Game 1

[chuckd3534]

Simple as that grey...I agree. No sense going crazy. Win game 2 and we are where we pretty much always were going to be....tied 1-1. All tonight did was put a lot of pressure on us to must win game 2.

 

[Messiah717]

Getting really tired of the Rick Nash routine at this point.

 

[chuckd3534]

One thing I'll say about Nash is I am sick and tired of excuses. He plays well on D, he back-checks, he hustles on the PK...AWESOME...we pay him to score goals. That's the bottom line. 1 goal so far is not near good enough. It angers me when I hear people say Nash is playing well, why is everyone on him...SCORE SOME F'ING PLAYOFF GOALS.

 

[chuckd3534]

Funny Mess...same thought.

 

[jamsim67]

Definitely should have been a penalty, but you can't stop skating. Hopefully this will get them going for game 2 ...

 

[Stepupstepan]

I think they will win game 2. It is going to be 7 games series, clearly.
BTW...how many big goals does this dude Ward always score in the playoffs?

 

[Messiah717]

That's really the bottom line. It should've been a penalty but you can't stand there like fools doing nothing while OV skates away with the puck.

 

[Ranger71]

It wouldn't be Rangers playoff time without one of those types of losses.

 

[chuckd3534]

Pretty much locks in a long series now if we are going to win. Longshot we win in less than 7 now.

 

[Messiah717]

I guess better to get a hideous loss like that out of the way in game one.

 

[chuckd3534]

That's the point Mess. I don't want crying over a call that is VERY unlikely to be called there. Keep playing and no shot they score with 1 second left. That should be the focus, not a no call with 4 seconds left.

 

[jamsim67]

They better come out angry on Saturday

 

[Stepupstepan]

yes and no, chuck. The play should've been whistled dead and there is no goal.

 

[chuckd3534]

We are not players, but I can say I am very deflated right now. I hope the players don't have those same feelings into game 2. Hopefully that isn't human nature.

I am concerned about the lack of scoring though. I would get MSL off the Brass line as a start.

 

[Messiah717]

As I mentioned Mcdonagh was equally as guilty. He should've cleared the puck.

 

[strudwickisthebest]

Boyle shouldn't have been trying to kill the clock. He had someone on the boards. It's routine to keep the puck moving

 

[chuckd3534]

9:46PM: Pierre McGuire said on NBCSN, “They need him. They need him going big time, they need him in the slot, the PP, he is a critical player”

9:29PM: On NBCSN, Mike Milbury was talking about Rick Nash and said “he has to get it going. He has been marshmallow soft through the first two periods. You can’t compete for the Stanley Cup if you are going to play inside your comfort level every game and Nash doesn’t seem to want to leave his comfort level.”

 

[strudwickisthebest]

Lol Stan Fischler with his dumb questions "Barry, what did you do to make OV a better player"

 

[Messiah717]

Guys listen. At some point you also have to score more than one or two goals in a game.

 

[chuckd3534]

Exactly Mess. I am concerned about the lack of scoring. We get a lot of chances but simply do not finish. Team is allergic to just shooting and getting dirty goals despite the fact that when they do it they score some goals (McD against Pitt, CK against Pitt, Fast tonight, on and on).

 

[Messiah717]

Ovechkin will eclipse 50o career goals next season but lets act like he's a 23 year old just getting his footing in the league.

 

[Ranger71]

They usually have a game where they break out and score 4/5 after losses like this. We'll see.

 

[strudwickisthebest]

The offense is stale. He needs to shake up the lines

 

[strudwickisthebest]

Stepan, Kreider, Nash have done absolutely nothing in the playoffs so far

 

[Messiah717]

They usually have a game where they break out and score 4/5 after losses like this. We'll see.

Yup, can't cry about it anymore. It's not going to change the result. Saturday 12:30 is a quick turnaround for game 2. Have to bounce back and get that one.

 

[chuckd3534]

All we can do. Trust me, we lose game 2 and we'll all have plenty of time to cry over it as we'll be in HUGE trouble and have a very slim chance left to win the series. So for now it is what it is, just focus on winning game 2 and still being in a fine spot to win the series.

 

[Messiah717]

You can tell me it's sour grapes after this loss tonight but Washington doesn't impress me outside of Ovechkin. Come with the same effort and they will win game 2.

 

[chuckd3534]

I'm with you Mess. I thought we were the better team all night. We didn't get stuck in our zone much at all. Hank made maybe 3 or 4 big saves all game. PP and OV is that team.

With that said, that is still a challenge. Holtby is good enough to just do what he needs to do, and you need to stay on OV (you saw how little room he needs), and stay out of the box or you will lose.

 

[strudwickisthebest]

Miller admits he left Ward alone. He had a brutal game.

 

[Messiah717]

I'm with you Mess. I thought we were the better team all night. We didn't get stuck in our zone much at all. Hank made maybe 3 or 4 big saves all game. PP and OV is that team.

With that said, that is still a challenge. Holtby is good enough to just do what he needs to do, and you need to stay on OV (you saw how little room he needs), and stay out of the box or you will lose.

I even said it in the Pitt series. The Rangers need to be more aggressive. Millbury is right about guys like Nash. This is playoff hockey and he wants to skate around and play on the perimeter. Go to the friggin net. Kreider's problem is that he plays hard one out of every five shifts. Still lazy at times and doesn't play whole games. That's the difference between having to grind out every win 2-1 and winning one of these 4-1 or 4-2.