Big Blue Huddle

Quote from: files58 on March 08, 2024, 03:42:42 PMWhy? You don't know what the asking prices were. Dolan doesn't want to trade this year's #1 because the draft is at one of his properties, and Drury doesn't want to trade Kakko. I agree. The league has a tendency to ask more from the Rangers in trades than other teams. Seattle re-signed Eberle, Anaheim wanted alot for Vatrano. Pittsburgh's rivalry with Carolina is mild compared with that of the Rangers. I could not see the Pens considering sending Guentzel here. Taffoli would have been nice, but the Devils would never do it. Tarasenko's family lives in Florida. So we go to war with what we have. Carolina also got Kuznetsov, but his head may not be straight. Adam Tuch was not going to get traded, and the price for doing so would have been exorbitant. Drury would not part with Othmann and Perrault. Again I agree. People in the know say that Perrault was the steal of the 2023 draft. Bettman must be drooling about Florida. Southwest winner last year, southeast looking really strong, Rangers very relevant, and making money for the league. That's how he wants it in his macro view competing with other sports. We have a micro view.

I don't often agree with you but I do here.nobody knows what the asking price was for Guentzel. And he was only a rental having been public that he would not sign a contract until he became a free agent.  Taffoli was not moved at all, the Devils are on a winning streak.  The Rangers have a good combination of experience and youth and have some high level prospects.  If Shesty is back to playing what he's shown he's capable of, with the right amount of luck, they're in the running.  If they hadn't made the trade for Wennberg,  Drury would have deserved the criticism.  But getting him (for a good price) and some depth pieces, I'm ok with that.

Plenty of reasons.  Drury inherited this core and has done little more than piss away draft picks.  Let's also not forget Buchnevich or Blais or not figuring a way to keep Vatrano.  I'm not saying make moves for the sake of doing so or overpaying but you're either in it to win or you're out.  Have a plan here.  Their main contenders in the East got better.  The Rangers just shored up spots open due to injury.

Toffoli was traded to Winnepeg for picks.

Quote from: Messiah717 on March 08, 2024, 06:40:49 AMCarolina adding Guentzel puts the pressure on Drury to get something done.

Wow! Rempe vs. Guentzel in the Quarterfinals 15 Round heavyweight. I'm buying my front row seats for that one!

Lot of bickering here but files58 is all over this one. Besides, the pressure is more on Brind 'Amore and Carolina since they've won the Metro two years in a row and got dumped unceremoniously in the playoffs both times. This season he and his goons might not catch the Rangers and he'll be on the hot seat.

Methinks if those two team meet in the playoffs, and the Rangers beat them, his seat is on fire.

The final stretch just got more interesting. Can the Rangers just beat the damned Blues, once and for all, tonight?

Peace!

The final acquisitions are in.

Drury sent a conditional 2024 fourth to Columbus for forward Jack Roslovic, a 2027 fourth round pick for defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from Pittsburgh, and swapped career journeymen with Minnesota in getting forward Nic Petan from Minnesota for Turner Elson, both AHL players.

Holes technically filled, but will they be enough to match up against Carolina or Florida in post-season?

Welcome to the latest Rangers, now beat the Blues, will ya?

Peace!

Outstanding performance by the Rangers last night. Shesty with the shutout, Bread was all over the place making plays, Fox looked really good, Rempe was not just hitting but was a serious offensive presence (his goal looked good to me but whatever), and the new guys looked ok.

I like that they had a long rest and didn't come out rusty, as we have seen with them in the past. They looked incredibly sharp. 4-0 is a dominant score, but it easily could have been 6 or 7-0.

The schedule is ruthlessly tough this month. They're about to be seriously tested these next two to three weeks. Based on what I saw last night, they look ready for the challenge to me.

Well, they finally delivered, in convincing fashion, over the Blues with a 4-0 shutout which included the debut of two of their new acquisitions, Roslovic and Wennberg. Both played the full game and started to get in sync with their new teammates right away. Roslovic had more puck time and looked sharp with the Z-man and Kreider. Wennberg was doing his thing on the penalty kill team and getting to know the third line.

But it was Trocheck, in his 700th NHL game, who opened the scoring last night with a deflection that tipped both him and the Blues' defender before redirecting past the goalie Binnington. The Rangers' defense then set up Jimmy Vesey for a breakaway which his powerful wrist shot hit part of Binnington's stick before rolling past him and into the goal for the 2-0 to end the first period and deflate the Blues.

The Rangers almost went up 3-0 when Rempe blasted a shot which hit the crossbar, post and bounced halfway across, bit not completely over the goal line, so no goal was awarded.

The Rangers withstood the charge of the Blues in the final period with another outstanding performance from Igor who was able to preserve his second shutout for the season. 38 saves in all, his record is 8-1-1 in his last 10 with the only loss being the Florida game. Goals from Kreider and Kakko sealed this game of retribution and made it a perfect weekend with the Devils at the Garden coming up on Monday.

The days or rest are over. The final grind begins now. Six games in nine days with all tough teams. Carolina and Florida are flexing their muscles to solidify their standing, Tampa is trying to lock in their playoff spot, the big boys are now coming out to play and the little kids are going home to their mommies and being tucked in for the night. This is all the real deal from here on in and you can feel the tension begin to build. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you look at the March schedule, and if the Rangers are still in first place come April 1, they deserve to be called a contender in the post-season. They know what they have to deal with against Carolina, Florida and Boston, all of which they play this month, and possibly the post season.

For now, it's the Devils. Then, next day, the big one in Carolina. Two days later, a rejuvenated Tampa, then Saturday at Pittsburgh which is back to back with the Isles at the Garden Sunday. Then comes Hellebuyck and Winnipeg next Tuesday at the Garden in a huge matchup. Tough, tough grind, folks!!!

Peace!

Another strong performance by the Rangers. Like the previous game, they had a ton of quality chances in this game.

Rempe is doing a lot of great things out there, so overall my assessment of him is very positive, but he needs to be smarter than throwing that blatant elbow at someone's face like that. Thankfully his team bailed him out with a great penalty kill, but gift-wrapping a 5 minute major to your opponent like that in that spot was brutal. Again, it's way more good than bad with him, but he needs to learn from that. You just can't do that.

Our D-men played great. Lindgren and Gustaffson were among the three stars of the game.

Great to see Mika score in 5-on-5... need more of that.

Even though it was the Devils the Rangers could have been looking ahead to tomorrow, and the Canes. I am starting to like the lockdown look they are playing with. Roslovic, and Wennberg both bring speed, which I felt we needed. Roslovic may or may not fit with Zeb/Kreids, but Wennberg could provide a third line match up advantage. The Devils had a number of chances that a better/playoff team might have scored on. It's got to get a little tighter. Jones is playing OK in Trouba's absence.

How long do you think Rempe will be suspended for?

Quote from: EDjohnst1981 on March 12, 2024, 05:50:43 AMHow long do you think Rempe will be suspended for?

Don't know, but they'll probably lock him down long enough so he learns elbows to thr face, no matter how tall you are, won't get you far in this league.

But he is definitely a cult hero for sure! So, hopefully not too long!

Peace!

Quote from: files58 on March 11, 2024, 11:21:14 PMEven though it was the Devils the Rangers could have been looking ahead to tomorrow, and the Canes. I am starting to like the lockdown look they are playing with. Roslovic, and Wennberg both bring speed, which I felt we needed. Roslovic may or may not fit with Zeb/Kreids, but Wennberg could provide a third line match up advantage. The Devils had a number of chances that a better/playoff team might have scored on. It's got to get a little tighter. Jones is playing OK in Trouba's absence.

Roslovic is still getting used to the speed on his line. The day they signed him, they brought him coast to coast, dressed him and played him. I think he'll eventually click with Kreider and the Z-Man. Both he and Wennberg's speed are a stark contrast to many Rangers out there. They're going to find their niche with this team but now they have to do it against the best in the league starting tonight.

Rangers at Canes. It doesn't get any better than that. It's time to make a statement and tonight's as good a night to do it.

Let's see how they go.

Peace!

Back-to-back games, back-to-back victories!

Igor: back-to-back shutouts in consecutive games!

What a pressure-packed performance tonight from both the Rangers and Canes!

The Rangers' goalie, who is now starting to turn his game up to that level we observed two seasons ago. But what is fascinating is that the defense is coming up big without Trouba in the lineup. Fox is rapidly becoming a cornerstone as an attacking defender. After Igor, give him the #2 star of the game not only for the lone goal of the game but for stopping so many dangerous Carolina attacks throughout the contest. But he was by no means the lone defensive star as his teammates Jones, Miller and Lindgren all held the fort down when Carolina attacked like gangbusters, but also stood tall in the third period after the Canes were spent and pushed away nearly every attack.

For the Rangers to contend for the Cup, they are going to have to win a series against this Carolina team in the second round. The survivor would have to take on Florida which would be a near insurmountable task; especially if the series goes the full seven games as it did two seasons ago.

But tonight was one game. It served its purpose of extending the Rangers' lead in the Metro. Now it's onto Tampa for an important match since the opponent could possibly be a first round playoff matchup.

Savor tonight's big win. It only gets tougher from here.

Peace!

Shesty certainly looks back! He's had a string of games now where he's looked like his old self again. If he's going to play like this from here on out the rangers are capable of beating anybody.

Canes goalie was also red hot yesterday including stopping a 2 v 0 breakaway. One fluky goal was all they could get past him but Shesty and the suddenly formidable defense made sure it held up.

That game kinda had a playoff feel to it given the importance to the standings and it was great to see the rangers come out on top with 2 clean points.

What I noticed from the beginning of the season is that this Ranger team effectively keeps the opposition to the outside in their own zone. Of course there are some breakdowns, but they have a very effective checking structure. One of the faults of the Lundquist Rangers was their heavy reliance on him. Looking back the Brodeur Cup Devils employed a blanket checking(trap, left wing lock) defense BACKSTOPPED by an All-World goalie. This Ranger team has a strong checking system backstopped by an All-NHL if not All-World goalie, and the #2 is a 3x Cup champ. The goalie can be your best player without having to be so heavily relied upon. This Ranger team is taking on that personality. Not too long ago I felt Carolina had a noticeable edge in team speed. Not anymore. The additions of Wennberg, and Roslovic have added that speed ingredient. 1-0 on the road, in a playoff type atmosphere, in a race for first. I mentioned in a post two days ago that I liked their lockdown look, and that I see room for it to get tighter. Even after last night it still can get tighter. That's what wins. LGR.