Game 27 Leafs vs. Rangers

[mrmel29]

This team going nowhere unless they stop being so reckless on pinches they miss resulting in odd man rushes against. Igor let in a few goals he would like back but also made a bunch of just spectacular saves. The way the defense is playing in front of him Igor knows what Custer felt like at the little big horn! Lavs and his coaches need to get the defense straightened out. Defense could use a huge stay at home physical defenseman who arrives at scrums with bad intentions

 

[kreidertime]

When Igor gets in a bad habit of playing back in his crease like the first half of last year, he's average at best. BA will get him on track but the team defense in front of him needs to get better.

 

[Ranger71]

It could be a little chicken/egg with Igor too, as the crappy D is putting a little more pressure on him too. The team is terrible with clearing the puck.

 

[PorterPanzer]

Wonder if Drury could pry Logan Stanley away from Winnipeg. They've been a friendly trading partner in the past and he wants out.

 

[NYR_94]

I have no clue what the future will hold for this team as the season moves on, good or bad, but these posts seem like a bit much. The team hits a 4 or 5 game skid where they aren't playing their best, have lost their structure and discipline, and the sky is falling. This is something that happens to every team in the long 82 game marathon that is the NHL regular season. Maybe this is the start of a downturn, but I need to see more than 4 or 5 games to determine that.

I will also add, the injuries are hurting them. Zero excuses because all teams have injuries, that's the NHL reality, but that doesn't mean they don't have an impact. Scoring goals/points or not, losing both Kakko and Chytil for a long period of time hurts. It hurts structure, it hurts depth, and it lowers the talent level. It means guys like Pitlick, Bonino, Brod etc. have to play roles they shouldn't be in. And losing Miller last night is also a big loss. He is way better than most give him credit for and may be their most important dman.

They should beat the Ducks, but after that they have some tough games coming up. Let's see how they handle them.

 

[NYR_94]

On Igor:

Here’s the real glaring issue: with just an .797 save percentage on high-danger chances, he’s coming in below the league average. Anyone who has seen Shesterkin play goal knows that spectacular saves are the norm for this master netminder.

The argument being made in defense of Shesterkin is that the team hasn’t played well in front of him, especially as of late. Now there’s some truth to that, but let’s go further down the rabbit hole. Per Natural Stat Trick, Igor faced more high danger shots against per game in 2022-23 at 7.12 compared to this season’s 6.06 at 5v5. And for those who feel that the Rangers play better defense in front of Quick, he’s seeing 6.6 high-danger shots per game with a save percentage of .833 against those opportunities.

So whether you solely rely on the eye-test or the analytics, it’s obvious that Shesterkin isn’t playing up to his standards.

 

[kreidertime]

Let's be honest. For all the crap we give some guys like Chytil, Kakko and Miller, the team is much, much, better when they play. Miller makes some bonehead turnovers but his skating and reach negate skill forwards on other teams a lot. Kakko is very sound defensively even when he's not scoring. Plus his puck protection is good. Chytil at worse is a 40 point third line center. Having these three guys out would be like the Islanders having Lee, Palmeri and Pulock out. Or the Devils having Palat, Mercer and Marino out. You're not winning as much with three guys out of the lineup like that.

 

[NYR_94]

Agreed, exactly my point. Is what it is as many teams deal with injuries, but it has an impact, especially when it carries over for multiple games.

I am a bit concerned about Miller's situation also - hopefully everything is okay and he'll be back soon:

K'Andre Miller missed this past Tuesday night’s game due to personal reasons per the Rangers and was given no timetable yet to return.

This is what Lavy said on Wednesday “I am just going to leave that alone as what we said yesterday.”

 

[PorterPanzer]

I don't see this team being physical enough to get the Cup. They need a few tweaks, too small at dman if Lindgren isn't in the Rangers future Drury should move him or trade Fox before the dreaded NTC. I agree with you about Igor dump, his positioning has been off so he's coughing up more juicy rebounds but I think he'll figure things out - he's not making excuses.

 

[Messiah717]

Miller returned to practice but might not be in the lineup tonight. Hopefully whatever is going on has been taken care of.