Islanders Leap Frog Rangers In Standings
The Rangers loss to the Penguins yesterday combined with the Islanders win over the Panthers actually moved the Blueshirts bitter rival from Long Island one point ahead of the them in the standings...
...if you weren't already depressed about this team, I'm pretty sure this news just put you on suicide watch.
...and I've got one even better. The Rangers 28 points is actually tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Yes Rangers fans, the Blue Jackets are better without Rick Nash and the Blueshirts are worse with him. It seems as though the Blue Jackets are using more of a team concept in an attempt to grind out wins with players such as Dubinsky, Anisimov, Prospal and Tyutin leading the way, while leaning on their goaltender to steal them games. How ironic.
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Rangers are slumping and we can only hope they get their top two lines scoring in some kind of good regular pattern, and that MDZ can continue his recent good d.as well as McD, Girardi and Stralls pick up their levels to make up for Marc's loss.If they can step it up and stay in playoff contention is about all we can ask for right now.
Then in a while, if Krieder and anyone else on the Whale has been playing REALLY well and if Fasth or Oscar L become available: add them. With Staal back, things could be different.We would be stronger-win more games-but thats a lot of ifs-when we don't know what the basic reason for team problems are.Look- all naysayers aside-They actually have a very good top six -not underrated at all-and respectable D-they should be playing better, as we all know.Anyways right now they have to pull themselves up by their bootstraps-that's about it.Maybe its only a case of sometimes the pucks don't go in.Rangers can't get down or go defeatist at this point. Girardi said shoot more-but the real answer is shoot quicker, pass faster and sharper and don't give up on any play.By the way Danny G-Telegraphing that same point shot again and again is kinda weak and ineffective unless you have a shot like Rick Nash's or Christian Thomas's.
We can turn this around even if we don't know what the reason is for the floundering.Just do it. LGR.
Go ahead, rub salt in the wounds :). This is about the lowest we've sunk since the days when Petr Nedved was "the franchise"
@Betweentheworlds czech line was a little fun at least but yeah, i'd like to forget those days.
@IcyCup You're right, I forgot about the Czeck line, they were pretty good in stretches, and while they played Neil Smith was doing coke in the press box lol
@slapshot13j i think that the clock is ticking for something besides kreider being called up.
Just an interesting tidbit... 4 years ago today was the last time the Rangers won in Montreal...
Disgusting.... we should have at least 35 points right now, so many games we should have won where the team just did not show up, highlighted by that game in Buffalo a couple days ago
Before you all jump on and say it is not all Rich Nash's fault, look at his captaincy in CBUS. Many felt he was Captain Country Club. Fans wanted the team to strip him of his captaincy. Kind of funny how now that he left their locker room the team is now practicing and playing better, whereas ours seems to be lacking fundamentals. Now I am not saying he stinks, because clearly he doesn't, but one has to wonder why no other team was putting as large of a package as we were. Hell most of Sather's trades end up biting us. I for one was never a fan of this trade as it did not serve the style of play Torts has brought to the NYR. We needed more scoring, yes. But we were successful because of grinding. Now we do not do either! I'm not ready to throw in the towel on this team, but if we do not win one of the next two, then I will probably be throwing the towel in. I still think Sather has long outlived his welcome here. The two teams that inhabit MSG have combined for 3 championships from 1970 on, not great considering it is "The World's Most Famous Arena". I'm just bitter today.
@JustinRP37 I see that you have it out for Nash,as that you have more than once used the Captain Country CLub moniker. Have you trademarked it? Do the BLue Jackets not have a different GM and therefore, possibly a different culture going on there? How do you know that their team is practicing better as you put it? No other team was after him you say?
Horseshit. Nash isnt the problem on any level.
@JP_70 I have not trademarked the moniker, but that came directly from a Blue Jackets blog, Puck Rakers by the Columbus Dispatch. My hockey history is I was a Whalers fan, then they moved. So I became a Rangers fan when my former neighbor was traded to the them, Jasom Muzzatti. I since went to graduate school in Ohio, so I even picked up a partial season ticket package to the Blue Jackets. The Country Club moniker is just what I heard from all the blogs and fans out there. I do think that he personally works hard and is a good player. Although the Hockey Gods have him cursed right now. I just think that a trade of this magnitude after last season was a bit much, personally. Do I make the trade? Most likely I do, but I probably would have tried and signed Prust back.
As for the Blue Jackets, this recent surge is not because of a team put together by this new GM. This is a team put together by Howson. However, they may be playing their asses off for the new guy to hopefully stay there. Also, I know the team is practicing better because I still follow Puck Rakers and their bloggers online (still have a soft-spot for that team too). Even optional practices are full and enthusiastic this season, which they have not been for quite some time. And as for no other team was after him, they were after him, but not for the price we were willing to give. At this point in time I would love to have that 1st round pick back for this summer, instead Columbus has an amazing potential this summer in Newark. I, and I think most other Ranger fans, hope and pray that we can right the ship and not just squeak into the playoffs, but get a 4-6 seed to go deep. This week will be hugely important to that. Big wins this week will go far.
@JustinRP37 World's Most Quiet Arena. See that ice-levelt giant poster of Hank's face in Pittsburgh? As dumb as that was I don't think MSG has the fandemonium or leeway other arenas have. Doubt MSG would allow something like that Hank face poster.
Apparently your Irish and a little too much of the suds today St Paddys Day! I'm sure your kidding about Nash! How the hell can you blame him for the season so far? The probhlem is when you had a team full of 3rd & 4th lines like last year you can play a grinding game, boring as it is, now the Rangers have more skilled offensive players and the grinding game doesn't work with that type ot talent. Look at Chicago , have you seen any of their games? That's the style the Rangers should be playing not this boring hockey and pray for a shootout!
2 Like
@Muggs62 @JustinRP37 Nashty is fine - Torts should go. Just 2 weeks ago everyone loved Nash, MVP talk and everything and now that he hasn't scored for a few games it's all his fault? Come on.
@JustinRP37 @Muggs62 My response to Justin is I respectfully disagree. Due to the fact that they were successful last year I could almost overlook my disdain for Torts, almost; and the fact that he was up for the Adams is absolutely unfathomable to me further proving that winning is all that matters in pro sports. You can check other streams for a detailed blow by blow account as to why I do not like him but in the end Justin you are right. I'm just a fan with an opinion and the Rangers will not can him this year whether or not they make the playoffs
@Muggs62 @JustinRP37 I was respectfully replying to Justin as well Muggs62 - your comments were amusing and accurate IMHO
@Betweentheworlds @Muggs62 Torts should not be the one to go. Do you know how ridiculous it sounds that you want to fire someone who was discussed as possibly winning the Jack Adams award last year? Seriously he coached a team to within one goal of the Stanley Cup final and you want to can him this season? I am willing to give him and this team a mulligan this year and see how they do in a full season. I think I would rather have them win a full season so we could say that it was not because of a shortened season as the naysayers will probably point out to whoever wins this year. I just hope that whatever happens through the rest of the year, that we do not make and awful, harsh decisions.
I said this before; I feel sorry for Rick Nash. The guy has been awesome, but given what's happened, it's inevitable that people say he's a problem or whatever. Meanwhile, the poor guys might miss the playoffs this year again. Making matters worse, Columbus gets 3 1st rounders in what's supposed to be the best draft since 2003. One of those picks is the Rangers' of course, which is getting better by the day. Hopefully the Blue Jackets select more wisely than the Rangers did in '03
@Ty Galpin i doubt he was implying causation and more so correlation as far as the nash comment. either way, this teams performance is mind boggling.
@iamJWblue @Ty Galpin Definitely not blaming Nash, team would be in last place without him.
