You can't have liabilities in the lineup if you want to win the cup

[chuckd3534]

You are crazy with Glass dump. I mean no one in here likes him, but my lord he is your whipping boy. The guy is a 4th line bit player who has actually been decent in the playoffs. ZERO ability to score, and the 4th line needs to be upgraded next season with him off of it, which won't be easy to do given the moronic contract we gave him, but that still won't change the fact that the guys who are supposed to be scoring haven't done sh*t in this series.

That is your issue, not 4th line Glass that should be off the team next season in an effort to add some more scoring to the 4th line. I like Fast/Moore/Lindberg as a 4th line...I agree. But Glass isn't close to our biggest issue, and you mention him in every post.

As for McIlrath, what I have seen tells me the guy isn't good enough. Hasn't done much in Hartford. Came up here and cannot skate at an NHL level. If he wants to be in the 3rd pair mix next season, he should spend the summer becoming a much better skater. That at least would give him a fair shot to be a player for us. Right now I just don't think he can keep up on D. That is NOT on AV, it is on McIlrath himself.

 

[strudwickisthebest]

One problem is this team doesn't have dominant offensive players... Stepan, Kreider, Brassard, Zucc, etc do not put up numbers like Kane, Perry, Getzlaf, Toews, Stamkos, Johnson

 

[strudwickisthebest]

Maybe they can grab a couple players through free agency. I really don't see anybody is Hartford being the answer for this team... Lindberg is a point a game player for the pack in the AHL playoffs.. That gives us hope he can elevate his game.. But this team is missing guys that just get it done in the playoffs consistently (besides Hank).. Just please do not sign Justin Williams

 

[chuckd3534]

Interesting you say that when Nash is a multi time 40 goal scorer, and scored 42 this season. So he is a dominant offensive player, he just doesn't do it when it counts most because he is soft.

I think we have enough scoring on paper, I just don't know if we have enough guys who can score playoff goals where getting dirty and taking punishment to score is the way it is. Kreider does it, but is way up and down from game to game.

To me our biggest issue is still being too fancy when push comes to shove. We are a very dense team in that we don't get it in the playoffs when it comes to scoring. We do it one game, and then flip right back to old habits the next game. Nothing about our game was hard last night. We made life so easy on Bishop. When we had control in the 1st we passed and passed and passed again as if games 3 & 4 didn't happen. That is really frustrating with this team.

 

[NYR31]

One problem is this team doesn't have dominant offensive players... Stepan, Kreider, Brassard, Zucc, etc do not put up numbers like Kane, Perry, Getzlaf, Toews, Stamkos, Johnson

Agree we lack that star offensive player. Nash was supposed to be that, but he changes genders once the playoffs start.

A star player can't do it alone (see OV) and we have the scoring depth needed to succeed. I really wish we could get that star player but they are so hard to come by and i think that's what we've been missing the past couple of years to put us over the hump. If we had that star player we probably beat LA and we're probably up in the TB series. We have everything a winning team needs, stud G, solid D, scoring depth, but need that 1 difference-maker.

 

[chuckd3534]

Here is the issue, Nash is paid like a star with a 7.8 mill cap hit. Nash is also a star in the regular season. So what do you do with Nash? When you have him at 7.8 mill and Hank at 8.5 mill it is real difficult to add another star cap hit. That is where Nash's playoff struggles really hurt us...cap wise.

 

[Ranger71]

They need to see if Skjei is really ready to step in as he could be an alternative and 3m savings to Boyles last year. Lindberg has to be on the team next year or it's just incredibly absurd. I don't know how they rid themselves of Glass, or even scarier do they even want to. With MSLs $$ Glencross is affordable with a bit to spare. They need a prospect like Buchnevich to get here as he has that Russian flair these others are burning us with.

 

[jamsim67]

At this point in the season, every Ranger that sets foot on the ice has to be better. They don't have to be all stars, but they need to be better. You can't keep playing the same style that got you into the playoffs, believing that that will be enough to carry you to the Stanley Cup. History has shown that it doesn't work that way. The entire team needs to be on the same page, and they need to play for 60 minutes. Let's be honest, have we seen this team bring it for a full 60 minutes during these playoffs? I don't think so, and because of that, they are exactly where they deserve to be. Once again they've dug there own grave, the question is, do they have it in them to claw their way out one last time?