Rangers had a great year. There's no way there were SC expectations in September. Rangers will be good for a long time methinks, snipers should be added. Tortorella is awesome. You're all pretty down on him right now but he is a big part of whatever strides were made. I wish he were Oilers HC.
Great series guys. As Ranger fans, I think the knowledge that you guys have a young core and a winner at head coach should have you excited enough, but that youth gained 20 games of playoff experience including two Game 7's. The foundation is there. As an opposing fan though, I'm just being honest when I say Gaborik strikes no fear into the heart. Gotta get another scorer while Kreider develops, although I think its obvious to anyone with half a hockey-brain, that kid is going to be a fucking absolute stud. As for me though, well I'll keep my braggadocio to the other thread.
I don't know how people can be down on Tortorella, he might be the best coach in hockey. His line changes might be a bit wonky at times but he took a team with an average age of 23, a severe lack of goal scorers, and the likes of John Mitchell, Mike Rupp, Brian Boyle, Artem Anisimov, Stu Bickel, and Carl Haeglin (who to be fair has a lot of potential) parading around as third liners (and in Hagelin's case, a first liner) within a few bounces from the Stanley Cup Finals. Yeah, he's fucking trash.
Hopefully this run also makes hockey more prevalent in the NY market and media. Tired of the constant baseball coverage
Torts proved me wrong after last season...He is great with this group. But he lacks talented players on offense
This. I'm not a Rangers fan, but the coverage, fan rivalries, all of it have been really fun the last few weeks. Good series.
So what do you think caused the Rangers to lose this series? My thinking is that they were just flat-out exhausted from those previous seven-game series, and in the end, the defense and goaltending just couldn't keep up with the mediocre offense. What are your thoughts?
They weren't skilled enough offensively. I don't wanna be Cpt. Obvious.... but Hank sets the bar in net. Solid D core with DZ, McDonaugh, Girardi. VERY solid. I wish the Oilers had those three. Need more snipage up front. Torta system maximized this rosters' capabilities. Callahan I think is better than he showed in his role, adjustments will be made, Tortorella isn't stupid, very sharp hockey mind. This should be an SC contender for a while unless they're idiots and fire Tortorella too soon. That's right, he's the guy. Stick with him.
Man, my teams just can never win these championship series. First the Jets go to back to back AFCCGs and lose then the Rangers go to the ECF and lose. Bleh. Knowing my luck the Devils will with the SC like the damned Giants did in the SB.
*disclaimer: I'm not painting you as a bandwagoner BUT Riiiiight, so your arena was maybe 1/2 full at all times during the regular season and suddenly it sells out in the playoffs. COUGH bandwagoners COUGH
lol, how about the fact that you never heard a peep from Devils fans last year or for over half of this season until they came out of nowhere and started winning like crazy?
That's why I said less. The sell-outs were also thanks to the Rangers Fans buying tickets. Obviously all teams get their share of band-wagoners during playoffs But Giants Fans are the worst .
I blogged about the Rangers this morning, it's kinda lengthy so I wont post the whole thing but here ya go. This loss hurt, in part because it was to the much loathed Devils, but moreso because this was the most likable New York team since the 1998 New York Yankees. They're gritty, scrappy, tough, selfless, and they have a lot of heart, A LOT of heart. Winning two game sevens and almost coming back on the Devils (who showed they were the better team) twice? As a fan you can't ask for more than that kind of resolve. The knowledge that when the going gets tough your team isn't going to fold like a cheap suit; that they'll give everything they've got to battle back against the odds, it's exciting. As a Rangers fan, I don't think I've ever been more excited for a season than the upcoming 2013 season in October. The team's average age is 23 years old. This team majorly overachieved and was rewarded with very valuable playoff experience as a result. It's a good time to be a Rangers fan, one of the best coaches in hockey, very young core group, the best goaltender in the world, and deep playoff experience. Get pumped! Read the rest here.
Outside of their Defensemen, Callahan, Kreider, Richards, and Mary-Anne, I'd agree. Just a testament to how good of a coach Totorella is methinks
