Big Blue Huddle

Bumping this back up since the gloom and doom has temporarily been replaced by the two consecutive wins over Washington and Seattle.

The Pacific Division Road trip starts tonight in Vegas as they take on the champs who have cooled off a bit, similar to themselves, and should make for a great opportunity to get their mojo back if they can get a win. I believe I read that Igor will start in goal tonight so that Quickie will take on his old team Saturday night. The Kings game is the first of a back-to-back schedule where the Quackers of Anaheim await them on the back-end Sunday night. A travel day up to Silicon Valley and a Tuesday match against the Sharks ends the road trip; however, the Rangers return home for a few days' rest and complete their Pacific Division schedule block with the champs visiting the Garden next Friday.

The Rangers kicked their season into high gear when they completed their Western Canadien road-trip early in the season with a perfect 5-0 record and blazed ahead in the Metro Division. This would be the perfect opportunity to run the table out west once again with another 5-0 run and get back on track heading into February where huge matchups (i.e. Colorado, Dallas) await them while the Metro Division games start picking up towards the back end of the month.

Now that Kakko is back, and the team is playing a little better, let's see if they can start building some momentum with the marquee matchups ahead of them the next few days.

Peace!

Quote from: files58 on January 12, 2024, 09:38:16 AMMy previous post "I've belabored this point a number of times. Too much stick checking, and not enough body checking. If in close proximity put your shoulder into chest/shoulders of the puck carrier. If along the boards try to put them through it without any head shots. Knock them off balance, mess up timing, make them keep their heads up. PLAY MEAN HOCKEY, damnit. You can't give up your Blue Line without creating some sort of gauntlet."  I wish there was a way to instill in each Ranger a New Yorker Ranger fan attitude. Meaning f u. All over the ice. I want a team no one wants to play against. Zib(his line) needs to have a Right Wing that can score and create. It's been lacking for way too long.

I hear you but, apart from a handful of players, these guys aren't built that way. What they were doing well, early on, isn't working and that happens when you are 1. playing short, 2. have an inconsistent starting goalie and 3. are at the tail end of the gauntlet of your schedule and you're a little beat up and worn down right now.

This, then, lies ahead for the new head coach to do something different than his predecessors in order to take the next step. Nearly every other team has gone through their slump; now, the Rangers are going through theirs after holding on for a long time. It's part of a season and they have to manage and work through it without going into the ditch.

They have a home and away back-to-back with Washington matinee to shake off the funk before the final leg of their gauntlet schedule where the reigning champs and the California teams would love nothing more than to get even with the Rangers from their MSG debacles.

Call it their first gut-check of the season. Hopefully it won't require too many Quickie reverse-scorpion saves to get back in the win column.

Peace!

Wow, Demco had an all-world game against the Rangers and the defense couldn't hang with Vancouver's big boys on offense. An outstanding effort by Trocheck (two goals) was wasted.

In reality, the Canucks were opportunistic and their goal scoring prowess was on full display for all to see. Seeing Igor literally turned into a pretzel on one of the goals left me a believer that their +/- goal differential is no fluke.

Not sure how to assess the Rangers' performance tonight. They were getting the puck on goal with some excellent chances. Demco played out of his mind tonight. In contrast, Igor lost his confidence early and was hung out to dry as his defense looked lost at times. But the truth is that Vancouver's offensive stars put on a clinic tonight and the Rangers tried hard to respond but couldn't.

Off to Saint Louis and another gauntlet challenge.

Peace!

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on January 07, 2024, 08:10:53 AMLast night was just a great hockey game. Montreal played tremendously well. We gave up too many quality chances (they hit a handful of clean posts), but we played with energy and had a lot of chances of our own. The crowd was intense. I didn't think it was a bad effort on our part at all. Just came up a little short in the end. It was not looking good initially when we were down 3-0, so we should some teeth to get back into it and force an OT.

I completely agree. I actually watched it on the Hockey Night in Canada feed on the NHL Network and they echoed your sentiments precisely. In many ways, it took me back to the early to mid 80s when I'd watch Hockey Night in Canada off an Ontario channel that came with our cable TV in upstate NY and the parochial crowds were just electric. So glad to know nothing has changed because it makes the game so much better in terms of atmosphere and excitement.

Montreal has played pretty well lately and they definitely came to play. But it really became electric after the Rangers tied the score and both teams were skating coast to coast in setting up chances for the winner which never came in regulation or the five-minute overtime. Both goalies completely shutting down the other team in the end was a clinic; however, the Rangers' luck was in play with their sloppy clearances which almost cost them several times.

I mentioned that I loved the Trocheck acquisition and watching he and the Breadman work their magic is becoming a league-wide attention-getter. Those two have been on a tear and other teams haven't figured them out just yet. You can bang Trocheck around, knock him down or push and shove him after a stoppage; however, he just keeps coming at them and his crafty face-off pass to Panarin who scored was as great a play as there's been in the league thus far in the season.

It's always good to measure your game against another division leader. Vancouver coming to the Garden should be a great test on Monday and the first of a number of huge spotlight games ahead.

They're not playing at their absolute best but they're still on top. But the gauntlet gets hard over the next 30 days, or so, and how they come out of it, and into the heart of their schedule of divisional rivals will tell a story of their toughness and resiliency. I also expect Drury to make an addition or two for the final run. It's anyone's guess as to whom he might pursue; however, I'm glad we're seeing some of the kids, like Brendan Othmann, getting their chance to earn a longer stay in the big leagues.

Peace!

Three of four points over the last two games, Othmann's debut, Trocheck and Panarin continue their magic, and a nice comeback from 0-3 last night to salvage a point in Montreal and their parochial home crowd made for a good end to the week.

Next up the visiting Canucks on Monday who lead the Pacific with 53 points. The Rangers, meanwhile share the NHL lead at 54 with Boston and the surprising Winnipeg Jets, who are on fire at the moment, with the Avs on their heels at 53, who were beaten down by Florida last night in a bit of a surprise. Vegas beat the Islanders last night but remain two points behind the Canucks at 51.

The Rangers still lead the league with 26 wins. The Canucks and a home and away back to back series with Washington are a good lead into the final phase of the gauntlet which is their Pacific Division road trip. It would be great to hit the road with a winning streak, but first thing's first with Vancouver.

Peace!

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on January 03, 2024, 01:49:05 PMI don't know Kart. Making fun of 9/11 is about as low as it gets. Hard to give anyone a pass or any benefit of any doubt for that.

I understand where you are coming from, and the image, as well as the events surrounding that day of infamy, rock me to my core as it does you and everyone else here. For us having grown up in proximity to the now-hallowed Ground Zero, we are forever changed by the terrorist acts of the day. How we identify pure ignorance, and understand intent, and how we go about setting straight the creator of this offensive graphic, can be accomplished one of two ways: one, with a response as mature as the individual who created and posted it or, two, educate, then acknowledge their team's win and that they can be assured the Rangers will have their response ready to deliver first class the next time the two teams play.

It was in poor taste, to say the least, and down-right sickening in its misapplication to New York as it was an attack on the United States of America; meaning, it was also an attack on Charlotte, North Carolina and surrounding country bumpkin' communities and towns across that fine state.

But some still think the Civil War hasn't ended yet, if you catch my drift.

Peace!

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on January 03, 2024, 12:59:29 PMClassy.

https://twitter.com/92In82/status/1742555232381333854

Having spent my mid-20s, and nearly my entire 30s in the deep south, dating back to the "My Cousin Vinny" era, you learn to appreciate the differences in your upbringing and look for the best in everyone. Sometimes, you run across a few happy-slappy folks whose elevator doesn't quite go all the way to the top floor. I will give this one-eyed fan the benefit of the doubt despite the very bad optics.

Pass the grits and live to play another day.

Peace!

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on January 02, 2024, 10:31:20 PMUgh.

I can't help but feel partially responsible! First game I go to this year and that's the result?

I'm going to choose to assume these guys had a wild new years eve and were still feeling the effects. For the first half of the game or so I didn't think they were awful but they definitely looked bad on specials. Then they just imploded. Awful night. Really inept, and I hated the way they basically quit in the third period. At least skate it out and try.

We could joke around and suggest it was you; however, Carolina cold-cocked them early and they couldn't get in any rhythm after that. That's what that team does and all the Rangers can do is flush that one and try to pick up wins in the next two Original Six games, starting with Chicago on Thursday.

I'm so sorry they didn't play well for you last night. I'll try to make it up for you when they head out this way for the Coyotes March 30th.

Peace!

Carolina has played very well and are hot on special teams the last month. It clearly shows in tonight's game but a lot of bad puck distribution by Igor tonight took the bloom off his rose of outstanding play lately.

Again, you can't give the opponent a goal in the opening minute. It's been a recipe for disaster for the Rangers and now they're going to start hearing footsteps in the Metro division with the Canes the hottest team now in the division.

Peace!

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on December 31, 2023, 08:51:26 AMHuge win last night. Bread and Shesty had huge nights. Trocheck also played great and is really having a big year for us. I wasn't as crazy about him last year (though I recognized he was an upgrade to Strome) but he's really getting it done this year.

We need to just keep the heat on. Carolina is always tricky, but at least that's at home. The next two games after that (Chicago and Montreal) are manageable. We need to keep our guard up for opponents like these.

We have won three of our last four and six of our last eight. We're in a very solid place right now. Shesty has found his game again, and our top star forwards have been great. Just need to keep it going. Trade deadline is still two and a half months away, so we are very much in the slog phase of the regular season still. The key is to try to maintain momentum, avoid very long bad spells, and above all remain healthy, especially as we start to get closer to spring.

In the near term I really don't care about things like where we are in the power rankings or what the exact seed is. Yes, I'd like for the Rangers to be able to have home ice in every series they play, but I care a lot more about how healthy and how hot we are going into the playoffs than I do about the exact seed.

I also think Laviolette (who has clearly done a fabulous job to this point) needs to really look at what has plagued this team in playoff hockey in the past and start thinking about his plan for that if he hasn't already. Bread has to be better. And he's not the only one. This team got bounced in the first round last year and was frankly extremely lucky the same didn't happen the year before, as we needed OT in game seven to get past the Pens in the first round, and they were playing with backup and third string goaltenders in that series. Had they had a healthy Jarry the whole way, we were getting ousted in the first round that year two. I think Laviolette and Drury need to own that fact and have a real strategic vision around the playoffs this year as they get closer. This team now has sufficient playoff experience to where that's no longer an excuse, and there is enough tape out there showing why they struggle with playoff hockey. This should be on their minds as we approach the trade deadline too and they think about adding role players.

I really like your write-up and especially as it pertains to staying healthy and seeing Trouba out there, last night, and the hope of adding Kappo in the future. Chytil, however, is becoming a growing concern and his individual case is one the Rangers have to do the right thing on and br prepared to shut him down for good, this season at a minimum.

You mention the trade deadline in a couple of months. I read someone's blog who suggested they go after Tampa's Stemko to add fire power to the second line (NOTE: this had to have been about six weeks ago, I'd guess). There's no doubt he still has game in him; however, I'd have to wait and see. Even though the Rangers kept him in check yesterday, Tampa have been slow off the starting line this year, their goalie is only returning from back surgery and they didn't look close to the form which put the 2021-22 Rangers out of the playoffs down 0-2 inches semis. But, to your point, a Stemko might be exactly what they need if Panarin, Kreider or Z-man drop off as we head to the playoffs.

Trocheck has been a favorite of mine since they picked him up. A spitfire player, always causing havoc around the goal and is determined when taking faceoffs. He's really an unsung hero of last night's game. But he also has no fear when getting bounced around the boards when fighting for the puck. Best of all, he does take anything from anyone and I love that spirit in him. The Rangers need players like him, but bigger, in the playoffs. That would be my suggestion to the decision makers upstairs.

The Rangers have played some very tough teams, as well as teams who usually give them fits, and have been impressive to date. They'll lock horns out this way soon with the Champs, the California teams, host the Rocky Mountain Boys which are all great tests for them. But then come all the Divisional matchups where they'll make hay. Islanders and Flyers in the top four??? What's going on in the metro? The Devils are slowly starting to wake up. Carolina is always dangerous. Pittsburgh can win any game on any day. 2023 has been fun. Happy New Year and bestow wishes for some hardware returning to the Garden in 2024!

Peace!

The Rangers have an outstanding bounce back performance after losing the first game of a back to back schedule. Tonight's game was no different as they came out attacking and put two goals on Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy right away. Even after Tampa tried to play their aggressive forechecking game, the Rangers were up to the task and shut down many attacks and kept Stemko and company in check.

Meanwhile, Panarin stole the show by delivering a hat trick while Trocheck delivered four points. Igor was a wall in goal tonight and he has completely shaken off his funk to behin looking like the Igor we are used to seeing.

The Canes visit the Garden on January 3rd.

Peace!

Tough loss, 4-3, but one hell of a Hockey game where both teams played hard and both goalies (NOTE: Quickie played tonight) had outstanding performances.

Foe every answer the Rangers had for Florida's goals, the Panthers had a response to keep the visitors at arm's length.

Quickie did his very best to keep the Rangers in the game. His reverse scorpion save stood out as save of the game, and will undoubtedly be under consideration for save of the year with its magic awe inspiring.

If you watched the game, you saw the Rangers miss several breakaway opportunities. But Panarin and the Z-man scored beauties to pump life into the team. But after the Z-man tied the game at three each, the Panthers scored the winner almost immediately and then held on for dear life to the end.

Very much a gauntlet-like game for the Rangers who held their own but came up short.

Igor starts in goal tomorrow against Tampa. Hopefully they'll bounce back as they have all season.

Peace!

Quote from: Giant Jim on December 29, 2023, 11:17:00 AMYes, I knew Edstroem was called up, but as a back-up forward, not defense. They need an extra forward on the trip to FL in case one goes down. They already have an extra defenseman with Jones, but I thought Truba is going to play, so Jones sits out again.

Rangers Jacob Trouba Feeling Good

Looks like he passed concussion protocol and is a good chance to play tonight so I retract my previous statement. I was reading some news blips from yesterday before getting word this morning.

Peace!

Quote from: Giant Jim on December 29, 2023, 10:48:07 AMWhere did you see that Truba is out tonight? NY Post says he's OK and practiced fully. Edstrom is a wing. Jones is the 7th defenseman, I don't think they have an extra forward.

See below:

Rangers Recall Edstroem

Edit to add:

Trouba traveled with the team to Florida. It appeared he was tested for concussion but was cleared so there's a good chance he'll play. Edstrom is with the team as well but he's a healthy scratch for tonight.

Quote from: coggs on December 28, 2023, 08:01:19 PMWest Coast trip? What schedule are you using?  That is not for 3 weeks and it starts in Vegas.

Thank you for correcting my mistake. The West Coast road trip begins in Vegas on 01/18, LA Kings on the 20th, Mighty Quackers on the 21st and the Sharks on the 23rd. Then they come home to host Vegas on the 26th. That officially ends the gauntlet I was speaking of; however, I'm keeping my eye on the Colorado Avs game at the Garden on 02/25 as another huge game.

But tonight's and tomorrow's games are gauntlet material with the Canes coming to the Garden next Tuesday.

Trouba is out for a while with the big guy, Edstrom, called up and may play tonight.

Peace!