I hope no nuts Zibanejad realizes his GM was a winner and he's probably playing for his job next year NMC or not.
Its crazy the difference you see in his level of play from one round to the next. He is just getting absolutely dominated and it is probably in his head. Some others have also talked about Fox and I feel like it's almost the same thing with him in the playoffs every year. He looks slow, tired and not playing at his typical high level. We say "Oh he's got to be hurt, we will hear about an injury or an upcoming surgery once they are eliminated" but we NEVER hear that. Not once. He has looked like total dog shit in some years and yet it is never injury related.
One thing is for sure they’re going to build this team around Lafreniere starting next year. I think you’ll see him on the right wing on the first pp unit where he should’ve been this year. I also think unless they get to the finals or win the cup that you’ll see them move Zibanejad and try to get a young center for Lafreniere to grow with.
100% I think it is mental with Mika. He needs to step up his energy level and his emotion to win. As for Fox, I thought he looked better in game 4, hopefully he can build off that. Let's be real here, for the Rangers to get where we all want them to get, Mika, Kreider, Panarin, and Fox all need to step up their games, or at least 2 of them. I think that is going to be important in order for us to win the best out of 3 series with the Panthers. I am confident it can be done and expect a good effort tonight. My one concern is the Rangers do have a tendency to lay an egg at home in big spots in the playoffs the past handful plus of years, but I am hopeful that is not what we see tonight. I am on record as saying I very strongly believe the winner of game 5 will win the series. I am also interested to see what the lineup looks like. Will Rempe and Wheeler stay in, will Chytil be back in, decisions to be made by Lav tonight.
Yeah, very tough call lineup wise tonight...Rempe is a catalyst for energy but he has had no impact on the physical play from the Panthers. Chytil, if they are truly trying to just manage his minutes could be in line for a return and Wheeler played ok but, do they look to manage his minutes as well? I am sticking with Rempe in the lineup at home. Series is tied, the garden loves him, he has to be in there. Its a toss up between Chytil and Wheeler though. Chtyil hasn't done anything in the games he's appeared in aside from a couple decent scoring chances. Wheeler was ok but he looked slow but if he can make good/quick decisions with the puck to break the Panthers forecheck pressure he could be useful.
Sadly, I expect Zibanejad to play like a total pussy tonight, because that is his reputation in playoff series like this. I don’t agree with you about Fox. In his previous 30 playoff games he had 31 points. He clearly was injured in that Washington series. I thought as well he looked better last game. Boomer said the same thing I did that they are game planning Panarin out offensively which had opened up ice for his two linemates. I think part of the reason Kreider has struggled is because his center is a pussy.
All things being equal I would sit Rempe and play Chytil and Wheeler, but as you touched on at home Rempe energizes the crowd and gets everyone fired up. If this game were on the road, I would sit Rempe for sure, but being it is at home I can see leaving Rempe in for emotion, energy, and to keep the Panthers somewhat honest. But truth is Florida will be Florida as you mentioned, so you wonder what does Rempe really add right now, and I think the answer is energy and getting the crowd going, is that enough to keep him in, we'll see. If he is healthy, I would put Chytil back in with Kreider and Zibanejad. I thought that line looked okay at times in game 3, and I also liked the Roslovic/Wennberg/Kakko line at times in game 3. Then you could play Cuylle on the 4th line with Goodrow and Rempe or Wheeler.
They haven’t played a complete game in some time here yet find themselves 2-2. The winner of game five in this scenario wins the series 79% of the time historically. Not a must win but it’s very hard to believe they can pull off a 1994 against NJ if they drop this one.
Bottom line is the rangers big guns need to step up as in fox, zman, panerin and Kreids! I think they will and get a big win tonight.
With both conference finals in 2-2 ties, the Rangers have the longest odds to win the 2024 Stanley Cup. Dallas is +230 alongside the Panthers, while the Oilers come in at +290, and the Rangers round out the group with +370 odds. The top-seeded Stars are -134 favorites for Game 5. The Rangers are increasingly large underdogs in Game 5 at the Garden, getting as high as +105 on Caesars Sportsbook to the Florida Panthers. Florida is favored to win the series despite the lack of home-ice advantage. The Blueshirts seem increasingly vulnerable without their big three stars in Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad producing more.
Per the morning skate these were the lines/pairs (doesn't mean this will be lineup for sure): Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Filip Chytil Artemi Panarin -- Vincent Trocheck -- Alexis Lafreniere Jack Roslovic -- Alex Wennberg -- Kaapo Kakko Will Cuylle -- Barclay Goodrow -- Matt Rempe Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox K'Andre Miller -- Braden Schneider Erik Gustafsson -- Jacob Trouba So, it looks like Chytil back in, and Wheeler out, and potentially Schneider moved up to play with Miller, and Trouba down to play with Gust. I am okay with that. I think this is a good lineup and lines/pairings.
just put down a small wager on Z scoring a second wager on Vinny T with 2 points, Igor with at least 30 saves and Rangers Win a third wager on K Miller scoring a goal LETS GO RANGERS!
I'll tell you right now, if you like the Rangers to win this series and the Cup, today is the day to bet before the game tonight. You have the West tied at two, so both of those teams are better odds than the Rangers, and our series is tied at two, which means the Panthers have better odds than us. The only way you will get better odds than today is if you think the Rangers lose tonight and still win the series in 7, which is highly unlikely. So, I suggest anyone who bets and believes in the Rangers bet before 8 PM tonight. You should put a little on the Rangers to win the series and/or the Cup Al.
I already did..I got bets on the rangers winning while beating the stars and a seperate bet with the rangers beating the oilers
I love everything about the setup for tonight. Rangers are longshots, no one believes in them, instead of 2-2 the series should be 10-0 Florida, on and on. With all that, plus last game, plus the obvious huge importance of the game, if the Rangers do not come out with an A+ effort and game, they never will. They should be so ready to go tonight. This is the sixth straight home game where the Rangers are underdogs, the second-most consecutive times being underdogs at home in the last 20 years, with only the 2021 Islanders having the edge at seven games.
I don't know where you are getting this "No one believes in them" stuff....almost everyone i heard on Sirius NHL channel is picking the Rangers tonight. Granted I didn't listen to EVERYONE.
I didn't listen to Sirius today, I read a bunch of articles from analysts and betting people, and just about all of them picked the Panthers. Of course, when I say everyone, I don't literally mean every single person in the world...LOL. But what I have seen and read the large majority are picking the Panthers, and the Rangers are big underdogs.
Hard rock has bonus bets and crap down here. I took their $20 bonus bet and bet Rangers +1.5, Rangers win, verhaeghe/tarasenko/kreider/trocheck/Laf all to score, Igor over 28.5 saves. $20 wins $4000. also got 20 to win 90 on rangers winning, rangers +1.5, over 5.5. And then I took a prop bet they were giving good odds on, Tkachuk or Barkov record 5 shots. 10 wins 25.50. oh and I bet Rangers to win the East back in February 10 wins me 57.50, and to win the Cup 20 wins me 220.
