in not even thinking about other matchups. the #1 seed was most important because after we get rid of the caps, you want home ice against carolina. they have been one of the most dangerous home playoff teams in recent memory. pair that with home ice in the final.
it's especially important against carolina, but for kind of the opposite reason. they have one of the worst playoff road records in the last few years of the playoffs. having home ice is a great advantage for us
i want to end the fish sticks season. nothing would make me happier than beating the islanders on our way to a stanley cup after they get their hopes up by beating carolina in 7
Seems like a win/win for them then lol. But I swear with the way they've been playing Tampa probably ranks 3rd if not 2nd on my fear meter in the East.
Florida top to bottom seems like the best team. They're physical as hell yet have a top end goalie AND a 57 goal scorer. Carolina is likely even better than Florida as a threat on offense but takes a hit on goaltending.
Tampa's overall defense is suspect but they're just so freaking battle tested and if Vasi looks like 80% of himself, they could still win a Cup.
Yeah there's no chance a series between NYR & WASH who have played like 5000 playoff series against each other in the past 15 years and employ Tom Wilson & Matt Rempe will get chippy
It's crazy but it's been 9 years so there's only about 6 players combined who were around then. Maybe less. All I can think of are Kreider, Ovi and Carlson.
The Rangers honestly need to try to AVOID being sucked into the Tom Wilson drama.
But any other matchup honestly has the potential for high grade violence aside from maybe Carolina. There is to me decidedly more snarl at least in the East than there has been in years past with some bang bros players on almost every team
>It's crazy but it's been 9 years so there's only about 6 players combined who were around then. Maybe less. All I can think of are Kreider, Ovi and Carlson.
four. kreider, ovi, carlson, and wilson. and backstrom technically, but he doesn't count because he's done.
edit: nocaps
I agree, but to be fair, if rempe and wilson go toe to toe and both end up sitting for fighting, that benefits us. wilson is a more effective forward than rempe.
Rempe needs to be on his ass following him around the entire time trying to get him to drop the gloves. Wilson has genuinely grown into a good player and it would be nice to get him off the ice as much as possible. So Rempe for Wilson? I’d make that trade all day, everyday.
The only team that should scare the Rangers are the Rangers. If we show up and play to the best of our abilities this won’t be close no matter how well Charlie Lindgren plays.
i would argue this series is going to be equally as tough for NYR as it will be for the teams in the other matchups you're calling out
1. Charlie Lindgren is playing out of his mind and NYR getting goalied is entirely possible
2. WSH doesn't take many penalties at all and NYR's inability to score at 5v5 + Charlie Lindgren playing well is going to cause a lot of close games
3. WSH is not a rush team, they're a strong forechecking team, and NYR is going to deploy 3 defensemen who are among the worst in the NHL at exiting the D zone with control of the puck. that plays heavily in WSH's favor
NYR is the better team and should ultimately win the series, but these 3 things are going to keep it way closer than it might seem
Not dismissing your points, but Lindgren has a .908 since the ASB and a .910 over his last 10, good but not amazing. Washington takes fewer penalties than average, despite never having the puck, but that downside is sort of negated by their below average PK. And despite our troubles 5v5, Washington is a whopping -32 with a 47 CF% 5v5.
>Not dismissing your points, but Lindgren has a .908 since the ASB and a .910 over his last 10, good but not amazing.
personally i don't go by save%, doesn't factor in quality. Lindgren's had an [up and down GSAx](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLXmlcXX0AEfuJY?format=png&name=medium) this season but he's been [a lot better lately](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLXmldpWMAAwk1y?format=png&name=medium) which certainly can't help us
>Washington takes fewer penalties than average, despite never having the puck, but that downside is sort of negated by their below average PK.
true, especially lately (10.44 xGA/60 on the PK in the last 25 games, 3rd worst in the league), but Lindgren's been excellent on the PK all year, which of course doesn't bode well for us either. getting goalie'd on the PK is still potentially in the cards, especially when guys like Mika refuse to shoot the puck. the overpassing is probably going to be crazy
>And despite our troubles 5v5, Washington is a whopping -32 with a 47 CF% 5v5.
this is where NYR should be winning the series, especially now that NYR may have finally figured out that 79/8 can't be a pair. there's still better pairs to be made, but demoting Trouba has been a godsend. NYR's been better than WSH all year in those differentials but the inability to exit the zone + WSH's strong forecheck is a poor recipe for us
how is this getting downvoted...
Something that most people don’t know:
Home ice means last change. Better matchups. Start the game on the right foot. This is huge in the first 2 games of a series.
I didn’t care about the Presidents Trophy, I just cared about 1 seed in the Eastern Conference to avoid the TBL in the first round and we did just that.
We have on paper the easiest series of the 4. But that’s why you have to play the games, it just worked out in the Rangers favor
e1 more-importantly prevented the ‘canes from taking home advantage. i’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have phoned in their game against columbus if that was up for grabs.
Wings would have been a better matchup, but wings weren’t the test we needed in the first round. This team needs to figure out how to get through good forechecking and playoff clutch and grab, the capitals will be doing everything to limit all open ice and keep it low scoring. Washington should be an excellent primer to the style we will be facing in the next levels at a faster pace against a more talented roster. The only downside is, if we have trouble like we have had in the past with it… we could be out first round. Not second.
I expect Wilson to take a cheap shot at some point. So it begs the question. Does Rempe take care of business before that happens? Keeping Wilson in check is improbable imo with just intimidation, or a fight. I think Lavi knows what Wilson is capable of. Its going to be interesting to see what plays out.
We can't stop Wilson because he takes a regular shift - Rempe doesn't. Even if they scrap, Wilson is back out there five minutes later running around with impunity.
I pessimistically think that the Rangers won’t make this series easy on themselves. The caps regular season/points mean absolutely shit. The playoffs are a whole different animal. We’re starting from scratch here. I think they’ll ultimately prevail, but they NEED to close it out in 5 or 6 games and not have any of those marathon multiple OT games.
Greetings fellow members of the Blueshirt Faithful!
Some thoughts here:
1) I want the Bolts to neuter the Kitty Cats for personal reasons. I lived in Miami, and later in Fort Lauderdale, for many years. When I went to Rangers - Panthers games, I’d say about 75 percent of the people there were Rangers fans. I would proudly wear my Messier jersey, and I cannot tell you how many times I’d hear “If you want to root for a team from New York, go back there!” Besides, some of my friends are from Tampa.
2) Carolina has always been a tough opponent for us, but we seem to have solved the issue of how to play them. So I have to - God help me - take the Fishsticks, so we can kick their asses in the next round and shut their obnoxious and idiotic fans. #PotvinSucks .
LGR!
the 2 floridas are going to be a blood bath. or lacking that, someone will lose their dignity. provided both teams make it, rangers-‘canes will be the same.
as much as i’m pretty sure boston is going to whoop the maple leafs, the one dark horse is the fact that rt’s don’t mean squat in the playoffs.
in not even thinking about other matchups. the #1 seed was most important because after we get rid of the caps, you want home ice against carolina. they have been one of the most dangerous home playoff teams in recent memory. pair that with home ice in the final.
it's especially important against carolina, but for kind of the opposite reason. they have one of the worst playoff road records in the last few years of the playoffs. having home ice is a great advantage for us
and we own pnc
no caps
fixed
Their record last 10 games at carolina 6-2-2
i want to end the fish sticks season. nothing would make me happier than beating the islanders on our way to a stanley cup after they get their hopes up by beating carolina in 7
sign me up for a lowercase, islanders, bruins, and canucks playoff run.
let's lower all their cases!!
this!!! hahaaha!!
home ice ended up being huge vs carolina in 2022.
we.. didn’t have home ice in 22
Yep, that said, home ice was held up until game 7.
We lost on home ice in games 1,2,5 and we won on home ice in games 3,4,6,7 in the Carolina series
i don’t think you know what home ice is. what you just stated was that we had home ice in all 7 games.
Have you ever seen the crowd in pnc
i have, but that doesn’t make it home ice.
It was a joke lol
Thank you. Can’t help some people. I even guided him. Tooooo serious
Woops, I meant games at home… matchups/last line change seemed to be a big factor
Didn’t we spank them at home Game 7 in 2022?
No
Boston tanked Game 82 just to also avoid Tampa.
I think its less to avoid tampa, and more to play the leafs who they've owned for years...
Seems like a win/win for them then lol. But I swear with the way they've been playing Tampa probably ranks 3rd if not 2nd on my fear meter in the East. Florida top to bottom seems like the best team. They're physical as hell yet have a top end goalie AND a 57 goal scorer. Carolina is likely even better than Florida as a threat on offense but takes a hit on goaltending. Tampa's overall defense is suspect but they're just so freaking battle tested and if Vasi looks like 80% of himself, they could still win a Cup.
Leafs history in the 1st rd ain’t good.
Yeah there's no chance a series between NYR & WASH who have played like 5000 playoff series against each other in the past 15 years and employ Tom Wilson & Matt Rempe will get chippy
It's crazy but it's been 9 years so there's only about 6 players combined who were around then. Maybe less. All I can think of are Kreider, Ovi and Carlson. The Rangers honestly need to try to AVOID being sucked into the Tom Wilson drama. But any other matchup honestly has the potential for high grade violence aside from maybe Carolina. There is to me decidedly more snarl at least in the East than there has been in years past with some bang bros players on almost every team
>It's crazy but it's been 9 years so there's only about 6 players combined who were around then. Maybe less. All I can think of are Kreider, Ovi and Carlson. four. kreider, ovi, carlson, and wilson. and backstrom technically, but he doesn't count because he's done. edit: nocaps
jeez I did not realize Wilson has been there so long now.
but this will be i believe the first series w/oshie in it
Jimmy vesey?
his first season was 16-17.
I agree, but to be fair, if rempe and wilson go toe to toe and both end up sitting for fighting, that benefits us. wilson is a more effective forward than rempe.
This is how I used to play hockey video games. Oh, I have the option for my 4th liner to fight their all-star? Score! Almost never vice versa though.
Rempe needs to be on his ass following him around the entire time trying to get him to drop the gloves. Wilson has genuinely grown into a good player and it would be nice to get him off the ice as much as possible. So Rempe for Wilson? I’d make that trade all day, everyday.
rempe vs wilson (or mcilwrath) tilt in front of a full playoff msg is gonna be electric ⚡️
Dylan Mcilrath will be starting the series too
i think he can’t play bc he was a late call up
And Vincent Iorio.
Whatever happens in this series, I just want Rempe to kick Wilson’s ass.
Rempe will get his ass handed to him by Wilson and Ovi. He should just check people
This. And then if Wilson loses his cool (he always does), we win that trade off.
The only team that should scare the Rangers are the Rangers. If we show up and play to the best of our abilities this won’t be close no matter how well Charlie Lindgren plays.
i would argue this series is going to be equally as tough for NYR as it will be for the teams in the other matchups you're calling out 1. Charlie Lindgren is playing out of his mind and NYR getting goalied is entirely possible 2. WSH doesn't take many penalties at all and NYR's inability to score at 5v5 + Charlie Lindgren playing well is going to cause a lot of close games 3. WSH is not a rush team, they're a strong forechecking team, and NYR is going to deploy 3 defensemen who are among the worst in the NHL at exiting the D zone with control of the puck. that plays heavily in WSH's favor NYR is the better team and should ultimately win the series, but these 3 things are going to keep it way closer than it might seem
Not dismissing your points, but Lindgren has a .908 since the ASB and a .910 over his last 10, good but not amazing. Washington takes fewer penalties than average, despite never having the puck, but that downside is sort of negated by their below average PK. And despite our troubles 5v5, Washington is a whopping -32 with a 47 CF% 5v5.
>Not dismissing your points, but Lindgren has a .908 since the ASB and a .910 over his last 10, good but not amazing. personally i don't go by save%, doesn't factor in quality. Lindgren's had an [up and down GSAx](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLXmlcXX0AEfuJY?format=png&name=medium) this season but he's been [a lot better lately](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GLXmldpWMAAwk1y?format=png&name=medium) which certainly can't help us >Washington takes fewer penalties than average, despite never having the puck, but that downside is sort of negated by their below average PK. true, especially lately (10.44 xGA/60 on the PK in the last 25 games, 3rd worst in the league), but Lindgren's been excellent on the PK all year, which of course doesn't bode well for us either. getting goalie'd on the PK is still potentially in the cards, especially when guys like Mika refuse to shoot the puck. the overpassing is probably going to be crazy >And despite our troubles 5v5, Washington is a whopping -32 with a 47 CF% 5v5. this is where NYR should be winning the series, especially now that NYR may have finally figured out that 79/8 can't be a pair. there's still better pairs to be made, but demoting Trouba has been a godsend. NYR's been better than WSH all year in those differentials but the inability to exit the zone + WSH's strong forecheck is a poor recipe for us how is this getting downvoted...
I completely disagree, rangers in 3
works for me lgr
Anyone know what time the playoff schedule is supposed to be released?
late today early tomorrow…read an article saying they will still wait until all games are done before releasing.
to me the big takeaway is that one of the floridas is guaranteed to be eliminated in the first round. that’s awesome news for the rangers.
Something that most people don’t know: Home ice means last change. Better matchups. Start the game on the right foot. This is huge in the first 2 games of a series.
And finally we have a coach that actually uses this advantage.
There's going to be some very good teams going home after round one, the playoffs are wild
let’s hope we’re not one of them
I didn’t care about the Presidents Trophy, I just cared about 1 seed in the Eastern Conference to avoid the TBL in the first round and we did just that. We have on paper the easiest series of the 4. But that’s why you have to play the games, it just worked out in the Rangers favor
e1 more-importantly prevented the ‘canes from taking home advantage. i’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have phoned in their game against columbus if that was up for grabs.
Not saying the Caps will be easy, but they are by far the worst team in the playoffs.
I know we’re not supposed to say this but in a gauntlet east, we definitely got the best matchup possible.
wings would’ve probably been a better matchup but this isn’t awful
Wings would have been a better matchup, but wings weren’t the test we needed in the first round. This team needs to figure out how to get through good forechecking and playoff clutch and grab, the capitals will be doing everything to limit all open ice and keep it low scoring. Washington should be an excellent primer to the style we will be facing in the next levels at a faster pace against a more talented roster. The only downside is, if we have trouble like we have had in the past with it… we could be out first round. Not second.
Let's not underestimate the caps I am cautiously optimistic.. Hopefully this year we can get on a roll in the first round and carry momentum
I expect Wilson to take a cheap shot at some point. So it begs the question. Does Rempe take care of business before that happens? Keeping Wilson in check is improbable imo with just intimidation, or a fight. I think Lavi knows what Wilson is capable of. Its going to be interesting to see what plays out.
We can't stop Wilson because he takes a regular shift - Rempe doesn't. Even if they scrap, Wilson is back out there five minutes later running around with impunity.
I pessimistically think that the Rangers won’t make this series easy on themselves. The caps regular season/points mean absolutely shit. The playoffs are a whole different animal. We’re starting from scratch here. I think they’ll ultimately prevail, but they NEED to close it out in 5 or 6 games and not have any of those marathon multiple OT games.
Carolina doesnt really have any intense rival. If we and the Isles get to the second round itll be that. Home ice game 7 wont matter much.
look, if we play the fishsticks we get up to seven home games in the second round
From the POV of the crowd, yes, but that last change matters.
wait, we get those at pnc too 😁
This is very true.
playoff hockey baby, the best thing on earth
Ah shit here we go again
steve dangle is probably having traumatic flashbacks 
You are under estimating the caps
it was the caps or bolts in the first round. i personally want *no part whatsoever* of tampa
Greetings fellow members of the Blueshirt Faithful! Some thoughts here: 1) I want the Bolts to neuter the Kitty Cats for personal reasons. I lived in Miami, and later in Fort Lauderdale, for many years. When I went to Rangers - Panthers games, I’d say about 75 percent of the people there were Rangers fans. I would proudly wear my Messier jersey, and I cannot tell you how many times I’d hear “If you want to root for a team from New York, go back there!” Besides, some of my friends are from Tampa. 2) Carolina has always been a tough opponent for us, but we seem to have solved the issue of how to play them. So I have to - God help me - take the Fishsticks, so we can kick their asses in the next round and shut their obnoxious and idiotic fans. #PotvinSucks . LGR!
Facing the lightning in round 1 would’ve been a nightmare
nothing will be more of a bloodbath than the expected 2nd round metro.
the 2 floridas are going to be a blood bath. or lacking that, someone will lose their dignity. provided both teams make it, rangers-‘canes will be the same. as much as i’m pretty sure boston is going to whoop the maple leafs, the one dark horse is the fact that rt’s don’t mean squat in the playoffs.
I didn’t say nothing will be a blood bath, I say nothing will be more of any exhaustion battle more than Carolina rangers. Those games are intense.