Good morning, boneheads!
I have a video on my phone where I open my arms and my 5 year jumps in for me to pick her up for hugs and kisses. Exactly what it looked like between Zucc and Kreider on the GWG.
- They are a better team than Boston. And they were the better team last night. Period. Even when Boston came out swinging, had a goal disallowed ( easy call ), and kept pressuring. The Rangers appeared more collected, had a better transition game, and they got rewarded by a strange goal.
- PP. It’s been looking more and more dangerous lately. And now it started to produce. I wonder if getting Zibanejad back will require some extra adjustments and will interfere with the flow. But it can only be a big plus. They still look disjointed without that extra right handed shot.
- JT Miller. He looks more and more like a true power forward. Now he added some speed, and he is one of the better passers on this team. I still believe he makes them much better when he plays on the wing. But without a viable option at center he’s done more than just fine.
- The flow of this game was not great, primarily because of excessive amount of penalties. Some of them were France in the Air. Sometimes I wished someone put an oil inside of the refs’ whistles. Geez, do you really need to control the game to an extent where it becomes nauseating?
- Everyone was surprised to see Lundqvist in net last night. Myself included. Well, maybe AV looks at some stats after all. Lundqvist is 53-21-7, 9 SO, with a 2.02 GAA and a .930 save % in 81 back to back games so far. Ouch. Thanks, Romeo.
- Lundqvist was excellent last night. He’s been steady for a good stretch now, and is thriving on high work load. Nothing unusual there. Still, even though the Metro is absolutely insane this year, he is 35. They will need him fresh down the road, and they will need him fresh in ( dare I say? ) April. Pavelec had a couple of very good starts. He needs to play.
- Going back to Boston. They are going to make playoffs, most likely, but probably will have less points than a Metro team that will miss it. I watched a few games played by them ( including 2 against NY), and they are certainly worse than 6 teams in Metro. Thank you Mr. Bettman!
- I’m not sure I can say that playing back to back ( in less than 24 hours, thanks again Mr Bettman!) affected them that much. There were few signs of fatigue in the third that maybe affected their decisions. But it certainly didn’t have that mush of an impact, IMHO.
- The GWG. Butch ( Bruce ) Cassidy looked like he swallowed porcupine that got stuck in his pharynx when he realized his boys made the same boneheaded mistake second time in one game. Zucc with a laser. But it was mainly because the only thing Rask could see was Kreider’s…ahem.. pants. Kreider has done it very well in his career.
- Weekend like that is not going to make Gorton’s job easy. They can stay with any team in the league, even without their first line center. I just hope he has a plan and sticks with it. Whatever that plan is. I’m also glad I’m not the one to make those decisions.
256 responses to “Rangers-3, Bruins-2 ( OT )”
Apparently a couple of Giants players are coming to visit sick kids in the hospital at 3. I’ll let you know their names even though I wouldn’t tell them from Knicks players.
http://pge.sx/2AXgeBd. (Norm)
Is TJ a center or a winger or a swinger?
Back to Miller’s early centering days, how about they bring Gaudreau in here and reestablish the Vesey-Miller-Gaudreau line that won the 2013 junior championships? Miller bumped Galchenyuk out of the 1C spot.
Norm
Sorry for the delayed response.
I think the cap prohibits many teams from having one dimensional players (regardless of that dimension) on their rosters.
Re creativity…right now I think a lot of teams look at A to B speed of a young player and less at creativity.
The rules keep getting changed to “open up” the game which makes it less about thinkers and more about road runners.
Which also makes it less safe imo. I want physicality, I want guys to have to work, not just bag skate back and forth during a game, I want to see hitting…at a lower speed. Which is why I am against bigger rinks, even more speed less hitting.
All just in my opinion of course 😉
I’d rather see miller on wing also. He has played well at centre.
Re Tavares…yeah, he’s probably not coming here now;)
But karlsson is 😜😜
Karlsson for Nash and the entire Hartford team!
Lastly, rules I’d like to see…
Instigator gone
Minor penalty for guys that don’t have one skate on the ice to block a shot.
Automatic ascending 1 game suspensions to guys for every fight they have over 10 in a season.
Allow some screening aka interference/clutching and grabbing (not mugging or tackling) in the neutral zone to slow the game down a bit and avoid some of the higher speed collisions.
People in Pitt complain about traces the way people here complained about glass.
Rangers didn’t give up a 1st round pick for glass though.
They’ll like reaves a lot more in the post season, like a lot of people in rangerland did with glass. Although, I still say he cost us that series against the sens last year.
Ok, everyone have a good holiday season, happy festivus and happy Boxing Day if I don’t make it back here before then.
Damnit, a laurel…
Heard someone today on the radio say the rangers should trade for both nylanders and they could be a poor mans sedins lol
Thanks, Wicky, helps me see the game more clearly through your weird-wicky goggles. To my own strange-byngy ones, now I know why you’re relatively happy with this year’s squad. No big hitters other than Fast (though he doesn’t pack much mass) and a little bit Smith, but through and through with the thinkers you like. Overthinkers you might even say, between Zucc, Hayes, Miller, Shatty, Zibanejad, McD, Desharnais. Hell, even The is looking to create these days. And the only road runner the Rangers have is The Road Runner–might as well have the best one!
As to the high speed collisions you worry about, aren’t the chief culprits those near the boards and then into the boards? I’ve completely missed the open-ice ones you imply, and even those would be helped by a larger sheet–more escape routes.
(And your new rule about suspending the over-ten crowd, btw, might be the best thing I’ve read in a while. This year, it would affect four guys!)
You heading out on an elk hunt, Wicky?
Norm
I’ve filled all my tags this year. Finally was drawn for the elusive mountain goat tag, tough as hell but rewarding hunt!
I’m picturing you, Wick, dropping the gun, running up to the goat and punching his lights out.
Is there a penalty for second goat in?
Wow, pens add oleksiak…guy is a behemoth
I counted from noon today there is only 9 boneheads posting, where the he’ll is everyone?
Took over an hour to get to the body, I was too tired to punch it by then…it would have been more of a brashear hug fest 😉
Pens’ D addition has caused me to commission myself to examine the Rangers’ D relative to their competition since the turning point (Vegas). Back in a half-hour. I know how much you all look forward to these little projects of mine.
Wholly crap, just noticed there are 13 teams with more losses than wins in the league.
None of the eastern teams not currently in the playoffs have more wins than losses.
Was 6 yesterday, now 7 with more losses than wins (unless you count the gimmick losses, guess that’s what you’re doing). There were 8 at last count by the old W-L-T system, possibly 9 now.
But I digress–here comes the D breakdown not in demand, how teams are running their D. (Criteria, at least 12 games played since the Vegas turnaround, enough to count out the Kampfers, Hickeys…)
—
McDonagh 23:40
Skjei 21:20
Shattenkirk 20:10
Holden 19:27
Staal 18:11
Smith 17:11
—
Carlson 25:43
Orlov 23:18
Niskanen 22:25
Orpik 20:42
Bowey 13:27
Djoos 13:26
Chorney 12:58
—
Jones 24:16
Werenski 23:22
Johnson 19:26
Savard 19:21
Murray 17:52
Nutivaara 14:24
—
Vatanen 22:03
Greene 21:30
Moore 20:10
Severson 20:10
Santini 19:59
Lovejoy 17:35
Butcher 16:53
—
Leddy 22:57
Boychuk 20:02
de Haan 18:55
Pelech 18:49
Pulock 17:33
Mayfield 17:14
—
Letang 25:15
Dumoulin 20:09
Maatta 19:24
Schultz 18:42
Hunwick 18:00
Cole 17:14
Ruhwedel 16:24
—
Provorov 25:37
MacDonald 21:49
Gostisbehere 20:31
Hagg 19:34
Manning 19:32
Sanheim 15:53
Gudas 14:20
—
Slavin 22:46
Faulk 21:58
Pesce 21:12
Fleury 18:15
Hanifin 17:58
van Riemsdyk 16:34
—
Hedman 25:42
Stralman 20:47
Girardi 17:03
Coburn 16:45
Dotchin 16:39
Sergachev 16:03
Koekkoek 11:41
—
Zaitsev 22:54
Gardiner 22:34
Hainsey 22:08
Rielly 21:47
Polak 15:45
Borgman 13:13
—
McAvoy 23:50
Chara 23:43
Krug 20:51
Carlo 18:40
Miller 18:25
Grzelcyk 15:15
Hank again. Mika in. Recipe for….?
So now that the Islanders won the Belmont bid, does that mean that Tavares is not coming?
Sens Staal to Belmont where he should prove useful.
Staal and Oats. I can go for that.
*send
I live about 12 min. ride from Belmont. (and know local gatekeeper). Hmm…
4ever, turncoat…
Do not worry…look at my moniker. LOL.
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