New York Rangers VS Montreal Canadians

[cagedlion]

CONFIDENCE......there are so many twists and turns, not only within
a game but throughout a series. At this point, Montreal has its starry
history to fall back on. The Rangers are just starting their own after
88 years in the NHL. IT IS TIME. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RANGERS.

 

[chuckd3534]

I'm seeing a lot of Montreal picks so far. You would think we are playing the 80's Oilers. And I guess I missed when Price was much better than Hank.

This will be an interesting series. I will be curious to see who the ESPN guys pick. So far Burnside picked against us in 6 for the 3rd time.

Hopefully this motivates us even a little more. We are playing the hockey gods from Montreal.

 

[Ranger71]

Interesting that MSL is going back to MTL now to play, we'll see if that has any negative or inspirational effect on him. Lundqvist is better than Price but Price dosen't let in many against us, whereas they usually find a way to get to HL, especially up there. The PP will be the difference to me in this series.

 

[Ranger71]

No worries Chuckles, I'm excited for the opportunity they have and the mindset of the team, it's a tight knit group. Just the chance to root for them into late May is always awesome. Would love to see them beat those annoying fans even more than the team.lol

 

[chuckd3534]

As long as the city of Montreal isn't in our heads and we don't implode up there, Hank especially, I think we have a great shot to win. We'll see, but I fully expect a very good series that can go either way. Neither team is a huge fav here. Close series on paper...very close.

And I would take Hank over Price as well. At this point in time though you would think Price is better based on "expert" comments. Funny stuff IMO.

 

[chuckd3534]

Yeah, those Canadien fans are something else. Love the French Canadiens...

 

[Ranger71]

He's not a better goalie individually that Lundqvist, but when you factor in the way the Ranger O performs against Price I think that factors in maybe to their thinking. Plus he certainly hasn't played well there as we know. They tend to get the Rangers running rampant in that building with the crowd so they have to manage that.

 

[chuckd3534]

Well, let me see that in the playoffs. Going in goalie is edge us IMO. Not a huge edge, but edge. Hank is with Quick and Rask. To me Price is in the next group just a little behind. BUT it is funny how most act as if edge in goal Price. Go back 3 weeks and Price was letting in soft goals early against TB.

Here is one spot I think Montreal is getting overrated. TB was not good and was missing their goalie. Not a good team. Boston is of course great, but truthfully that is such a huge rivalry that talent level/talent difference doesn't matter as much since everyone is in high gear from the start, especially the Habs as the underdog. So them beating the Bruins, while great, isn't the normal lesser team beating the big bad Bruins. The Habs know how to play them. The Habs always play well against the Bruins regardless of talent. The Habs were the Bruins worst nightmare.

Let's see if they play at that level against not a huge rival who gets them crazy fired up, a team they simply know how to play against, and raises their game at least a few levels simply due to the crazy rivalry that exists. Let's see if they play to that level against the Rangers...not the Bruins.

 

[BigDaddyAl1973]

Hank is a differnt animal in the posy season.his "failures" in the past in Montreal to me means nothing. How many games in Montreal were 100% his and only his fault. Regular season means shit. We are not playing in Ottawa the night before and playing the islanders the next day. This is about one team one team to study one team to beat. Ill take Hank!

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[Ranger71]

I'd give the slight edge to Montreal just because Price isn't that far below Lundqvist in the pecking order, maybe in the next 4-5 below the big 3. Both teams are playing well though the Rangers had a bad spell there for a few games. PP and managing MTL's quickness are the keys, plus finding a way to get a win or two up there. There is a good amount of history between the franchises so that adds something. Our defenseman and HL need to bring their A game for sure, and the PP needs to be at least average. Get it done!!

 

[chuckd3534]

I'm with you Al. And like I said I want to see if the Habs play to that level against not the Bruins. When you have a HUGE rivalry like that (maybe the biggest in the NHL) talent difference doesn't matter nearly as much.

The things that "concern" me are Subban, need to keep him somewhat under control and not allow him time and space to bomb away. The Habs PP. We have to keep it under control. Best way is stay out of the box. And playing in Montreal. Don't let it get into our heads.

We end up okay on those things and we have a great chance to win IMO.

 

[Ranger71]

I'd be pretty happy if they could make it a best of 3 and go from there.

 

[chuckd3534]

And sc I agree with you. I say slight edge/slight fav Montreal as well, but close enough where one says toss-up series and we'll see how it ends up. And that is how I view this. No major edge either way. Two teams that are very similar. We'll see how it goes.

 

[BigDaddyAl1973]

Dorsett or carcillo needs to get into subban's head.

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[NYR1962]

Two even teams. I agree with BigDaddy about Hank's past in Mtl meaning shit. For all the people picking against us, I believe Pierre McGuire without saying it, might be picking the Rangers to win it all. This morning, he said Boston's 3rd line gave Mtl fits, and our 3rd line is better. Also said our top 4 dmen are better than Boston's top 4. Then went onto to say how Roy came in with all those saves in OT in '86 to steal the series from us and was the main reason they eventually won the cup, even though they were not thought of as a real contender. Hank reminds him of Roy that year, not only from his stellar play but his focus off the ice, demeanor, attitude, leadership.

 

[Pastafazul]

THE REFS.... keep an eye on them, cause they WILL play a major role in this series, esp. on road.

 

[cagedlion]

When I was a member of the Ranger fan club in the 60s & 70s,
I remember taking the trip up to Montreal. That Saturday night
the Rangers were up against a powerful championship Montreal
team. I'll never forget, Gilles Villemure was the Ranger goalie.
Montreal was really taking it to the Rangers. They were storming
Villemure constantly. He was standing on his head thwarting
their prolific scorers. We were down 3-2 and the crowd was loud
and frantic. It was so different from watching at MSG. In the last
minute Jean Ratelle stole the puck at mid ice and fed Rod Gilbert
who beat a young Ken Dryden. The game ended at 3-3.....and
I convinced myself it was a victory.
Canadian fans are boisterous & devout. We Ranger fans showed them
that we are also crazy for our hockey team.
And a group of us went to a bar because we couldn't get enough
hockey and watched the Toronto Maple Leafs play the
Los Angeles Kings on Hockey Night in Canada.
Those were the days. Rangers were good, but Montreal
was great. Montreal has owned the Rangers for decades.
TIME FOR CHANGE. GOOOOOOOO RANGERS.

BTW....Good/Fair refs will call a good game.

 

[Ranger71]

I remember in 79' when they played We Are the Champions at the Mtl Forum when they carried around the Cup. That stung as a young kid after watching them beat the Isles.

 

[mrmel29]

I remember in 79' when they played We Are the Champions at the Mtl Forum when they carried around the Cup. That stung as a young kid after watching them beat the Isles.

Ouch, Can't forget that one. 24 years old, rangers take game 1 in montreal and lead in game 2 2-0 and I'm thinking sweep and a cup. Naturally montreal came back in game 2 to win and then won the next 3 straight for the cup. That one sucked big time.

 

[Ranger71]

Yeah winning game 1 was like, wow this may be so hard then bam, 4 straight.lol

 

[danipman]

Congratulations on making it to the ECF. Shocking turnaround, impressive .............................

 

[mrmel29]

Rangers win in either 5,6, or 7 but who gives a shit how many games as long as they win!!!!

 

[chuckd3534]

12 ESPN pickers, 9 picked the Habs (including our beloved Strang...Habs in 6). All in 6 or 7.
3 picked us. Cohn (as usual) and Custance in 6, Powers in 7.

A lot of Montreal lovers. Use that guys. We are big underdogs. No one really giving us a shot....

9 of 12 picking Montreal...WOW. We have no shot...LOL.

 

[BigDaddyAl1973]

Where is Jeter. .. we move on with Strang

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[mrmel29]

Time for the King to refuse to be beaten and take us to the god damn cup. Nash breaks out of his chains like hercules and gets a couple today.

 

[chuckd3534]

If we keep saying it game after game, at some point you would think Nash would score a goal. If he couldn't score against the Pens he may never score, but we can certainly hope he mans up and scores in the playoffs at some point. Personally I think we will need him to score to beat the Habs. If we are sitting here after the ECF with him at 0 or even 1 goal I doubt we are talking about advancing to the cup final, but we'll see.

It is so mental now though. Look at his comments:

“it’s trying every night to put the puck in the back of the net but it’s a bigger than my struggles, its’ about a team trying to win a championship and if I can help defensively right now I will do everything that I can to help win games.
“I’m trying out there to make plays and hold onto pucks and as I am not scoring, I need to keep doing that. Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t.”
“The team success is the main thing, the team picture is so much bigger than my struggle, if me scoring can help it’s great, it’s been frustrating and I have been through all the stages.”
Are you do, “overdue…definitely would say overdue.”


We'll see, but I think he is a must if we want to beat the Habs. That line MUST produce IMO.

 

[chuckd3534]

Key, as always when you start on the road, is we must come home 1-1. If we don't very long shot at best we win the series. The Bell Center would be in our heads even more, and then we'd need to win 4 of 5. So must come home 1-1.

To me our best shot in Montreal is to win today, but just get a win today or Monday night, and away we go.