The Game That Got Away
by Brandon C. on Feb 8, 2012 6:00 AM EST
in New York Rangers Analysis
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PrintNew York Rangers fans are irate about the way the 1-0 loss ended last night to the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden. My immediate reaction was the same as all of the angry Rangers fans, that the refs were a bunch of morons, that the Rangers were robbed, etc, etc.
I'm not going to go into the many arguments and details of the play, because I'm sure that you have heard just about every take on the play from every person that watched the game.
What I will say, is that if the Rangers want to win games in the regular season, and even more importantly in the playoffs, they have to play a complete three periods.
Moshe and I had a conversation in the game thread about whether or not the Rangers played well last night. Moshe argued they did, I argued they did not, but we came to an agreement that they played well for parts of the game.
There lies the problem. Outside of the power play, the main problem for the Rangers is the inability to play a complete three periods is something the Rangers need to address. The lack of supplementary scoring to add to Marian Gaborik is something that needs to be addressed.
The problem with the call last night is not only that it cost the Rangers a point, but there's a large chance the Rangers will overlook their problems and chalk it up to bad ref'ing. I certainly hope not.
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for all the talk about “no trades”, last night’s game is exactly why there will be trades or at least the desire for trades. the lack of “finish” and that deplorable PP will be the things that keep this team from advancing. I was at the game and you can complain all you want about that last goal being waved off (I sure did even after seeing the replay on the board) but Dubi having 2 open nets to shoot at, the indecision that was displayed all night while on offense, and a PP that is now like 2 for 50 will result in moves by our GM. you can bank on it now, like it or not.
to comment on whether the Rangers played well, the were outshot 9-1 to start and that clearly indicated how the team played to that point. from about 5 minutes to go in the 1st they started to pick it up. even for the 2nd period and dominated the 3rd.
I agree with your post but this is why we still need a GOAL SCORER at a deadline…. gabby was flying last night but he cant score everynight we need one more pick up that can put the puck in the net…
+1
"It's far from done, but we did get something accomplished."-#19 B.Richards
by -19-AgainstAll on Feb 8, 2012 7:26 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Wolski
has more finishing ability than everyone on the team except gabby…he should just be given a chance
by Prustyballs94 on Feb 8, 2012 8:03 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
Agreed
But Wolski is slightly more effective at 5v5. If given a shot, I would want to see him get top-six minutes along with a PP2 chance. I don’t see anyone being moved out of their current role, though.
agreed x2
i like wolski, always have. we need to get him some minutes to see what he really can do. we have a guy who threw up 65 points two years ago riding the hartford bus. plus we don’t need to give up anything to see him out there. just let mitchell sit in the press box for a few games
GET RIPPED
"We'll Win Tonight" - The Captain
"Let's go eat a &€% %¥#$ snack" - Rex
Put him in the lineup and drop Boyle down to the 4th in place of Rupp.
"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
LET'S GO RANGERS!!!
mza is useless, all he ever did was do the same move every time on the shootout.
by Prustyballs94 on Feb 8, 2012 2:24 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
You should try actually watching hockey, it’s great. MZA’s points per game last year was better than a lot of our forwards this year like Anisimov, Dubi, and anyone on the 3rd and 4th line.
If I remember correctly, MZA actually had a high P/60 (relative to last year’s team) when taking his ice time into consideration. Might need someone with stats to back it up though. It might have been A/60, I’m not even sure…
It was ok, not great. PP he was decent though.
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by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2012 6:14 PM EST up reply actions
Last 15
The Rangers played the last 15 minutes of the hockey game, Hank kept them in it before that. Double fight was funny, though.
Here’s a textbook example of NJD score effects:
Did NYR get unlucky by not scoring in the third? Probably. Did they deserve to win that game after the performance in the first 40 minutes? Not at all.
Torts seems to be trying every single line combination possible, except one that actually puts Richards with someone who can score a goal. What do you want from the guy when he’s on a line with Rupp and Fedotenko? He needs to be back on the top line with Gaborik, at least for a week. Most of Gaborik’s chances have come from his speed, not because his linemates are making great plays. The offense is pathetic and embarrassing. They cant even enter the zone without dumping it to the corner.
well unless we have an odd man rush, we do play dump, chase, cycle, and grind. it’s the torts system.
but i agree with what you said about richards. i’d also be interested to see that wolski / richards / gaborik line we talked about when we signed richards. not to beat my wolski point to death though.
GET RIPPED
"We'll Win Tonight" - The Captain
"Let's go eat a &€% %¥#$ snack" - Rex
I would be willing to try it
What are Mitchell and Feds really contributing? They’re good defensively and grind it out, but we already have 8 other forwards who do the same thing. Would it kill anyone to give Wolski a few shifts in the top 6?
it certainly shouldnt. i’ll tell you one thing, mitchell and fedotenko cant stickhandle like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFh7N1Dy3Qw
GET RIPPED
"We'll Win Tonight" - The Captain
"Let's go eat a &€% %¥#$ snack" - Rex
It does remain enjoyable that we’re so deep offensively that we can send our 30-40 pt guys (Zuke, Wolski) to CTW and not miss a beat.
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"Oh, that sensible and sober* Rangers fan guy who is cool, actually" - Dominik, Lighthouse Hockey
*Statement has not been verified nor regressed
They played horribly last night. A whole lot of dumping and not a whole lot of chasing. One of the most boring games of the season for sure.
Pierre McGuire needs to go away.
by MartyEqualsPansy on Feb 8, 2012 9:23 AM EST reply actions
i wouldnt mind seeing some more zuccs, i liked his game when he was up with the big club.
couldnt watch the game in its entirety last night, 0-3 on the PP? zero 5v4 goals in the past month ive been told. almost an hour of PP time with no production to show?? it should be clear that we are losing close games because of it
No. He’ll be waiver eligible after next season or after 60 NHL games, whichever comes first.
Blueshirt Banter - Where Rangers' Fans Matter
Tracking the Rangers - Numbers don't lie. They just don't agree with you.
Twitter: RangerSmurf
"Oh, that sensible and sober* Rangers fan guy who is cool, actually" - Dominik, Lighthouse Hockey
*Statement has not been verified nor regressed
by George E. Ays on Feb 8, 2012 9:50 AM EST up reply actions
Resentment
I think a large amount of the reaction over last night’s game was due to the proximity of the two games. If they had been more widely separated the impact wouldn’t have been that great.
Also, I get that some fans might feel like we were “owed” some kind of lucky/quirky thing after the last loss. The thinking goes: we outplayed them last week but lost to some last-minute lucky miracle goal. We got outplayed tonight by them so where’s our last-minute lucky miracle goal. Unfortunately, the universe doesn’t work like that.
We need to redirect our focus and realize that the Devils just picked up 8 division points (including 4 on us) and are closing fast with the Flyers and Penguins. Beating Tampa tomorrow is the first step towards getting back on track because then we’ve got Philly again the next game.
Homo homini lupus est - Human beings are wolves to each other
Stats
personally i don’t think they should make any drastic moves. statistics show that although the rangers are 15th in goals scored (with games in hand to most everyone), they are 2nd in goal differential (.75). boston is an absurd 1.26!!! rangers are 27th in PP% (they are 18th in PP opps), and 5th in PK% (24th in times shorthanded), which means that although the PP is weak, the PK trumps it (they have 1 more PP goal than PP goals against). let’s face it, they are a defensive-minded team. getting rid of guys like boyle, dubinsky, mitchell, rupp, etc. would disrupt that style. at this point in the season would it make sense to do that? would it derail the train? although they do lose tight games when they can’t score, they are winning way more of those games, especially when they score first or take a lead into the 3rd, which shows that defensive hockey can be highly successful.
does anyone think that constantly changing the lines is hindering offensive chemistry?
oh, they are 27th in Shots on goal. they do need to shoot more, that’s obvious.
thoughts?
Shoot the puck Barry!!!
+100
Agreed on all points. However, NYC is a flashy place and people want to see some offense!!
i hate comments like this. its doesnt matter what type of cuty this is. play torts system. torts sytem isnt flashy. and they shouldnt be flashy just cuz they play in new york.
Insert witty comeback here
by birdmansns on Feb 8, 2012 2:25 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
Thats an idea that I don’t think gets enough consideration. We want to add a “scorer” but we do have 2 in Hartford. Instead of adding a player that should score goals why not give a look at the two guys that could give us the offense without sacrificing prospects or draft picks.
The big knock on Wolski and MZA is their ability in the defensive end, but are the other guys that have been discussed dominant in their own ends? Plus they have experience with Torts and vice versa so there won’t be as much of a getting used to each other period.
5th time the Rangers have been shutout this season.
To be honest, I’m not shocked at the power play struggles to be honest. Looking at the PP units in Dallas helmed by Richards… they were average at best.
Oh well, them’s the breaks. A dominant third period usually doesn’t erase 40 minutes of blah hockey.
"Hey Paul, re..remember when you were in The Beatles? That was awesome."
Can people stop with mza
he’s not good just stop hes not going to help….he’s just a little midget with a good shootout move that every goalie in the nhl knows….we do have to give wolski a chance tho
by Prustyballs94 on Feb 8, 2012 2:31 PM EST via Android app reply actions
He’s not a grinder, he is a scorer. But you;re right, we don’t need more scorers on the team, we need more big tough grinders.
he’s not a scorer he’s a playmaker and we need more pass first guys right?
by Prustyballs94 on Feb 8, 2012 4:01 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
hey guys think Hybrid
that’s what we need, I mean look at parise
in case nobody saw this
a really good article on the call in the last few seconds of the game last night, was an answer by Kerry Fraser to fans writing in.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=387268
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