Tonight's 4-1 loss to the Leafs---punctuated by a continued lack of scoring and a nine-minute lapse in the second period---cost the Rangers a day off.
After the game, the team announced a practice at 11 a.m.
It's obviously getting worrisome.
Question: Unless coach Tom Renney experiments on the power play, teaches the lads how to score on rebounds, or shuffles lines again, will a practice result in more effort or more pressure?
Sure, the edict sends a message. Another message would be to call up Greg Moore from Hartford, who scored his fourth goal of the season last night. Last night's third line didn't generate many chances. He can also kill penalties, allowing a break for Drury and Shanahan.
I'd move Hollweg back to the fourth line as well, and give swingman Strudwick a seat
Comments (29)
The best message would be to send Renney packing. This team desperately needs a new presence, a new attitude, behind the bench. If Sather can't see that by now, that's a ton of money down the drain.
my god we are so damn boring with that trap we play we cannot score.
figures that's not enough to bail out our mediocre goalie.
better keep it under fifteen shots next game all from bad angles.
Renney needs to get the boot as does Jagr and possibly Shanny. That would send a message...
It's not Renney's fault that Sather ripped the middle out of the team over the summer. We needed a 2nd line center, and he went out and got two of them. But he paid them both 1st line center salaries and cost the team the 1st and 3rd line centers that worked well with the team in the meantime. Blame Renney if you like, but it was Sather who blew his wad over the summer and left himself totally handcuffed by the cap and unable to do anything to fix any problems that might be exposed over the course of the season.
Who is on the bench showing absolutely no emotion when the opposition scores? At this point he should be trying to get his team pumped up but instead stares forward and comes up with idiotic line combinations. Show a little emotion, yell, bench some players, start a fire underneath their asses. Or he can keep staring forward as his job begins to become a question.
Jesus H Christ. 10 Games in and people are panicking. Patience, people.
Patience. Well 10 games in and 16 goals is not good for a talented team. LA Kings struggled but have won 4 in a row. I would take their 1st line over the Rangers. Kopitar, Brown and Cammalleri right now.
The Rangers are lacking a puck moving defensemen. if you watch them they throw the puck through the neutral zone instead of carrying it into the offensive zone. There is no flow when you throw the puck through the offensive zone. The forwards don't know what to do and you have to chase and recover.
"Who is on the bench showing absolutely no emotion when the opposition scores? At this point he should be trying to get his team pumped up but instead stares forward and comes up with idiotic line combinations. Show a little emotion, yell, bench some players, start a fire underneath their asses. Or he can keep staring forward as his job begins to become a question."
he is playing it cool and is trying to downplay the situation and is trying to hold on to his job for dear life because if he starts yelling then he will definitely get canned.
need to vent...nothing worse or more boring than watching a team that can't generate any sustained offense at all...
- Renney = still one of the worst coaches in the league when it comes to line combos...
- is Drury gonna show up at any point this season? why is Gomez catching heat while this guy has the triple whammy (overrated + overpaid + not producing) and no one was really on his case until this thread? oh yeah he likes Mattingly and won a Little League World Series, how could I forget?? plus he's a "clutch winner" too! is is too early to extend his contract?
if you actually watched Drury play before he got here, you knew he was a very soild player, but he was overrated by the media, and his stats last year were inflated by playing on a Buffalo team with a ridiculous amount of firepower...the "Clutch Winner Rangers Fan Drury!" media hype had a lot of people brainwashed...a few weeks ago The Hockey News had Drury rated as the 6th best center in the NHL! 6th best in the whole league! just outside the Top 5! are you kidding? but forget what other people think, I NEVER wanted him the $7 million per year price tag...
- Jagr has looked off in almost every game so far this year, plus it looks like he's getting old quick...he just throws the puck around half the time, loses it easily, makes (bad) blind passes, and looks like he's skating in quicksand...this team was built around Jagr and his style of play coming out of the lockout, but think about all the changes to this Rangers team since the beginning of the '05-'06 season...is it possible that Jagr (and his style of play) is now the square peg trying to be fit into a round hole (the round hole being this Rangers teams' personnel and style of play right now)? just a thought...
- when is Shanahan, who would lose a race to Colton Orr at this point, gonna stop shooting the puck from ridiculous spots on the ice? and stop missing the net? and stop aiming for the goalies chest when he actually does hit the net?
- why is Hossa STILL on the 1st line? (and please don't bring up his 3 assists, I actually watch the games)...what has he (or the 1st line as a whole) done this year since they put him there? better yet what has he done in 2+ years here to even deserve 1st line minutes on this team anymore? are we still "rewarding" him for that 10 game stretch last year?
- why is Strudwick playing forward? forget that, I'm still waiting for an explanation on why we brought him back even though a 25 year-old Pock was just fine as a 7th D-Man...
- why is Hollweg, who has no real offensive skills at all, getting moved up to the 3rd line? better yet why is he even still on this team? I appreciated his play coming out of the lockout, and to be honest I still don't mind him as a 4th liner, but I think it might be time for him to go...
- why is Dawes, a quick sniper, playing with 2 non-playmaking SHOOTERS in Drury and Shanahan? why isn't he playing with Gomez or Dubinsky? how can you expect a line with 3 shooters to work over a sustained period of time?
- why is Gomez, our fastest center, playing with 2 of the SLOWEST Rangers forwards in Hossa and Jagr? do we need to watch any more games to know that the type of game that Jagr/Hossa played with Nylander is not gonna work with Gomez?
- what does Prucha have to do to at least get a chance on the 1st line with Gomez and Jagr? the 52 goals Prucha scored in his first 2 seasons will be more than Hossa scores in his entire career...
but on the bright side...well, at least we have Lundqvist...end rant
Things that annoy me:
Jagr - his lack of speed really shows this year. Not that he's been a speed demon in previous years. But when he gets stuck in the neutral zone, yikes...
Shanny - As others have pointed out, the guy wants a goal so badly he just winds up from all kinds of bad angles. Often the puck winds around the boards and out. Ugh.
Drury - Hasn't looked comfortable carrying the puck out of the Dzone/through the neutral zone all season. I don't know what his deal is.
Gomer - His skating and speed have lived up to billing, but thats about it. Has lost the puck himself a few times.
Strudwick-Betts-Orr line - Got to be, GOT TO BE, the worst line in NHL history. Just kidding. Or am I?
Malik - Slow as molasses, not just skating wise, but team speed wise - he just slows down the game way too much. This team needs to play an up tempo game.
Mara - With his shot, why is he not shooting? And if he's not shooting, why is he here?
Etc. etc. etc.
Let me stress - I'm not giving up on this team. I'm sticking with them forever. It's just frustrating and annoying, you now?
Shanahan is killing this team with those shots that are wide, and go completely out of the zone. it stops the rush, it traps all the forwards in the zone, and it deflates the whole team when a rush is wasted like that.
Here is what our lines should have been for the last few games:
Prucha/Hossa-Dubinsky-Jagr (Dubinsky is the closest we have to Nylander)
Dawes-Gomez-Drury
Korpikoski/Byers-Moore-Hossa/Prucha (energy and some scoring and great defense)
Hollweg-Betts-Shanahan (this line is perfect 1 guy hits, 1 guy shoots, the other plays defense)
Staal-Rozsival
Tyutin-Girardi
Pock-Mara
Im sorry but i gotta say, im sick and tired of that annoying smile, and humor Renney has during press conferences. Your team has not had a win over a tough team this season. The Panthers, Caps, and even Devs, are not proven playoff teams at this point. Im not gonna get excited until we actually beat a team like the Sens. Why cant he just get pissed, he needs to get through to these players. I hope he's screaming at all of them. Cause someone or something needs to light a fire under this teams ass, it seems like Renney or even Hank is the only one to do it. Hank is hiding it, but i think he is as pissed off as much as most NYR fans. But he probably doesnt wanna come out and start handing out orders. This isnt Jagrs team, or Dru and Gomers team after him, this is Hanks team.
Betts is about 40% on faceoffs, 0 points in 10 games, only 9 hits pull the plug on him already and replace him with Moore or Pyatt.
And time to pull the plug on Sam and Joe and bring in a few guys who are actually interesting without being overly repetitive. Even Neil Smith is better than Joe.
Anonymous,
Who is "we"? Are you on the ice? You mean the blueshirts. Also, either some things that you say are not being said by you but an imposter because in one breath it sounds like you are an opposing fan, and others it sounds like you are a die hard blueshirt fan.
Tom
Only 10 games? That's an eigth of the way Tom. Plus more of the games are concentrated at the end of the season against tough teams (the norm). These games are important because it's going to be harder for them to win with a tough schedule.
Mark
Betts is more of a defensive player. I give him a hard time because when he shoots he can't hit the broad side of a barn, but he is invaluable defensively and is largely unsung.
Also, I like Sam, and I think he was better with JD. I know some people here are saying they didn't like them but the bottom line is they are probably the most unbiased pair in the league. Why else do you see them doing national broadcasts? You can't have a biased announcer when you are trying to sell to non-die hard fans.
Renney has always been a moron as a coach which is why nobody but one team, for one year, hired him as an NHL coach. Reality is that Renney hasn't got a clue what he's doing. He is lucky that he did hire great assistant coaches. The only coaches Renney is better than was the meatheads the organization hired before him which is quite sad.
Hollweg is not an NHL player on our team with our farm system. Period. Betts time here will be over next year. Orr shouldn't play unless we expect goon problems vs. a team. Strudwick playing is beyond moronic. I think injuries up front started to show last night. However, at the same time, without those injuries, Nigel would be rotting in the minors like he did last year because Renney hasn't got a clue how to use his farm system.
Also, do our fans finally realize Hossa is garbage? He's worthless. Sather has been totally incompetent by not trading Montoya. Montoya is starting to get a track record of being brittle. If Sather had any brains he would trade him now for a scoring wing. Shanny looks 100. Sather has also been incompetent by not trading Prucha, Hossa and Hollweg. Renney's favorite toys.
Prucha never seems to take heat here. Sorry, the kid is lazy with his training. He hasn't added an ounce of weight or strength since his rookie year. Time to send him packing in a package deal.
Most games I watch, Prucha is always skating hard and taking the man eventhough he's undersized.
i think you're all overreacting. that being said:
- as this blog's staunchest marek malik defender, i find myself unable to defend him any longer. my past defenses of him would cite his immaculate plus/minus numbers the past 2 seasons, but it's clear that he is not the same player that he was even last season. i still don't think he should be booed (see below).
- it's obvious that both gomez and drury are pressing under the pressure of enormous expectations. some of you may have noticed that drury was sitting on the doorstep last night when a rebound came right to him - he wasn't able to net it, but the bounces will start falling his way. he has a reputation for being at the right place at the right time, and i don't think that's changed. gomez is, for the most part, doing a good job of getting the puck up the ice (read: through the neutral zone), which is more than can be said for anyone else on this team. i found myself cursing last night - as i have for the past 3 seasons - that this is horribly deficient at breaking out of their own zone. passes backward, passes to nobody in particular, passes to guys standing still who are covered by second forecheckers.. it all has to stop. worse still is that the teams we play have no trouble breaking out with 1-2 quick, crisp passes and momentum.
- i miss michael nylander. this isn't a shot at drury or gomez, as nylander has a unique style of play, but i still miss him. and to think people booed him (see below) as he circled through the corner, trying to make a defenseman bite and open up his mates in front.
- STOP BOOING YOUR OWN TEAM. LET ME STATE THIS PLAIN AND SIMPLE: IF YOU BOO YOUR OWN TEAM, OR ITS PLAYERS, YOU ARE NOT A TRUE FAN. i don't care how much you paid to go to the game, how much the player you're booing is getting paid, or the fact that your team is unable to score. booing helps nobody, and makes everybody sound like a bunch of classless idiots. i don't mind losing, but the lack of support for the team is what had me leaving the garden angry last night. you think malik doesn't know that he screwed up twice on that first goal against last night? a man who's been playing hockey for the better part of his 32 years? HE KNOWS. AND RENNEY SURE AS HELL TELLS HIM AGAIN WHEN HE GETS BACK TO THE BENCH. coaching from the stands has never been proven to work, and getting in his head surely isn't helpful. you want him to be traded because he's painful to watch? i doubt glen sather factors the opinions of a bunch of fair weather fans into his personnel decisions. as a fan, you have a responsibility to either give your team a lift (e.g. cheer), or say nothing. i think quiet speaks a lot louder - and more effectively - than booing. i'm sick of hearing that new york has the best sports fans in the world, when we can't even support our teams through some growing pains.
uhh....im just plain disgusted with our team out there. we can't buy ourselves a goal but we could sure as heck buy ourselves players who do not perform......man our team is in for a long season....looks like we're gunna hve to wait another 60+ years for our next cup......oh well......at least we have lundquvist to marvel at.............man everyone predicted us to win the cup in the beggining and we're just under too much pressure right now........i think i'm gunna switch over to the islanders....at least they show a little bit of life..........even though they got blow out yesterday, we have 100 times as many problems as them......we have no on defense...i mean malik......come on......im just gunna put my head down and walk away from the rags...i think you guys should too........you guys are in for a long seasoon just like we were in the late 90's and early 2000's.......switch over guys....just think about it gomez and drury for 7 more years!!!!!!!!!!!! ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Enough Already
When you boo your team or players you are a true fan, because you actually care, unlike those that sit there and hope for a miracle. People that boo realise that problems don't fix themselves.
Thank you Scott. I echo your sentiments.
"Mark
Betts is more of a defensive player. I give him a hard time because when he shoots he can't hit the broad side of a barn, but he is invaluable defensively and is largely unsung."
he is not invaluable or unsung. And the song has gotten redundant and very short. His defensive game is good, so what? Is he the only player who is good defensively? No.
Moore and Pyatt might be even better defensively and on top of that bring other things to the table like offense, skill, passing, hitting.
- Talks to send Ed Jovanovski to the NY Rangers are on again. A deal between Phoenix and the Rangers was apparently close at the start of the season but sources say Jovanovski isn't keen about waiving his "no-movement" clause and might only be willing to do so if it's to return to the Florida Panthers, which isn't likely as the Panthers don't have the cash to spend on his salary.
Spector's Note: This is just getting silly. First, Jovanovski stated back in July that he has no intention of waiving his clause because he and his family are happily settled in Phoenix. Even if these two teams are talking about trade involving him, if he doesn't want to accept it, then the talks are a waste of time. Second, even if he did agree to waive it, the Rangers cannot afford his huge salary without dumping over $6.5 million to clear the cap space to absorb that contract, which would have an adverse impact upon an already struggling Rangers team. Third, have you seen Jovanovski's stats thus far this season? Right now he's not the guy to bolster their sagging fortunes.
why not rade me for Jovocop?
at least it will save you guys 3 seasons of suffering
How about Shanahan and Gomez for Savard and Murray?
Shanahan needs to be a healthy scratch next game so he doesn't get his bonus and maybe he will get a clue that it is time to retire.
Jovo makes $7 million.
he's not the answer
Jovanovski if traded would be about 6.3 million cap hit. Am I the answer? What was the question? At least he is signed for only 3 more seasons, while I am signed for 6 more after this one.
Me and Mara for Jovocop and Reinprick, do it Slats.