We have a guest review from Scotsdale Ranger. Sorry for missing the go time thread. Of course, that means I missed the game, but reading over the review, it doesn’t sound like I missed much. Oh well. HAV. Now, the review:
Greetings from the desert! It’s a pleasure to do the game review for our boys’ annual trip into Glendale for the second straight year. This year I attended with my dad (long suffering Rangers fan), my friend Dan, and my cousins who live in Idaho now (originally from NY) and are getting on a plane Sunday morning to see the Vegas game Sunday night. Quite the weekend for them! Hopefully it’ll be a 4 point weekend!
I go back to work on Monday (as a 6th grade teacher), so I was hoping my two week break would end with a great Ranger win. It was a Ranger win, but it sure wasn’t great. Here are some thoughts:
1. During warmups I saw a guy with a #22 Holden jersey on. I wanted to ask him out of all the players he could get, why the heck did he choose that guy? I held back though. Then I got to thinking about how the #22 has been abused in Rangerland since Gartner wore it. I mean, just recently you have Dan Boyle, Holden, and now Shattenkirk. Who am I forgetting over the years since Gartner?
2. Then the first period happened. Holy shishkebob! Its one thing to have a horrendous period against Chicago, New Jersey, or even Dallas. But the bloody Coyotes? I mean I lost count how many times they turned the puck over. It’s totally unacceptable that they come out like that against the worst team in the league and periods (and entire games) like that have happened way too often in the AV era (error). When was the last time you remember this team playing a complete 60? To me that’s on the coach.
3. Of course the Coyote goal on the PP (the penalty looked like a weak call from where I was sitting) was scored by an ex-Ranger Anthony DuClair. The only thing that was surprising was that it wasn’t his first NHL goal, which along with goals from ex-Rangers, seem to be a common thing in Rangerland.
4. The 2nd period wasn’t a total dumpster fire like the 1st, but it certainly wasn’t great. Vesey knotted the score at 1 with a nice move to the net. Him along with maybe Nash were the only two skaters that seemed decent tonight. Speaking of Nash…oy. Yeah guy either needs to be traded at the deadline or signed for no more than 3.5 million for 2 years in the offseason because now he’s no more than a 3rd liner. Or maybe they can pay him $1 for every time his rear end is on the ice…he’d make millions that way too.
5. Henrik Lundqvist. I actually feel bad for him. I mean not that much because he makes $9 million/year, but hockey-wise I basically feel bad. Other less loyal people might demand a trade if they were in his shoes and wanted to win a championship before they retired. That game was one of the best I’ve seen him play live, and his teammates seriously all owe him a beer or something.
6. I was seriously surprised that the Coyotes didn’t score on their PP in OT. I was again surprised that they didn’t score in the shootout.
7. A quick note on Lias Andersson: we need that guy and other guys like him on the Rangers soon. Right now they have too many passive, “ we need to be better”/ “we had some good looks” guys and not enough like Andersson. Granted, he shouldn’t have thrown the medal in the stands, but the overall competitiveness is something that this 1/78 organization (I forget who called them “perpetual silver medalists”) lacks.
3 stars:
1- Henrik Lundqvist
2- #30
3- The King
186 responses to “Rangers-Coyotes in Review”
Spot on review!
I’ll add that in that horrible first it seemed that so many of our attempted passes were directed at each other’s skates instead of each other’s sticks. Looked like we were playing too tight and overthinking everything.
Hayes will be on fire tonight now that he has a fresh stash of peyote!
2nd?!?! Here’s my frickin medal back you jackwagons!
Great job Scottsdale; if they manage to get a point tonite, everyone will be exciting for the new ‘winning’ streak they are on. This team is not playoff ready. The second west coast swing will be probably more indicative when they match up against the Big Boys on the Bestern Conf.
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When you make top dollar, you need to play like the best, so Henk played to his salary last night; nothing more, nothing less.
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Step shooting slapper as last SO attempt? Trying to hit Henk in jugular?? Just relax!
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JT will probably be traded now that he had a public spat with the Queen B.
That first period took days off my life.
So apparently Hank told a Swedish newspaper that Pavs is playing tonight because the Yotes game was “very intense.” Great goalie rotation there… Seriously I am happy Pavelec is getting a game. Just figured it would be against the worst team in the league not the best.
If Pavs started last night…
Good morning, boneheads!
I’m back. Except it feels like I returned to Russia not NY. 5 degrees outside, really?
As for our boys… They haven’t been playing well for a few weeks now, a couple of good games here and there notwithstanding. Good news, they keep getting points ( Thank you, Hank!). Bad news, they will get tattooed tonight unless they take it up a few notches.
I’ve been following Kreider’s injury closely. While it hasn’t been said officially anywhere, the sequence of events ( including rib surgery) suggests that he has a venous thoracic outlet syndrome. While rare in general, it’s common amongst young male athletes, and happens mostly on the right ( in his case too ) since there are more righties than lefties. You can look up Paget‐Schroetter disease if you’re curious. Good news, since they decided to go for first rib surgery, they expect him to recover fully and return at 100%. Bad news, it may take longer than 6-8 weeks. He’ll be on blood thinners for a month, then will be re-evaluated before they stop the meds. Hard to say, but I think February is a little too optimistic.
The give aways in the first were truly awful. The Dmen were just passing it the Yotes at center ice as the came out of the zone. It looked like a half ice drill in practice. Was another team using the other half of the ice? Also once again Hayes on a breakaway does not get a shot off. 4 t0 1 Showers tonight. The Showers score goals and the Rangers no longer do. Goaltending has to be super for them to win. They allow 35+ shots and he can only give up 1 or 2. That’s a 94% save percentage. Tough to maintain.
Great review, Scottsdale. Unfortunately, these two teams looked very evenly matched. Regardless of tonight’s outcome I think the Rangers may benefit from this bye week as they need to hit a reset button.
I don’t think trading Hank would be that easy as very few contenders (only teams Hank would consider) need a goalie and not sure there are any who can fit his salary under the cap and/or would want it on the books for another 3 full seasons after this because it’s not all that unlikely he loses a step or two as he moves closer to 40. So more than likely the Rangers have to retain salary or take on a bloated contract of their own and not really ideal from a Rangers perspective, especially if he isn’t at all overpaid!
they call it bye week but really only a few days since coast to coast travel tonight or tomorrow plus sat is day game so i would think they’ll practice later friday.
Why would they trade their best player? Do we want to tank next year and get a lottery pick? Or do we have a viable replacement? Are we worried about salary Cap for next season? It’s going to go up, probably by around $5M anyway. With some big contracts coming off the books, that shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, which UFA are they going to sign if they have a lot of space? Tavares isn’t coming to NY.
I don’t think the teams are evenly matched at all–huge contrast between one team with better skill, road legs, and a game the next day; and the other with a big, impressive team effort on the night. Letteiri and Carey could walk into the Coyotes lineup, are subs for the Rangers. The OT was strange–it looked as though the Cs would keep the puck for the entire 5 minutes, but they were terrified of losing it and generated little offense until Skjei’s stick-slash. In the 4 on 3, same thing, though credit to Hayes/Staal/McD to close that out easily. Coyotes deserved to win with that effort, but not enough talent and too much Hank.
Norm, the Rangers are a better team, by a margin. They looked evenly matched last night by a virtue of one team playing poorly, and another one having one of the better stretches of their season. Had your coffee yet? 😃
Tavares isn’t coming to NY.
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He is already in NY…well, Brooklyn that is.
That Ladd deal looking rough, probably hoping he could play with Tavares.
Derbils and Azzlanders on the snide, will open door for Dirty Birds.
Paul Carey has played 29 games with the Rangers, don’t think AV sees him as a sub
By your def. of evenly-matched, ilb, the Coyotes were the much better team. Semantics. Coffee finally streaming through…
Carey’s been great (not last night) but in a healthy lineup, he’s out unless Miller goes to center.
Butch will continue to struggle without Kreider digging pucks out which is why that switched he and Fast after 1st.
VC second on team in 5v5 goals and can roof it. When Nash is traded, he slots right into his spot and will increase output. Nash is done.
Great review, Scottsdale and lmao @ the end of number 4. 🙂
name the team
NHL Public Relations
Verified account
@PR_NHL
The @TBLightning have held first place since Nov. 28.
Only one team in the past 81 years has finished with the NHL’s best record after missing the playoffs the previous season
Welcome back, ILB and happy new year.
You’re correct sir. They really haven’t been playing well for a little while now. And the fact that theyre still collecting points is a good thing but I’m hoping it doesn’t equate to one of those slides that can pop up when the level of play slips and you get away w it for a while
Bobby Rousseau wore #22. Loved that guy. Great review.
We want the cup
We want the cup
We want the cup
JT sure had a rough game. Hank was speck tack you lure
What time is the Gmen game? I Can’t find it….
Buch needs to wake up…game dropped off last month considerably…..and it not the coach’s fault
Ok…,
Scottsdale, well done and thanks!
Did Andersson get his medal back?
Who did JT have a spat with?
Who the hell is this ilb guy?! Does he think he’s a doctor or something?!
Scottsdale! Well done. Never seen anybody fouled so often right in front of the zebras than Nash. Can someone explain to me why this is so? He’s no wise-guy.
Refs don’t respect Nash b/c he is a wuss and falls down too easy.
Love when players don’t perform, everyone blames coach. When team plays well, players deserve praise.
Someone got the medal back and gave it to Andersson. I say that he abandoned it and it should belong to the guy who. caught it. You want it, buy it from him.
JT and Hank with words. No idea what words or who was leading the confrontation, but when Step tried that, he got a ticket out of town.
He falls down because he is constantly interfered with.
Great job Scottsdale impressive! I know I’m stating the obvious but we are beginng to see the value of Kreider. There’s a lot to be said about jumping out of pools!
Oh welcome back ilb whoever you are?
They’ll probably trade Miller to Anehiem and he will wind up on crosby’s wing next year!
Coos
It’s because on most nights Nash is a Ghost the refs don’t see him!
I would not bet on Kreider coming back this season. And every win takes us one step further from what should be an easy decision to sell at the deadline.
Nash gets us a 2nd rounder in a sellers market, mid-tier prospect or R3 in buyers market. Grabner nets us an R1 no matter how you slice it. If Holden gets us a 4th, wonderful. And while we’re at it, see what kind of market is out there for Smith, Desharnais…maybe even kick the tires on Zucc or Hayes.
Maybe we can even try and work in some favorable conditions, like the ones other teams have been burning us on for years. If whatever team that grabs Grabner makes the 2nd round, we get another pick. Uncle Glen loved tossing those in going the other way – let’s see if Gorton can recoup.
Hank’s shown me that he can adapt and change his game as his body changes, so I think the window is still open. We can still get a haul for guys that likely won’t be back anyway, while still moving forward without blowing up a decent young core.
ECF: Rangers over TB in 6
WCF: Vegas over Nashville
SCF; Rangers in 6:
I would like congratulate Jim Dolan, glen Sather, commissioner Gordon, chief O’Hara, Coaches AV, Are-Neal, Triple Lindy Ruff, and most of all the players:…..Captain McD, come get the Stanley Cup
Agree with your trade assessment’s Dave and I would see what team’ are willing to give for Mac as well.
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SN, I wasn’t saying they should be shopping Hank (though I wouldn’t be opposed if the haul was good enough), but the review says a less loyal player than Hank might be asking for a trade so he could win a cup before he retires. My point was that there is a very limited universe of contenders that need a goalie and none of them could take on Hank’s cap hit (or may even want to for 3.5 more years) without the Rangers taking back salary or retaining salary. So it wouldn’t necessarily even be that easy to trade Hank if he were to request one tomorrow.
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AV has thus far shown that Boo is the odd man out when everyone is healthy Norm, not Carey. Moot point somewhat as Kreider likely is done for the remainder (or should be), but I’d much rather play Lettieri on a nightly basis than Carey since Carey isn’t a long term piece of the puzzle.
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Buch was struggling even before Kreider went down at least partially because his linemates (kreider included, but especially center) weren’t playing well either. TBD if he will ever be a game changing talent on his own, but at this stage in his career he needs to play with a good center (Zib was hurt and inconsistent) and winger like kreider to play the dirty game.
And then E3’s alarm went off and he got up and went to work.
Pete – I would trade Henk in a heartbeat as this group is not winning any hardware and they need to get younger and better on D.
Trade Henk, McD, Nash, Staal, Grabber, and Holden and completely retool the roster with younger players with a future.
You can add Zucc , Shatty and Smith to that list as well.
Need a complete reboot.
Roster remains:
Kreider, Mika, Butch, Miller, Haze, VC, Fast, Shea, Chytil, Andersson, Letteri, Graves.
Re-sign Grabber and rebuild the D and bring KHL rookie in goal.
There is NO ONE in this franchise who would have the balls to shop Hank. NONE, from Dolan on down. Not to say they wouldn’t sub-rosa listen if called, which is unlikely.
Only thing so far I like about Lettieri is that he will let it fly, (and that he’s not intimidated).
Thanks for the review Scottsdale.
I missed most of this game, from the sound of it, reading your review was a good alternative.
I can’t wait for tonight’s game.
Staal is pathetic. money-eater. Anyone who disagrees is blind as a bat.
Like where your head is at SN and it was ILB who asked why they’d trade Hank (my bad!).
NHL Sixth Avenue management goals for this season: Get Vegas into the playoffs, get Canadian teams into the playoffs. None of them would ever admit it in a million million years, but make book.
Nice work Scottsdale. Put a c-note in red for me.
E3 – not hopping on a southwest flight to go see the boys? Or are the 737 cans too small for your specs?
The expansion fee for Seattle will be $650M. Vegas paid $500M. What’s next, make an expansion fee $1B and allow them to take whichever player they want?
They had access to better players than any prior expansion team, but I’m still surprised.
I wonder if there will ever be another defenseman who plays an excellent defense.
Headzo – I wear a diaper when I fly. Airline cans are not ready for what I leave behind. When the plane hit flush, my load would destroy a city.
less teams will have so so guys on no move deals by time Seattle gets in. So to compensate league will likely allow less players to be protected.
Four things:
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Carey was picked over Boo last time there was a choice. Next time, once again it will be about how many centers are available and whether Vignault wants to keep flipping Miller.
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Miller! What a mixed bag for him last night! Skated hard and effectively some of the time and made some astonishing errors. Ran out of gas a number of times as well. Not ready for a 20-minute load? Only one shift in OT, one too many. Love the guy, but not a game from his top shelf.
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Did anyone notice that Buchnevich got the second star!?! On a night when his ice-capades approach earned him a demotion to the fourth line. He must have made a few good plays I didn’t notice other than that one burst and excellent pass to Boo–ba-doing! off the post. Either that or his uncle snuck into the scoring booth.
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Lundqvist. Wow! And that, of course, is the minimum we can expect at his pay scale, right? Like that should be his average performance: 0.974, 0.92 every night. I remember early in the season when there was grumbling that he wasn’t stealing enough games. What’s that count up to now, and what’s the required number? I’m happy he’s a Ranger.
Shestyorkin can’t play in the NHL until 2019-2020 season. My guess he will need at least a season or so to work with Allaire and to back up Hank before he’s ready to step in full time. That’s the best case scenario. Having a revolving door of back ups in the meantime isn’t a winning proposition. Just ask the Islanders, Flyers, etc. etc.
Honestly the only 2 defensemen id keep is 27 and 76. All others must go. Holden and Staal are an embarrassment. Smith too. Also shattenkirk. Ugh.
ilb, I’m sure you have a good point as you invariably do, but what’s been wrong about the Biron, Talbot, Raanta, Pavelec progression?
Norm, my fault. I didn’t make it clear. That was my response to trading Hank now and bringing the Russian kid to NY. I meant to say having revolving door of back ups playing full time instead of Hank and until Shestyorkin is ready.
Best PeeWee skaters are put on D because they can carry the puck and lead the rush out of their zone and usually do most of the shooting in their O. zone. They eventually learn to skate backwards, but offense is their goal and they are ‘coached’ as such. A reasonably decent (offensive) D man can have a monetary career in the NHL equivalent to an offensive Star, of which there are not many. Ergo, precious few of them ever really learn to play defensive hockey. No incentive.
Since Kampfer last played, only one team has given up fewer goals than the 9-4-3 Rangers, and that’s the red-hot Bruins. So, we can bash away on the D who all must traded pronto, but it hasn’t been all goaltending. And the PK (88.5, 5th-place NHL) has been led well by McD and Staal, who have been eating up the great majority of those minutes, along with Hayes.
Those successful back ups in NY have one common denominator. Benoit Allaire. Both Raanta and Talbot are having a down season because of the teams in front of them.
Buch with the 2nd Star? Sometimes lately, I sense that I’m living in an alternate reality.
Please STOP with this Staal nonsense. PLEASE! WAKE UP!
For the year as a whole, the Rangers PK is 7th, 83.6%.
Staal 128:26
McDonagh 116:43
Hayes 96:32
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Then Grabner 84:23
Holden 75:57
Nash 74:54
(Fast’s been hurt a bit: 58:39)
Staal is all defense, not much else. Hilarious last night when the puck came out to him for a sure goal. Good stop by Raanta, I guess, and good on Staal to skate into that position, but I would have given him a one-in-ten chance of netting there.
Never expected any offense from Staal, ever. Whenever he shoots, one housefly on the glass says to the other, ‘let’s get the hell off of this glass before he kills the both of us.” And on D, he won’t take the body, plays tootsie roll stick shuffleboard, backing up and backing up until he’s totally screening Hank or else he just turns his back on the play and. stares at Hank’s feet while. his man bangs and bangs at the puck with no resistance. That’s when he’s not totally out of position chasing the play to no avail.
Some mighty fine quarterbacking on display in this one
Hope Taylor is okay but the backup can’t be any worse can he?
The traditional defensive dmen, since the dawn of time, have been slow, big hitting, shot blocking stay-at-homers. The way the game is going…those guys are 100% obsolete. Most teams are saddled with a bad contract of a defenseman whose game is tailor-made to fit the mid-90s. I’d say the last high-pick in that mold was Erik Gudbranson, and it hasn’t worked out wonderfully for him. You have to feel for some of these kids – they spent their childhood honing a skill set that the NHL gentry suddenly decided it didn’t need.
The next generation of defense-first defenders don’t necessary have to be able to play at both ends, but you’ll see more of that because defensemen nowadays need to be able to skate well, move laterally – something that usually encourages some offensive awareness. But it’s going to be a confusing time for fans – the new model of defensive dman will have the wheels and physical tools to appear to be offensive, but won’t be.
bad result in devs-isles with the 3 point game. yuck.
Hank for Tavares!! Hahaha
Staal’s obviously on the downside but having a pretty good year overall, shows his age now and then, but a solid, experienced, stay-at-home D-man. Awful game vs. Hawks the exception to the rule in my view.
Ugh!
After watching the first 20 minutes last night, I say dump AV. When an angry Fast and #22 have to be the ones to tell you they sucked into embarrassment, you need a new Head Coach. AV is like a distant Cardinal who protects bad priests.
The players would respect him more if he yelled at them when they played poorly. Is that the way to motivate people?
Guys like us we had it made,
Those were the days.
I wasn’t in the locker room with the Rangers players, coaches, trainers and coos, so I have no idea what happened in there. AV no doubt dimmed the lights and softly read them motivational poetry. “To an Athlete Dying Young”, perhaps. Or maybe he read them “Goodnight, Moon.”
Biggest problem here is the team is so adverse to any physical contact. They shy away from even touching an opponent. And in front of the net? Fuggedaboutit. Watch the games, at least 2-3 opponents are always in front of our net AND their net, while our shleps skate gingerly behind the net and out on the safe perimeter. Won’t win one playoff game with that going on.
You must have loved Staal’s smack-down of Cousins, then, eh, Delaware? (I thought it was a little dirty myself.)
Actually Norm he probably read the the Goat Parade!
Hey Boyz!!!
Long time no see!!!
I hop all is well in your world!
Happy New Year!
We w
Are in Vegas for the game tonight 👍
Why was ZUCC out?
Anyone know?
Derbils cough up a 2 goal lead to the Future Bellmores… and allow a 3 point game.
Sioooooooooux! Zucc “fell ill”.
To this point in the season the 3 worse d men have been skjeL, smith, and mcdonut and it isn’t even close.
Staal and shattenkirk are what they are one all offence the other zero offence.
Kampfer had the game that started righting the ship (for now) but is a spot player.
Holden, to this point, is nothing short of the D mvp. Especially when you consider most here (myself included) had him as the #7 to start the season (Beverly we hardly knew ya) and all he has done is play 1st pair and consistently steady.
All that being said, I’d trade anyone of them in a heartbeat (I think shatty is absolutely untouchable to the organization) with the exception of mcdonut, but I’d trade him too in the right deal.
I hope Zucc doesn’t have the bug I have/had. It has been two weeks and I am still not right (let me have it) 🙂 I spent Christmas Eve and Day in bed and only got up to go to the bathroom and feed the cats – who were smart enough to stay away. I was so sick that I went two days without eating anything, which shows how sick I was because i usually “feed a cold” and “feed a fever”.
Anthony
Hang in there bro! Glad to see you here though
Hank has more often than not been the best player on the team, but Hank hasn’t been that dominant as far as his position (doesn’t lead in any category and not 2nd or 3rd really either). So yes Hank has been good, but it’s also not like the rangers are one of the lowest scoring teams this season (been slow recently no doubt) or have that bad a D, more that neither the offense or D are anything special while as usual Hank’s just a step or two above them. So deserves to be the highest paid player on the team, but barring a tear at the rest of the way it’s hard to say he still is deserving of being the highest paid goalie anymore….life of a long-term contract!
Sioux
Vegas baby!!!!!
Pete, you are ignoring all relevant stats regarding the number of shots Hank is facing per game and more importantly the number of high danger chances he faces per game. He is top 3 in both categories and even with those stats he is 3rd in the league in GSAA. He is top 5 in basic statistical categories playing in front of a tire fire defense. Arguing that the D is not bad is just FAKE NEWS!
If the team around Henrik isn’t as good, he only has himself to blame. But hey, he’s got enough perfectly tailored suits to clothe all the homeless kids in Africa. 🙂
I think we can all agree that if the Rangers don’t make the playoffs or are bounced after the 1st r0und, substantial changes need to occur. Could be as simple as a coach firing. This has been a theme all season, an inability to put together a complete 60 minutes.
So Henrik has 4 solid D in Shatty, Skjei, McD, and Staal and that is a “tire fire?”
Say it again Staal has been very solid this year….not his fault they overpaid him
Btw, for those of you who enjoy twitter, my very favorite account right now is @trump_nhl. Hysterical. Last night’s tweet:
The very, very handsome and ELITE Henrik Lundqvist just slammed the door shut on the NHL’s irrelevant Arizona Coyotes. The usually embarrassing Phoenix crowd was a beautiful sea of red, white and blue tonight as my beloved New York Rangers escaped with the WIN! INCREDIBLE!
Early season points count just as much, so you can’t excuse Hank’s slow start, but since Vegas his numbers are pretty good, top 4:
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Vasilevskiy .939
Andersen .934
Rask .933
Lundqvist .931
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Rask 1.84
Vasilevskiy 1.84
Andersen 2.27
Lundqvist 2.33
Yes Tim. The defense right now is a tire fire. They bleed shots to teams like Buffalo and Arizona. They hang both of their goalies out to dry on a very regular basis. Hank is Averaging over 37 shots
per game in his last 9 starts. That is not good.
To Sittoo’s point, for the YEAR, the top 4 in Shots Against:
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Andersen 1196
Lundqvist 1117
Smith 1088
Gibson 1077
I find that assertion to be ridiculous. I was told by the experts that Henrik needs to see shots to save them, that it’s the responsibility of the team in front of Henrik to give him unobstructed views of shots. This has played a huge part in his superb play, the ability to see the shots coming. However, when the defense do that for him, they’re labeled a bad defense. Much to my astonishment.
And y0u keep throwing all these glowing stats on here, and yet there’s a complete buffoon, who has watched hockey for 40 years, that thinks that no team in hockey would want Henrik. 🙂
From Hockey Stat Miner: Lundqvist’s ranking amongst the top 31 goalies in 5v5 icetime:
3rd in High Danger SOG / hour (7.89)
5th in Medium Danger SOG / hour (12.64)
9th in Low Danger SOG / hour (15.55)
4th in Goals Saved Aboe Avg / hour (0.38)
(via @CorsicaHockey)
He is now actually 3rd in GSAA…
Don’t have those stats at my disposal Sittoo, but fair point they add more color. But at least according to NHL.com he isn’t top 5 in any of the usual categories
The Rangers identity this season is up to all kinds of debate, but they have been a bad first-period and a good third-period team team–they rarely give up. And there’s this svelte Swedish guy in the nets. So to a degree I share evrock’s standing complaint that they only turn in one period a game (I forget the acronym), but I am reminded that no team turns in three periods a game or it would be nearly undefeated. Can’t sustain that for 82 games. I’d be happy with two periods. Or 1.8.
He is top 5 in all categories for goalies with at least 20 starts. The Dells, Khudobins, etc aren’t relevant because of the small sample size.
My mistake. He is 9th in GAA, 5th in sv%, and 6th in wins. So top 10 in basic statistical categories which is pretty impressive given the number and quality of shots he is facing. Not sure why this is an argument. He is having an incredible season so far…
Good season, not an incredible one was my point. guy in Tampa is having an incredible season so far
Pete, I give up…
so if I am understanding correctly, when the Rangers lose its because the team, especially the D stink. Meaning not Hanks fault. When they win, it’s because Hank bailed out the D. Hank gets the credit. Hank must be the only goalie in history to be the goalie solely responsible for every win, and blameless for every loss.
Four solid d-men? Shatty doesn’t play defense. McDonut has had some pretty bad games. He’s had some good ones too, but if he’s not consistently reliable, so that’s not solid. Staal has had his good games as well, but he hasn’t been solid for a couple of years now. Why do you think everyone wanted him to be bought out at the beginning of the season? Skjei has been good at times. Sorry, but I disagree with the assessment that we have four solid d-men.
Rangers won on the road!
Take the 2 points, Hank stole them!
Here’s hoping ZUCC is back tonight, so every line doesn’t have to be shuffled up!
Lots of Rangers Jerseys walking around Vegas right now. This could be another home game 👍👍👍
Pete, I give up with one last statement. Hank, after last night’s game is now 1st in high danger shots against. Vasilevskiy is 19th….
Among 30+ GP goalies, Lundqvist is:
1st in starts (5 tied)
2nd in saves (Andersen)
3rd in save % (Vasilevskiy, Quick)
7th in GA (Vasilevskiy, Quick, Hellebuyck, Bobrovsky, Rinne, Bishop)
Drops to 5th and 9th when you add in Rask and Crawford, but staying healthy counts, too.
And no BDl that’s not the point I’m trying to make. All I’m saying is Henrik Lundqvist is playing at an elite level under some trying circumstances. Hockey is a team sport. Goalies can have an inordinate impact from game to game by virtue of their unique position. After a subpar season last year, hank has bounced back very nicely and since Halloween has been instrumental in giving the team a chance to get points night in and night out. And occasionally, like last night, he “steals” a game.
What are the trying circumstances ? His D stinks? Built in excuse for when inevitably he craps the bed in the playoffs.
Oy.
That’s the way it works, BDL. 🙂
BDL, that’s a good exaggeration to make a point, but nobody (on this blog anyway) says Hank gets the credit for every win and the blame for every loss. Lots of us, I think, believe he’s the MVP, and by a whopping margin. I was looking at ESPN today for other reasons, and stumbled across the (subjective) Top Performer category in the Rangers game log, and he is that 18 times. (Pavelec 3 times, good for him.)
That’s not an exaggeration, Norm. If you read twitter, it’s the conclusion at the end of every game. Each win is due to Henrik and every loss is the fault of his inferior teammates.
Norm to echo that point I read somewhere that Hank has been named a star of the game in half his appearances, more
than any other player in the league. I can’t independently verify that. But he certainly has been an important factor in a lot of games and inarguably the team’s mvp through the first half of the season.
Tampa game started turn around, but you’re close with Vegas
good talkin sittoo!
Very honestly not meant as a “jab” or “insult”, but love it when people that exaggerate accuse others of exaggerating.
Lol! Sensationalism!!!!
Without Lundqvist this cotton candy crew is a top 5 lottery pick.
Who knows how ESPN comes up with this stuff, but they don’t have a dog in this fight that I know of, so I find it interesting–here are the rest of the ESPN “top performers” this season:
~
Nash (4)
Zibanejad (3)
Buchnevich (2)
Grabner (2)
Hayes (2)
Miller (2)
Zuccarello (2)
Holden (1)
Kreider (1)
Staal (1)
Same Pete! LGR!
I’m right here, Wicky, no need to be coy.
ESPN has scientifically validated their selection process for Stars of the Game and will not just choose the big names like Henk and Nash.
Also, Wick, that’s a third man in. 5 minutes!
SN, fair enough. So how The did Staal and Holden get theirs? Pretty sure it wasn’t hat tricks.
*how the heck*
2 Goalies
1. GAA: 2.52; Save % .924; SOs – 2
2. GAA: 2.61; Save % .924; SOs – 1
Goalie 1 Cap Hit: $8.5M
.
Goalie 2 Cap Hit: $1.3M
Hint: They play for the same team…
Further to your point, SN, about ESPN’s subjective process, if you go the Pens log, 2 Crosbys, 7 Malkins, 10 Murrays, and a mess of everyone else. Tampa: 18 Vasilevskiys, 4 Stamkoses, 4 Kucherovs. Hardly proves anything, but it doesn’t look like they’re completely stuck on star power, might have some hockey people in there.
I see the point you’re trying to make, SN, and thanks for the hint. You’re saying it costs the Rangers $242,857 per game to start Lundqvist, and $216,666 to start Pavelec. The latter is certainly more cost-efficient.
If Henrik had to forfeit his vast suit collection to win a Stanley Cup, would he?
Norm
Wasn’t being coy, there were several people using the word.
Don’t flatter yourself
Hahahah Norm. You beat me
to that math. Score 1 for the English teachers!
Let’s not forget Buchnevich got a star of the game last night. Try as I might, I still cannot fathom why.
On a completely unrelated to hockey note, I hate it when someone is trying to sell something and then never respond to your inquiry.
Do you want to sell it or not? If it’s sold, do the common decency thing and let others know it’s sold.
Sheesh
Uh, no, Wicky, there weren’t several people using it. Why do you so consistently attempt to BS a BSer? Especially when it’s SO EASY to see you’re doing it. But thank you for the flattery anyway.
Norm and sittoo sitting in a tree k i s s i n g
😉
Hahahah wicky
I count 4 posters using exaggerations, stick to English, your math skills blow.
Norm
Try not to be a pretentious doofus all the time.
Exactly; NYR is paying Henk $4.25M per shutout and Pav $1.3M per…
I have no problem addressing you directly when it is meant for you and you alone.
Again, don’t flatter yourself.
Wicky, I looked up “exagg”, which is easily done, and it’s only me, and then you. You must be referring to synonyms, eh? Crafty devil.
And, boom, there it is, right on schedule, the personal insult. I win again.
Norm,
It’s just too easy with you sometimes. Always looking to fight with someone about something to try and make yourself look smarter than everyone lol.
I think you should be know as the big easy instead of norm lol.
Known not know normie
Ugh
Goddamnit…norm
No insult, just posting directly to you.
But whatever…act like you are smarter than everyone.
Quite comical
Wholly crap, an actual normal start time for a ranger game
👍
Wicky, if I were smarter than everyone, or, better still, more mature, I would have let your “sensationalism” crack go. Alas, I am weak, can’t help myself. In any event, it was as I stated a good exaggeration, or I thought so anyway.
So it’s another one of those days where every team in the Metro is getting points…
In any event, a little late to the New Years Resolution game, Wick, but I hereby resolve not to engage your jabs (non-jabs, whatever they are) any further. You are an ultra-sensitive guy, which I vow to respect that from here on.
remove one “that”
And one “In any event”.
Pavelec is starting. We can’t win this game, or any game, without Henrik. Time to forfeit.
SN, Pete, and BDL your boy is in net tonight! I’m betting on him for a shutout. And I will be sure to credit his defense for the win…😉
Lets go, Pav!
Vegas 2
Rangers 0
Time for a shower.
Sitoo – I root for the laundry, not playing favorites or being starry eyed in my view toward player’s performance…
Me too SN. Truly hoping for another excellent performance from Pavelec and a much better performance from the team.
They played Henk v the weaker opponent on this trip which is sort of strange. Pav last 3 starts are against the Pens, Stars and Caps. Hope he keeps it going but don’t expect it against the Lost Wages Nights
Stanley Cup Champion goaltender Mike Richter is my guy. All other goaltenders are fighting for second place.
yes BDL!
I thought Roy was OK.
Excellent review. Well done Scottso. Need more from 18 skaters in Vegas baby
Sioux sighting!
Go Time post at 9.
Girardi down on the ice in Detroit after blocking a shot with his head
Dan Girardi just took a puck to the head blocking a shot. Headed to locker room. Hope he’s ok.
Roy played for the Rangers? I missed that..
the girardi play
Right now it’s 10-1 Ranger fans over Knights. Crazy party outside 👍
Rangers are back to the first wildcard. I was going to post about Girardi but I spent about 20 minutes catching up on the blog. And all I gained from that was a headache from shaking my head so much.
Btw Norm, the acronym for the Rangers playing One Period A Game should be pretty obvious…..
Ilb, if you’re reading this far, it was already announced that Kreider had thoracic outlet syndrome, so good call.
Oh yeah, almost forgot… Nice review Scottsdale.
Better than my “it was cold” review since that’s all I could type in the 8 seconds I could take my gloves off without dying.
My God! Lucky to be alive. Hard to watch.
Ah, One Period Per Game–OPPG!
NEW POST
So you guys who think our D sucks watching the pens-bos game?