Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: kartanoman on December 02, 2023, 09:08:24 PMAs good as this was, the real test comes tomorrow with that San Jose team whom the Blueshirts seem to struggle against. But a win would be a nice lead-in to the Ottawa road trip for Tuesday and then the quick breather before a "murderer's row" schedule of Washington (away), LA Kings (home), Toronto (home), Anaheim (home), Boston (away), Toronto (away), Edmonton and Buffalo home before Christmas. The Rangers have proven they can play with the best in the league as well as overcome teams which have had their number in the past. They won't win every game but they remain 8-2-0 in their last 10 which is very impressive given whom they've played in those 10 games. Their next big test is to compete against the other contenders whom they haven't played yet. In the Metro, that would obviously be Washington. Over in the Atlantic, in addition to the rematch in Boston Garden, they have to play Florida, Tampa and Toronto. In the Western - Central, they will get another crack at Dallas at home, but will have to play St. Louis and, of course, Colorado. Finally, in the Western - Pacific, the Kings are just around the corner and, on January 26, a hot ticket at the Garden when the Stanley Cup Champion Golden Knights come to town for what could be a battle of the best in each conference and, dare we suggest, a Stanley Cup final fantasy preview? Personally, I'd hold out for a NYR-Colorado series myself, but beggars cannot be choosers. The way this season is playing out so far, there's no reason to think beyond tomorrow night, and remember today's big comeback win.

One final observation. I guess it's good for Igor to get a series of games under his belt to get back in rhythm after recovering from his injury. As good as Quickie has been, the Rangers will go the distance on Igor's back. Seeing him in the third period today reminded me of his outstanding 2021-22 campaign.

Back to the Garden to take the teeth out of the Sharks tomorrow night!

Peace!

There is no such thing as a "murderers row" when you are the best team in the league.  Rangers are now 9-0-1 in their last 10 against SJ.

Quote from: coggs on December 03, 2023, 10:48:38 AMThere is no such thing as a "murderers row" when you are the best team in the league.  Rangers are now 9-0-1 in their last 10 against SJ.

The hatless fans holding onto their hearts as the Sharks took the final shot, and missed, as the exhale was heard all the way out here in Phoenix, as the 6-5 barnburning win goes into the record and the Rangers keep living on the edge.

It's never easy with San Jose, as illustrated by tonight's game.

Tune-up match in Canada's capital on Tuesday.

Rangers back at the top of the NHL. Las Vegas, it's your move.

Peace!

BREAD, BREAD, and more BREAD

A little closer than I would have liked at the end there, but whatever - 2 points is 2 points, and it was two nights in a row. Great stuff.

A Rangers player being interviewed in the Locker Room after the game, said "These back-to-backs are tough".
Thinkin' that one of the two games is away, raises the bar a bit.
Also, in the 2nd game we have a Team that typically plays us tough and is low in the rankings, stets up a strong Trap game scenario.

Quote from: Jaime on December 04, 2023, 07:21:54 PMA Rangers player being interviewed in the Locker Room after the game, said "These back-to-backs are tough".
Thinkin' that one of the two games is away, raises the bar a bit.
Also, in the 2nd game we have a Team that typically plays us tough and is low in the rankings, stets up a strong Trap game scenario.

Well, "trap game" played out tonight. They couldn't keep pace with the Senators, the defense was bad today and Igor was hung out to dry in some cases, while playing a very ordinary game today. Maybe he and Quickie need to go back to alternating games for a while.

Washington waiting in the wings.

Peace!

Our get up and go, must have got up and went...

Hard to be critical of this team right now on any level. They have obviously been nothing short of superb.

I would only point out that we had a game like last night just last week against the Sabres where we didn't remotely show up and got trounced. And then we nearly blew it the other night against the Sharks. Plus we have had deficits in games recently including 2-0 to the Preds. It has been nice to come back from those, but if you run into a hot goalie that's not always doable even if you start playing well after the initial tough start.

This has been the best start in a long time for the Rangers though, so I'm not being remnotely critical overall, but I think the team needs to be mindful of some of the above and try to tighten things up a bit in some of these games. Last night was pretty bad. The best team in the league shouldn't look like that, especially if they just did a week ago against the Sabres and then gave up 5 goals at home to the Sharks.

If they continue to win at the rate that they're winning, then obviously it's fine if their occasional losses are ugly, but it's not ideal to have multiple games like last night in the course of a single week (or 8 days in this case).

The incredible start to the season allows them to have a stinker or two here and there and maintain their status in the division.  Let's not string together too many of those in a row though.  Also, no Kakko, no Chytil and for a large portion of that game no Goodrow.  Doesn't excuse some of the sheer stupidity around their own net last night but perhaps getting those guys back will provide a boost back to the level of play they were showing earlier in the season.

Quote from: Gmo11 on December 06, 2023, 10:29:41 AMThe incredible start to the season allows them to have a stinker or two here and there and maintain their status in the division.  Let's not string together too many of those in a row though.  Also, no Kakko, no Chytil and for a large portion of that game no Goodrow.  Doesn't excuse some of the sheer stupidity around their own net last night but perhaps getting those guys back will provide a boost back to the level of play they were showing earlier in the season.

Fair points.

Any idea on the projected return dates of those guys?

Good discussion on reflecting over the last couple of weeks of play.

I think the break from post-game Tuesday to Saturday's game at Washington, and Sunday's at home against a Kings team, will allow them to regroup, refocus and hopefully clean their game up against two better teams who are trying to keep pace for a playoff spot down the road. The rest is critical because the rest of the calendar year is truly a gauntlet of some of the very best teams in the NHL they'll have to contend with and they have to hold their own.

The most important thing to keep in mind, and most of you already have this mentality in place, is that it's OK for the Rangers to drop a game, here and there, even if it is against a struggling team. As of today, they remain on top of their division a full eight (8) points, and a game in-hand ahead of Carolina, nine (9) points and a game in-hand of Philly and 10 points clear of the Isles. They remain tied with Boston at 37 points and 24 games played for best in the Eastern Conference and, finally, are only two (2) points behind Vegas, with three (3) games in hand, for pole position in the league. They have set themselves up nicely to turn the new year by working down these non-division, non-conference games and build some confidence should they make it to rounds three and four in the playoffs. But the other thing is that I believe the Rangers have performed well in the non-division, intra & inter-conference games where as their division rivals have not.

Kings, Leafs, Ducks all at home then Bruins at Boston for a busy next week is a gauntlet. But it starts with a Saturday date in the Nation's Capital to kick off the gauntlet against the Caps.

The next three (3) weeks will be an up-tick in pressure hockey. Let's see how the new coach handles it.

Peace!

Yikes.

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on December 09, 2023, 09:59:52 PMYikes.

I second that

Has the gauntlet already gobbled them up?

I hope they start Quickie tomorrow because they need to snap out of the funk they're in. Plus, it would be his first time facing his old club.

But getting goose egged by a division rival hurts. Let's see if they can bounce back.

Peace!

Back to back horrific games. Let's see how they do tonight, but this is definitely the first time I have been mildly concerned. It's hard to believe that last night was how they responded to the Ottawa game with that amount of rest. Keep in mind the game before that they nearly blew a home game to the Sharks.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on December 10, 2023, 05:15:29 AMBack to back horrific games. Let's see how they do tonight, but this is definitely the first time I have been mildly concerned. It's hard to believe that last night was how they responded to the Ottawa game with that amount of rest. Keep in mind the game before that they nearly blew a home game to the Sharks.

Yes, agreed. The Senators play a hard nosed game and the Rangers weren't up for the battle. The Sharks, for whatever reason, always play the Rangers close and never give up. So I expected those to be aggravating games for them. But Washington has improved since last year and would be a good Divisional test which they flunked completely. Seeing them supplant Jersey in the top four in the division is no longer a surprise.

Four tough games this week starting tonight with LA at home and ending at Boston on Saturday. If they keep playing the way they are, that lead in the division will evaporate quickly.

Not sure if they've hit a wall but they definitely look slower than in previous games. Also, I'm not satisfied with Igor's play despite his defense is letting jom down at times. Earlier in the season, both he and Quick alternated at much higher rate and that's when the Rangers were winning big. This was Igor's fourth consecutive game, I think, and it's not good when he's giving up goals in the first minutes of games. I'll be keeping an eye on how the team bounces back with Quickie in goal tonight.

I'm not so much worried as I am curious to see how the head coach addresses this slump. A very good team is coming in tonight and a win would shake off the effects of these two losses quickly (pun intended).

Peace!