Game 26 (Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final for the Islanders)
Rangers at Islanders – 7:00 PM MSG2. Makes sense. Two teams from the network playing each other, yup that is definitely C channel material.
The Rangers continue to slump. Despite stealing some games, they have not been playing well, by any metric. The Rangers better come out with some jump or the Islanders will bury them early.
I had to drive to Albany and back for work today and I just got home. I’m in a pretty foul mood and I expect the review tomorrow to reflect that. Additionally, I still need a volunteer for Thursday (my birthday). Clearly, this is an HAV.
Tonight’s probable lineup for the Rangers (16-8-1) via Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis):
Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey-Kevin Hayes-Rick Nash
J.T. Miller-Oscar Lindberg-Jesper Fast
Matt Puempel-Marek Hrivik-Brandon Pirri
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Nick Holden
Brady Skjei-Adam Clendening
The big news, of course, is that Michael Grabner is out of tonight’s game because he went to Austria for his grandmother’s funeral. That’s a pretty big gesture for the Rangers to allow him to go. In his place is Hartford call up Marek Hrivik, who has put up good numbers in Hartford. Barring a deal with the Rangers before July 1, Hrivik will be a Group VI UFA in July, so he should be very motivated. Josh Jooris is prucha’d to make room for Hrivik.
The rest of the forward group got shuffled again. JT Miller returns to the wing, and Jesper Fast is out of the top six. BDL must be thrilled.
The defense remains the same as it has for most of the season.
Lundqvist gets the start tonight. Buchnevich has started skated on his own, but is not yet ready to return.
For the Islanders (9-10-5), it is a complete disaster of a season. There was a brief period when everyone around the NHL was praising Garth Snow. Not me. He is the worst GM in hockey, by a lot. Capuano is a bad coach, no doubt, but the problem with this current version of the Islanders is one of construction, not of coaching. Tavares says h’s committed to the Islanders, but I can’t help but wonder whether he will still feel that way by the time his contract is up. Just an absolute tire fire, including their tire fire building, which I also said from the start would be the worst hockey arena in the league since it was the only one designed without any consideration for a hockey team. In any event, we know this is their game seven and it will be a solid test for the Rangers, despite the disparity in the standings.
Don’t forget to tell everyone you know and to follow me on Twitter @rangersreport2. And don’t forget to vote for your three stars after the game!
[polldaddy poll=”9569860″]
359 responses to “Rangers at Islanders … It’s Go Time!”
Hawks up 1-0 after 1st period.
Pirri sucks. Time for not-plastic
“Only so long you can keep him quiet”? They have 9 wins this year and he’s been a ghost. Trashville
Playing without Zibanejad, Buchnevich, Nash, and Grabner is asking a lot even against a last place team.
Not making excuses, but health or the lack thereof on behalf of the Rangers is a factor in the outcome of this game.
The worst power play versus one of the best penalty kills. This game officially makes no sense.
Geez. We are playing with an AHL lineup. Ribbit? Lindenberg? Is Glass dressed?
Tavares with NO hesitation in a small window of opportunity, unlike our heroes. That’s what make great player…Talk about he wasn’t mentioned too often in the game.
Might as well pull hank now. He’s basically been on the bench for most of this game anyway.
.500 team the last few weeks and they do not look any better than that in this game.
He’s 2 for 3 in getting the blame on the last three games.
4Ever, he’s the best offensive player out of the 3 metro teams. by far. One could argue Hall is second best.
Guess you’re right Admiral. They’re officially decimated by injuries
Probably the first game without any 2 on 1s or breakaways.
Turn out the lights! Sorry but Hanks time is passed! I not being g negative it’s just the facts!
Good to see Lundqvist coming to play for 1 period.
Agony starts…
Well, this proves if you take 5 offensive players off the depth chart, including 2 of the teams highest scorers, we can lose to a slightly above average, but currently last place team. I’m not worried.
Gane 7 for the Isles…I wonder if the cup is in the building?
sort of bs call on Pirriwrinkle, who has done nothing in November.
.
Henk can’t spot the opponent 2 goals. Outplayed by Alot, I mean, Halak
Tavares beat him clean on a short side wrist shot.
I’m not worried about the skaters, nyr. I am however worried about our “star” goaltender.
That Jack Capuano is 4th of the current coaches in games, says a lot about Isles management.
I missed mist of this game. What happened to Nash?
unbelievable
Brilliant play here. AV, you watching?
That was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen! Give the damn puck away! 2 times they took shots that resulted in the puck back in their zone! Just stupid! Why play any more intelligently now when they haven’t the rest of the game…
Girardi on with extra man; top 6 in league, no doubt…
https://m.popkey.co/718426/oDoG4.gif
Lbi,C3POh
Now they start calling all the Isles infractions? A bit late guys.
It’s just so much more sucky when they lose to these guys.
6 on 3. Betcha they don’t score.
So our huge weapon is Brandon Pirri????? Really????
Pucking clowns lol
Pahhhhhhhhhthetic
TRADE ALL!!! AV included. Basta!
https://m.popkey.co/9fd513/DekOX.gif
Pirri playing the role of Ovechkin on the PP is a freekin joke!
Tire fires = not islanders
Butch Boring is horrible.
Let’s get this straight. JT, Step, MacD, the all are out there to ….set up Brandon Pirri????? OMG.
Sneaking a peek. This one sounds like it’s on Hank almost 100%. Not often you can say that.
Beautiful passing. Dopes.
Fish Tanks.
Tbh the refs tried to hand us that game and we sucked. 103 power plays, including a 5 on 3, and no goals. One penalty kill…..goal. Great game.
Sorry, 2 against.
The winter of Carp!
What? Lundqvist doesn’t get a star?
Looking forward to AV telling us Nash has some kind of a lower body injury, that he hasn’t checked with the trainer or spoken to Nash. If Nash were to be interviewed, he most certainly say he is ‘good’.
Norm, the buffalo game was pretty much his fault too.
Taking bets on who will be back from a mystery injury first, Buch or Nash?
No half-price fake pizza.
Panthers going to OT for the 54337948th time this season already, Carp.
And here come the excuses.
5th in Metro! Nolan Patrick time? This team is a dog’s breakfast!
I know, Ev. At least that many.
I voted. Raanta, Clinton and two no-trump.
Who will Shampoo Boy blame this loss on? Is Benoit Allaire on extended holiday or something?
Maloney and Albert definitely blame this loss on the goalie. They won’t say his name though, so you have to guess which one.
Hossa. Hawks up 2-0
Rasmussen. Hawks up 3-0
I voted THE, Hated and Topo, in no particular order, Wick.
You would think that Shampoo Boy would be sick of being outplayed by the immortal Jaroslav Halak.
Cue the December collapse….. And Henrik sucks. Enjoyed the mirage the first 15 games…. But, let’s face the fact that we are a one trick pony, other teams figured out how to play us…. and our damn elite goalie is a soft goal waiting to happen. Speaking of soft, what a bunch of pansies we are. This team is softer than baby crap. Sorry, but make no mistake…. we’re not the Penguins of last year. Injuries or not, even when healthy we’re still a 1st round out once it becomes tight checking hockey along the boards. So disgusted… mostly with shampoo boy lundqvist. What a headcase….
This team is a one trick pony…soft as soft can be, zippo push back
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I voted ein kleiner, hated, and know when to Holden…in no particular order.
I voted Zucc cuz he actually deserved it, Raanta because he wasn’t to blame and Pimple because he can only be blamed for 5 minutes.
Maloney and Albert rule.
DStars up 1-0
Thanks carp
Panthers lose in ot on a horrendous giveaway of the Lundqvist proportion.
Gotta expect Hank can turn it up. That said, there used to be a question if he or Price was the best goalie in the league. Now? Not so much.
Knicks beat the heat. Hate the heat
Looks like Raanta and Puempel are the vote leaders so far.
Too bad getting Zika and Buch back won’t make Lundqsh!ts a better goalie.
YOU guys have to expect a ton of injuries with a coach that instills a victim mentality in his team.
I hate this phone…it capitalizes “YOU” every falking time.
Chicago has Toews and Crawford out. They’re playing a crappy team too but winning 3-0.
Mine puts amd instead of and every time, Wick.
I think this is the first game we’ve lost all season when Miller got a point.
You know how many points a moral victory gets you in the standings? You guessed it, 0
Ev
Annoying as hell for sure
Hey kids…remember that lose-one-win-one Rangers? Well…they are here again!
3-7-1 in the last 11 against the asslanders. At least 4 ga in 6 of those*
*courtesy of nhl network
Blues tied Montreal!
Carey price did not look all-world on the Habs CA swing. So Shampoo Boy has company.
https://m.popkey.co/399ae5/oZJk4.gif
I thought Leighton and Halak were the best goalies in the league.
Blues over Montreal in OT!
Some good news tonight anyway.
Hossa makes it 4-0
HAWKS WIN! Next up? The Rangers!
I have a favor to ask of anyone who thinks he is up to it: could somebody post a glossary of all the Ranger nicknames that appear on this blog (e.g. Hated, Couch). In many cases if you weren’t on the blog the week the names were coined, you have no idea.
Big Game Brass refers to JT Miller now that the original is in Ah-2-Roy.
Hank might be Vezina material anymore but he’s still the prettiest goalie in the league. Amazing hair.
Might NOT be ^^
Hair is overrated E3!
Stepan: “We lost it tonight, but a lot of positives to take from tonight.”
Really? Name one….
Aren’t they tired of being punched around by the friggin TIRE FIRES?????
I’m so sick of this team game after game against these friggin FishSticks who are playing game 7. Team played pretty well, but couldn’t execute on the pp. Missed Zpack, Buch, GRABNER, and then Nash. But yes this loss is completely on shampoo boy. Hanka Hanka Hanka hanka hanka …..
Team is crushed by injuries right now but not a single one on defense or in net. These aren’t kids learning the game these are veteran Dmen- Staal, Girardi, McD, Holden, Klein. These guys are supposed to dig in deep as part of the leadership factor on the ice. And Lundqvist who has been the heart and soul of just about anything positive they’ve done over the last 10 years is looking like a passenger more times than not. I won’t give him a pass anymore for games like this one. This team can’t get going for a December game against a division rival? Cmon Tired of hearing about the Isles and their game 7. They’ll probably get destroyed by the Blues in their next game when they’re “back down to earth”. Maybe they should play Raanta for a couple straight just to shake things up.
This is the NHL parity league remember …just get in playoffs healthy and take our chances
Norm, I’ll start it:
THE – Kreider (also Enigma).
Hated One – Miller.
Couch – Fast.
Beat Wide (used in the Post today) – Skjei.
Shampoo Boy – Lundqvist.
Topo Gigio – Zuccarello.
TRS – Third Row Staal.
Opie the Victim – Stepan.
Zika – Zibanejad.
Auntie – Raanta.
Marshmallow – Nash.
Bazooka Joe — AV.
…
anybody care to chime in with a few more?
… I miss the old days with Beast Mode Dime-a-Dozen Brian Boyle, et al., not to mention the Whipping Boy Meter (c).
Purple (among others) — Hayes.
Omg! This is hilarious!
http://i66.tinypic.com/vdj0ht.jpg
Not even going to waste my time commenting on a game when only one team bothered showing up.
However, thanks to Carp for kicking off the nickname tutorial. Perhaps, our Fearless Leader can put up an FAQ that lists the nicknames and other pertinent information.
Question for the back-to-back with Winnipeg and Chicago: which goalie plays against which team?
The good one for Nash.
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Review coming in the afternoon. I didn’t have time to write it last night and I’m swamped this morning.
Short version: Lundqvist has been legitimately bad this season, Skjei is pretty bad at defending, Miller is a beast, Nash injury is pretty devastating, and this team is a disaster at even strength.
Hank is becoming an issue. Through a third of the season he has been average at best. Maybe Shampoo Boy is becoming Mr. Softee. Let Ranta play more and have Hank work with Allaire. Alliare knows him and can tell management if he has really lost a step. With the injuries up front they need to with D and goaltending which is no longer their strength. December could be a brutal month until the forwards start to get healthy.
1 cup since 1940 and no hope in sight It’s tough being a Ranger fan! Well I’m not going to let it ruin my Christmas!
That might’ve been the saddest 6-on-3 I could have ever imagined.
If we weren’t missing a first-line’s worth of forwards, I’d probably say that Jeanette Pirri could use a game to get his head on straight. Though at this point I’m probably painting the porch while the house is on fire.
If we’re heading out west, I’m guessing a callup or two at forward is on the docket. It might be Nik Jensen time! I’d love to see what Kovacs can do, but he’s not exactly lighting it up down there and could use more time. If I were a betting man…at least Jensen is coming up. If a second forward for road-trip insurance purposes…Justin Fontaine as well?
Also, did you guys see that Gomez and the Rangers agreed to an $11.5M deal? Reinforcements are coming!
Jensen, Fontaine? Isn’t ther another no skill crappy forward (defensively responsible) they can bring up from Hartford?
The cupboard is bare, BDL. Chris Brown isn’t having a terrible year stats-wise and he’s a banger, that’s on option. And there’s always Boo Nieves. But legit prospects like Kovacs and Tambellini don’t look remotely ready (same with Fogarty if you want to put him in that bucket as well). I hate to say it, but the one guy who could come up and step in with the least amount of question marks would be Tanner Glass.
Talks of “As I was saying before, we shoulda kept Talbot and traded Hank” are heating up again!
CCCP – NEVER would’ve even been a thought under Sather (and it wasn’t). From what I’ve seen of Gorton, he might’ve entertained the notion, but probably not seriously. And as much as I think Jimmy Dolan stays out of the hockey side of things in lieu of getting his basketball jollies, he has one mandate: “Fill the seats and at least make it to the playoffs.” As much as trading Lundqvist might’ve been a savvy business decision long-term, Dolan would view us shopping our one legitimate superstar as running contrary to the first part of his mandate.
The Rangers have a Hank problem. Raanta is not the answer, so they have to stick with him.
Hrivek sucks!
Hank isn’t pretty. Like Zoolander, He’s beautiful. That hair alone is hall of fame material.
The PP didn’t convert or that would have been a 6-3 win. Zucc needed to bury a couple early, plenty of chances.
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Holden looked better, Girardi cannot be found in neutral zone, back to dropping back to protect lack of speed
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Henk loyalists are saying he was screened on all goals. jeez.
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Pimple was popped in face x-check; at least he was trying to hit someone. Nobody to his defense. sad.
Then there is this…
https://m.popkey.co/84c5d6/16pzD.gif
BDL – Unfortunately if we want to bring up someone from the farm who’s defensively-responsible, has no aspirations to get on the score sheet, and will just go out and safely eat up minutes…Hrivik might be the best we have. We’re VERY thin at forward in the system. Buch is already here, Gropp is in juniors, and the next best would be Kovacs (who probably won’t be ready for prime-time until the season after next). Between Jensen and Tambellini, at least Jensen has some positive stats and more pro experience.
Otherwise, injuries will force us to either bring up a guy like Glass, or we’d need to make a minor swap…maybe trading one of our depth minor league D for a super-retread winger.
Carp, thanks, will post on fridge, add to it as old/new ones appear.
SN – the Semin Bongos is still second place to me – first place being when Max Talbot tried to delicately swat Avery away.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X8i3TuINyM&w=560&h=315%5D
“Hey bee otch, I’ll slap you pink”
OPG – Over paid Girardi
Hide the garlic – means Newbear is lurking, usually after midnight.
C@ck fight -Blues playing Maple Leafs
Can – toilet
Dropping a deuce – taking a poop
Pinching a loaf – dropping a duece ( or shopping for bread)
https://m.popkey.co/4f4364/mE4xz.gif
Stupid me decided go watch that train wreck of a pp in person last night. Game was over after chimera goal.
Barclays center is awful. Lighting is bad. Fans annoying.
Another game Hank gets outplayed by halak.
13-4 start and most of you singing their praise. It’s the same old team with the same old ending ahead.
Big difference from last year though Eric. This team showed that when they’re on (and healthy), they have an extra gear and can flat-out dominate. Last year’s squad? All they showed is that even when they were winning, they never had an “on.”
Gut-check time for this team. Are they going to make injury excuses? Or can they go out and make sure their hot start doesn’t get equalized. And honestly it starts with Hank. We need him to be a superstar right now while the forwards try to figure out life without a huge chunk of the top-6.
injuries are the valid reason, not the fallback excuse. All these losses keep piling up but we’ve only been blown out once
If they can play 500 for the rest of the month that will be quite an achievement given the injuries that have piled up and the schedule they face. It’s a challenge for the coaching staff and team leaders to pull together and get them through this. This could be make or break for the season. They are going to have to win some 2 to 1 games and maybe a shootout or two. No more 6-0 games for a while- at least on the plus side. Hopefully as the weather gets colder, Mr. Softee will go away until the summer.
New Post
Did I miss it? Is there is a place to post comments on the New Post?
Or can they go out and make sure their hot start doesn’t get equalized.