Jan Levine: Game 54: NYR 4 LA 1, Rangers to ride Shesterkin between the pipes Kakko nets his first in 14 games in win.

they have to sweep this 3 game road trip to make up for that horrendous loss at home to Buffalo just to keep alive their little sliver of hope

but, only 11 home games left the rest of the season

17 left on the road

the fat lady is definitely warming up

NYR goes 2-2 on home stand:
sitting Krieds for precautionin 1st gm & sitting Shesty for rotation of Georgy cost us a sweep & a real shot at P O's ,9 pts out...what could have been? the wheels of change grind slowly or cautiously ...
D Q says after Buf. loss how team just dosnt know how to play simple hockey ?
W T F does that say about adjusting when u play the trappish type of game you can face ... its Feb still working on the mental eh!
Once Shesty got force shipped from Conn or go back home , its been a ticking bomb for HANK who is doing the systematic count down to leaving .... Its a foregone conclusion that if he dosnt go to a contender then he will be "BOUGHT OUT " for a legend goalie for 15 yr to face that ... thanks HANK !look fwd to the rafter party in the future...
Defense: why does change take for ever ? team talks of P O's Yet they have a glaring hole on top pair right side , Skjei who is playing better overall will NOT be confused as a top pair anymore , he is a very good 3-4 pair , we have no one to fill that slot now & in near future with all kids in pipeline ,Unless you try A dA who has played the of side of D for him.... Not even a sniff ,if anything we get feeble attempts of Lindgren or Hijak with Trouba ? and you wonder why Trouba is getting a question or 2 about his game? he s had the worst partner this yr versus any hes played ... YET we turn to Trouba for answers and whats missing from his game ...
A top notch partner ..... D is a shared job , you can look real bad when your partner aint cutting it or you try to compensate .Trouba & team need the next MOST important part ..A top Left side D to play with Trouba ;

2 things out of T D that will make a major difference NOW ...

Hank goes to win ,& we take a shot with Byfuglin OR we trade some assets to get a top left D for Trouba ...I dont know who ..

But we wont be a top contender until we fill that glaring hole , we cam wait for a top 6 wing BUT we dont have any top left D 's till 2 -3 yrs away

all the other trade stuff is trimmings around the main course i outline above

future D pairs :

Trouba Byfuglin

Fox Skjei would love to see these 2 pair up & Skjei is the stay home type of pair

A dA Lindgren

O R

go back to Fox -Lindgren

A dA Skjei never see this pairing either

Ft Lauderdale for Valentines for my
back in a jiff for Boston next sunday & the bridge seats i love so much
hope when the smoke clears we sweep the 3 gm roadie
Hope HANK read the tea leaves & make his move ..IF anyone wants him?
thats the 1st move needed to clear the way
the dominos could fall the right way , jury is out & waiting for the results of this
critical T D looming & P O long shot we have to play for...

future D pairs :

Trouba Byfuglin

Fox Skjei would love to see these 2 pair up & Skjei is the stay home type of pair

A dA Lindgren

O R

go back to Fox -Lindgren

A dA Skjei never see this pairing either
- NASHTYGUY

brah the chances that we are signing a fat 35 year old this summer are pretty pretty pretty slim

they have to sweep this 3 game road trip to make up for that horrendous loss at home to Buffalo just to keep alive their little sliver of hope

but, only 11 home games left the rest of the season

17 left on the road

the fat lady is definitely warming up
- jimbro83

The Playoffs are a long shot at best but I think that is more of a reflection of how well some other teams have played above the Rangers. At this point last year the 2nd wildcard had 63 pts. 4 points make a big difference as well as slotting in 3 to 4 additional teams to climb over.

It's just one of those years where the playoff threshold is just high then in previous seasons

they have to sweep this 3 game road trip to make up for that horrendous loss at home to Buffalo just to keep alive their little sliver of hope

but, only 11 home games left the rest of the season

17 left on the road

the fat lady is definitely warming up
- jimbro83

The loser points cost the Rangers this year. If you look at Regulation wins, Rangers are better or right up there with all the teams they are chasing. Not being able to get to OT and blowing those tie games late in the 3rd did them in

brah the chances that we are signing a fat 35 year old this summer are pretty pretty pretty slim
- jimbro83

just an example , who is a top pair left D that fills the bill for 2-3 yrs

The Playoffs are a long shot at best but I think that is more of a reflection of how well some other teams have played above the Rangers. At this point last year the 2nd wildcard had 63 pts. 4 points make a big difference as well as slotting in 3 to 4 additional teams to climb over.

It's just one of those years where the playoff threshold is just high then in previous seasons
- climbdenali12

I believe the last wild card last year had 96 pts

The loser points cost the Rangers this year. If you look at Regulation wins, Rangers are better or right up there with all the teams they are chasing. Not being able to get to OT and blowing those tie games late in the 3rd did them in
- TPC

Or, you know, really, really sucking for a game or two here and there!

just an example , who is a top pair left D that fills the bill for 2-3 yrs
- NASHTYGUY

K'Andre

K'Andre
- jimbro83

Not even counting the fact Rykov might be able to step right in here next season and contribute meaningful minutes.

Not even counting the fact Rykov might be able to step right in here next season and contribute meaningful minutes.
- 2sticks1puck

we have too many defensemen and are in no business to not give these young guys a shot

they need better coaching

I believe the last wild card last year had 96 pts
- way out west

No worries.
We will just trade all our crap for other teams stars, sign a 35 year old fat whiner and fill all our glaring holes. Other teams will be only too happy to help us out. And the salary cap be damned!!
We need to be a top team NOW damn it!!!!!!! Enough of this taking 1.67 seasons to restock our system and build our roster back up!!!!!! WTF? We only contended for the Cup for like 6 years in a row!!!! WE need 2 Go FOR it. NOW!!!!

Is that the way you do it? IDK, still to understandable isn't it?

Or, you know, really, really sucking for a game or two here and there!
- Tonybere

Every team has had some stinkers around the league. But every other team knows how to get loser points. Rangers suck the most at that

we have too many defensemen and are in no business to not give these young guys a shot

they need better coaching
- jimbro83

Ruff has to go. They could easily elevate Murphy from Hartford to run the defense.

Just put Lindgren up there as the number 1. He was been way more than anything we hoped for. The kid is confident

I believe the last wild card last year had 96 pts
- way out west

Word, but as of Feb 10 2019 Pitt had 63 points.

I's just pointing out that this team has more positives to focus on and their placement in the standing is not just a byproduct of their young inconsistencies but also of other teams just playing really well above them.

Word, but as of Feb 10 2019 Pitt had 63 points.

I's just pointing out that this team has more positives to focus on and their placement in the standing is not just a byproduct of their young inconsistencies but also of other teams just playing really well above them.
- climbdenali12

It could be a blessing in disguise too. You finish above 500 with a good record, but you still get a decent first rounder. Kinda of like having your cake and eating it too.

Just put Lindgren up there as the number 1. He was been way more than anything we hoped for. The kid is confident
- mdw7413

I'm all for testing Lindgren-Fox as our top pairing. Both are still a bit raw, but they have been driving play the whole season.

It could be a blessing in disguise too. You finish above 500 with a good record, but you still get a decent first rounder. Kinda of like having your cake and eating it too.
- 2sticks1puck

Bingo.

Every team has had some stinkers around the league. But every other team knows how to get loser points. Rangers suck the most at that
- TPC

I guess.
I just don't have too much of a problem with our team right now. This is exactly where I expected us to be this season. I hoped a little more might be possible, but never expected it. To make the playoffs as we were constructed for this season would have taken an almost perfect world; growth from about 5 young players with no areas of regression, ridiculous rookie seasons from 2 or 3 more and a quick resolution to our goalie situation, which obviously isn't happening. And more areas that I didn't touch on besides.
Grab some munchies, your favourite drink and settle in to enjoy some great moments while bemoaning the difficult ones, boys. 'Cause this is who we are right now. I'm still loving it and can't wait to see the rest of this ride back to the upper echelon. I have no doubt we will be there when this plan has been fully executed.

I guess.
I just don't have too much of a problem with our team right now. This is exactly where I expected us to be this season. I hoped a little more might be possible, but never expected it. To make the playoffs as we were constructed for this season would have taken an almost perfect world; growth from about 5 young players with no areas of regression, ridiculous rookie seasons from 2 or 3 more and a quick resolution to our goalie situation, which obviously isn't happening. And more areas that I didn't touch on besides.
Grab some munchies, your favourite drink and settle in to enjoy some great moments while bemoaning the difficult ones, boys. 'Cause this is who we are right now. I'm still loving it and can't wait to see the rest of this ride back to the upper echelon. I have no doubt we will be there when this plan has been fully executed.
- Tonybere

I agree Tony. We needed things to go our way to have a shot at the playoffs THIS year. It doesn't seem to be panning out for that but this team is fun to watch even in a frustrating game like against Buffalo.

ust an example , who is a top pair left D that fills the bill for 2-3 yrs

Nobody, they will rotate 5 D men.