2022 Stanley Cup playoffs thread

You can thow everything out the window in the playoffs, and if a team catches fire or a team gets overhwhelmed by the moment. ... they are all really good teams and anything can happen.

That said, just speaking about the Rangers, not Tampa. ... they looked way, way, way overmatched in the two games against Colorado this season.

The caveats. ...

It was relatively early in the season. The games against Colorado were like a week apart. They were coming off a period in which hte Rangers looked shaky defensively every game, but Igor was like a brick wall and they probably won 10 games they had no business even being within 2 goals in.

Those games against Colorado were when Shesterkin got hurt and missed a bunch of games, and the Rangers had a packed schedule. I know Adam Huska was in net for one of the games because there was a back-to-back, and I remember thinking they had thrown him to the wolves. Keith Kinkaid was the next goalie up to back up Georgiev, but he was out with Covid, and they had brought Huska up from the AHL instead for his only NHL start.

Since then, Igor is still Igor and he's back obviously, but the Rangers have firmed up defensively since then, too. K'Andre Miller has just gotten better, Braden Schneider emerged out of nowhere and is amazing, and Nils Lundquist got sent to the minors. Even the addition of Justin Braun has been a step up from Patrick Nemeth. Obviously, Chytil, Lafreniere and Kakko are playing with confidence they didn't have at that point. And a bunch of small things, like at the time, the Rangers were short right wingers and had a rotating cast that most of the time had Dryden Hunt playing alongside Panarin. The additions of Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano have made them a lot better.

If the Rangers can move on, nobody would give them favorite status of course, but I think the way they are playing they can beat Colorado.

One sidenote, I think it was the second game against Colorado during the season, the one at the Garden, the world's dirtiest player had been laying out opponents with open ice checks (there had been a huge hit on Jujhar Khaira a few games before) and he got Nathan McKinnon who had his head down, and was immediately challenged to a fight by Gabriel Landeskog.

 

It's about the path he was taking. You can't take a direct balls out path to the goalie and get out of the penalty because of a little shove. It was the right call, unfortunately, and not very smart on Vatrano's part. ... although I get that it's a fast game and you aren't thinking it through in the moment.

That game was a bit tough. They were outplayed, but could have stolen it and stolen the series, because if they went up 3-0 it was over. Losing it in the last minute was a gut punch, and the disappointment would normally have a hangover effect and shift momentum, but the Rangers have been good about putting the past in the past all season and focusing on the next game. That is the strength of Gerard Gallant, I think, he's never too high, never too low. So hopefully they take the next game like it's a fresh slate.

 

If the teams hold home ice, I hate the idea of facing Tampa in a game 7, even if it is @ MSG. That team finds a way to win. The Rangers need to finish them before then, which means winning @ Amalie.