangers play like that, they end it tomorrow and we don't have to go through the heart attack of a game 7.

Quote from: kartanoman on May 14, 2024, 12:47:50 PMYou need not have watched the third period last night; you described it perfectly without seeing it. The entire space in front of Igor was completely undefended. Inexplicable! Cut to a Daffy Duck cartoon where he says "In---des--picable!" and substitute the word and that sums it up.

That first goal by Staal was a complete disaster. Guys going off for changes inexplicable, wide open passing lanes in the neutral zone and then Schneider both gives Staal space AND let's him beat him to the net. Just awful all around.

That third period was probably the worst period of hockey they've played all year. Just completely outplayed top to bottom. Carolina was everywhere and it's clear the Rangers got very panicky at times just kind of flinging pucks all over the place. Fox looks like he's very clearly not at 100% which is hugely problematic.

Hopefully they come out tomorrow looking more like the team from game 4 and can finally put this series away.

To me, you can argue whether the team is better but, to me, it comes down more to process than personnel. The big issue in truly judging Schoen's tenure is that he has not had a chance to get HIS QB. The Giants have played themselves out of the top QBs in each year he's been here.

And in looking at that article, the one place where I'd say they definitely haven't improved is the D-line simply because I don't know if there's anyone there with significant upside beyond Dex. With a group like the secondary, it may not be better NOW than it was when Gettelman left, but it could very well be in the future (gotta see how guys like Banks, Phillips and Nubin progress). When Schoen took over, I doubt many people would have expected James Bradberry to still be here in 2024.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 12, 2024, 12:05:28 PMI think Rempe is what he is - a borderline player who brings a lot of energy and physicality to the table. I would also suggest that it's a bit unfair to conclusively judge him as a player given he is a rookie who played basically 1/3 of the season. If we did that with LaFreniere he'd be off the team by now. Rempe's presence on the ice was felt plenty of times this year, and I don't just mean fighting.

Laf was a first overall pick who put up numbers comparable to Sidney Crosby in Juniors. Matt Rempe was a 6th round pick who put up just 22 points in 96 games in the AHL over the last two seasons. I'm not sure there's much of a reason to think there's more there than we've been getting.

As for him being a liability. We should be directing that question at Peter Laviolette who decided to give him all of 4 minutes in a game that went into double OT and none from the 3rd period on. The question around Rempe comes down to whether the energy he brings is worth it to potentially hamstring yourself late in the game.

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on May 12, 2024, 12:44:16 PMIn game 4, yes he played around 5 mins, but his average ice time throughout the post season is 6.21. Brodzniski played 8.41 last night - you're not scrapping around finding large minutes to replace either one.

However, I do think Carolina have attempted to take more liberties without him in the line-up, there were a number of boarderline incidences last night he could he have kept in check, plus you had Vesey dropping the gloves in Game 3. I don't think that crap occurs with him in the line-up. Furthermore, he's taken 8 PIMs in the post season, again not a disproportionate amount in my view.

My final point to starting him, over Brodzniski only, is the buzz he brings to the home ice crowd - I think that's worth it.

1 PIM for every 4.5 minutes of ice time is a ton. Some of it is not his fault (the goalie interference call he got was garbage) but, again, he clearly has a reputation where he's not going to get the benefit of the doubt. It's also worth noting that Andrei Svechnikov tripped Igor Shesterkin in game 2 when Rempe was in the lineup. As I said, the idea of the deterrent is just not a thing. I'd also point out most of his fights have either been him having to defend himself after a questionable hit or him getting challenge by goons. Even if a deterrent is a thing, he has not really employed that role.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 12, 2024, 10:43:02 AMI don't think Rempe is just a deterrent and nothing more than that. His being in the lineup fires up the fans and the rest of the team. I don't know if you've been to a home game since his arrival, but when he is on the ice fans start immediately chanting his name and the energy level both in the stands and on the ice percolates visibly.

I'm not suggesting he is more than what he is, which is a fringe player on the outside looking in (hence his not having been active recently). I would disagree that he brings nothing additive to the table though, if that is what you are saying.

I appreciate the energy aspect but, beyond that, I'm not sure what else he brings. He's not a highly skilled offensive or defensive player and not a great skater. He's a liability against a team like Carolina that can skate circles around him. There's also that the refs clearly have an eagle eye on him and he's a penalty waiting to happen, which is probably part of why Laviolette hasn't had him out there late. I think the fact that he played just 4 minutes of an 80+ minute game on Tuesday speaks volumes. I just don't know that the positives with him outweight the negatives.

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on May 12, 2024, 03:40:33 AMI thought the Rangers were unlucky last night.

The first two Canes goals came off dreadful D zone turnovers, they then rallied to get back to parity. I thought the refs let a lot more go last night and the Canes got away with a number of penalties - Trocheck was the victim of a double cross check and a then a third as he was on the floor in the 2nd, that one stands out.

Perhaps the Canes took liberties because there was no Rempe. I didn't think Bronzinski added that much, so I'd start Rempe Monday.

Ultimately the Rangers had chances to win but they came up just short. Whilst I didn't expect to win last night, I didn't see anything last night that has me worried. I fully expect Rangers to close on Monday. So much so that once we got the 2nd goal, I was quite relaxed and almost knew the 3rd would come - Igor was locked in and the high volume Canes shooters were being contained.

All in all, 3-1 through 4 is a great place to be.

LGR.

The series has been chippy since game 1. Rempe won't change that and the idea of a deterrent is an old school hockey trope that needs to die. He also can't skate with this team and would be a liability when on the ice. There's a reason he played just 4 minutes of a game that went over 80.

I'd argue that yesterday might have been their best game at evens in this series. If not for some bad early turnovers and a bad penalty late, this series might be over. Also, the Trouba discussion has to happen sooner rather than later. He's been on the ice for something like the last 7 goals against. We could legitimately see a guy get handed the cup by Bettman and bought out a month later.

WHAT A WIN!!! End this on Saturday and give yourself some time off while Florida and Boston eat each other alive.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on May 05, 2024, 02:39:41 PM4. Ball security: Max of 11/12 INTs if his passing TDs are in the 25-29 range, and a max of 14/15 if he's above 30 passing TDs. Fumbles need to be low/mid single digits again.

5. Risk appetite: Jones will need to take more risky shots downfield and not always opt for the closest receiver. Tyrod Taylor did it last year on the same team, and with Nabers and better O linemen Jones needs to do it this year.

6. Pocket/rush awareness: Jones will have to show marked improvement in this area.

Outside of staying healthy, a combination of these things are what I'd need to see. He needs to show that he can effectively read a defense and is willing and able to take chances down the field without putting the ball in harms way. Basically, show that you can be a difference maker and not just somebody who can look good against bad competition.

Quote from: Jolly Blue Giant on May 06, 2024, 01:50:03 PMI like the mix up of Singletary, Tracy, and whoever wins the other RB...probably Gray IMO. It's always advantageous to have a variety of skill sets among those who are going to carry the ball. With Barkley, we were pretty much one-dimensional, not to mention every team we faced schemed for him whenever he was on the field. And we know Tracy can catch a ball and will probably be used like that quite a bit. Should be an exciting year to watch the youngsters get their feet wet on the big game board

How they use Tracy is one of the things I'm most excited to see this year. I can see them designing screens for him and even lining him up as a receiver given his background. Plus he'll probably be our kick returner with the new rules. Will be interesting to see how much they trust him in pass pro though given he's only be an RB for one yaer.