How about them Canucks!

[gopher]

grew up in Brooklyn - been a Rangers fan since the early 60s when I was a huge fan of Andy Bathgate, Harry Howell, Dean Prentice, & Gump Worseley

stopped watching NHL for a number of years and only went back to it a couple of years ago --- so good to see the NYR playing for the Stanley Cup

 

[talloola]

grew up in Brooklyn - been a Rangers fan since the early 60s when I was a huge fan of Andy Bathgate, Harry Howell, Dean Prentice, & Gump Worseley

stopped watching NHL for a number of years and only went back to it a couple of years ago --- so good to see the NYR playing for the Stanley Cup

yes it is, because i wish vineault lots of luck, i feel good that he made it to the cup finals again,
after his disappointments with the canucks, he's a good guy, and a good coach, he just ran out of time
with the canucks, things kind of went stale, but after the disaster with torterella, i wish he had of
stayed, at least he would have made sure the canucks got in the playoffs.

i remember all of those players you mention, i also remember the brooklyn dodgers, cheered for them as a
kid, was disappointed when they moved to l.a.

 

[Kreskin]

Gopher is in Minnesota but is a long time New York sports fan. I personally don't care what conference wins. I have a few favorite teams. After that I tend to root for the underdog or the team with likable characters.

 

[talloola]

Gopher is in Minnesota but is a long time New York sports fan. I personally don't care what conference wins. I have a few favorite teams. After that I tend to root for the underdog or the team with likable characters.

oh, he didn't mention where he is now, he always talks about the rangers, and
also about new york, just assumed he still lived there.

the conference thing is what it is, and whatever priority people have for them or not, really doesn't
matter.

i like our western conference, same as i like our division, that does it for me, and it does control
the standings in a big way all season, so i do hold the conference closer than anything in the eastern
conference, and there is a pride all season for our western teams to beat the east when they come or
when we go there, and it was mentioned all year how much stronger the west was than the east.
i like that, it is a competetive feeling for our side.
and of course the biggest rivalry is 'within' our own division, then the conference,
then the league.
just the way i like to do things. each to his own.

i cheered for the habs from a little girl, till canucks arrived, then 'bye bye charlie', now they
are just another eastern conference team in my mind, nothing more, but it took me a long time to
shake them free from my loyalty to them. in my mind there is no canadian/american thing, the canadian
players are on every team in the majority, i don't care where they play, they are canadian, it is
still a canadian game, but as time goes on, the u.s. will eventually catch up in numbers, can't be helped,
with over 300 million people, to our 34 mill or whatever, it is inevitable. but we need their rinks
to put all of our players in, not enough money in canada, so we will share with them, thats the least
we can do. lol

don't know how this finals will go, seems l.a. should have the edge, but as playoffs go along, teams
improve and by the time the finals arrive, the two teams are at the top of their game.

chicago are a more talented team 'with the puck', that was obvious, but that isn't the whole team, and
l.a. have their own strengths, different than chicago, but effective.

i also see lately some cracks in 'quick's game, could be because he is
a bit tired, as he is usually so dependable. they have 3 days rest, then
play at home, so by then they should be quite fresh again, hopefully,
and if he is, then the teams will have two top world class goalies, with
no excuses from that position.

 

[talloola]

first game of stanley cup finals - 5 p.m. pacific time

i hope this series has the class of the chicago/l.a. series, and we don't see the chippy play
we saw in some of the other match ups.

it was an eye opener, to watch two highly charged, talented teams play very highly ramped up
play, without the crap. of course we want lots of hitting, lots of action, speed and high
quAlity play, well, we want everything, and we want them to be well behaved, asking a lot it seems.

we'll see how it goes.

good luck to both teams, this is as good as it gets.

 

[gopher]

Argh!

LA wins in OT. Martin St Louis is just too puny to control the puck as he is easily pushed away from it by Kings defensemen - LA scores on transition to win it.

 

[talloola]

l.a. started this game looking very leg weary. i think the difference in that period was their fatigue,
and the rangers freshness.
first goal was a big giveaway by doughty, and the second was a save by quick, but l.a. defencemen knocked
the puck in the goal, after the fact.
l.a. gradually found their legs, and began to play their usual game.
rangers are a fast team, and as l.a. sped up their game, it was then pretty even, but in the third period,
the play was very lopsided in l.a. favour, but with no goals in that period, it went into overtime, and l.a. scored.

i don't agree with that assessment about st. louis, i thought he was one of the best players on the
rangers, puny doesn't fit him at all, he is tough, he is fast, but perhaps a few other ranger players
needed to find 'more' game in their play.

both goalies were very good.

i'm glad overtime was not long, as l.a. needs time off, not 2 or 3 periods of overtime, they have played
lots of hockey recently, just finished 'another' 7 game series, which made it 3 in a row, and they won
every game 7 in the other teams rink, now they finally have home ice advantage.
they need the next 2 1/2 days to rest the bodies, then come out more fresh than they did tonight.

williams is definitely a clutch player, he has scored lots of big goals in playoffs over the past
2 years.

 

[gopher]

the problem with St Louis is his lack of size and power - as the game progresses the physicality of the opposing team wears him down and you could readily see that he could no longer control the puck or the flow of the game --- thereafter, LA got the puck and won

 

[talloola]

the problem with St Louis is his lack of size and power - as the game progresses the physicality of the opposing team wears him down and you could readily see that he could no longer control the puck or the flow of the game --- thereafter, LA got the puck and won

and what happened to the rest of the rangers, did they just sit on the bench and watch st. louis play,
or do you only watch him, and don't see the rest of the game.
he was trying to lift his team up, when they were sagging in the third period, 'the whole team' was
being outplayed, not just him, he can't do it by himself.
he was skating miles, trying very hard to get his team going, but they were being
outplayed by a better team in that period.
his lack of size is only height, not toughness, or weight, and especially not heart.

 

[gopher]

But he is supposedly their leader - fiery speech may be good but it has its limits. Unlike softball, which is strictly a skill sport, you need to be highly physical in hockey. This is something he lacks. Meanwhile, LA used muscle and they got a big payoff tonight.

 

[talloola]

But he is supposedly their leader - fiery speech may be good but it has its limits. Unlike softball, which is strictly a skill sport, you need to be highly physical in hockey. This is something he lacks. Meanwhile, LA used muscle and they got a big payoff tonight.

martin st. louis has had an illustrious career, he is a leader, but there are other leaders on that team
too, and in overtime either team could have won the game, and it wouldn't have been any different
a game as it was, overtime is just a chance here and there, rangers could have won it before l.a.
did.
there are more established players on the rangers who were there before st. louis came at the trade
deadline, nash for one, richards for another, st. louis isn't there supreme leader, but he came with
stanley cup experience, and lots of years experience, but so do they, don't put this game on his
shoulders, as the player who lost it for them, because you would be wrong.

hockey isn't just physical it has lots of skill as well, same as softball, which i was connected with
for many years, the skills in each sport would never be executed without the trained physical ability
to do it.

 

[Mowich]

But he is supposedly their leader - fiery speech may be good but it has its limits. Unlike softball, which is strictly a skill sport, you need to be highly physical in hockey. This is something he lacks. Meanwhile, LA used muscle and they got a big payoff tonight.

Martie is but one player on the team, gopher and singling him out for criticism is no better than blaming the OT goal on Girardi for letting Williams by him when he didn't get any support from his partner who was up by the blue line instead of down in the zone backing him up. Mighty Mouse is always a threat to score and fights hard for the puck all the time he on the ice.

That said and cheering for the Rangers as I am, I was sorry to see NY lose this one but not surprised to see LA come back so strong - as I said in an earlier post, I thought LA would be a tougher team for the Rangers to play then the Hawks. Time will tell. Really looking forward to Game 2. Go Rangers.

 

[talloola]

Martie is but one player on the team, gopher and singling him out for criticism is no better than blaming the OT goal on Girardi for letting Williams by him when he didn't get any support from his partner who was up by the blue line instead of down in the zone backing him up. Mighty Mouse is always a threat to score and fights hard for the puck all the time he on the ice.

That said and cheering for the Rangers as I am, I was sorry to see NY lose this one but not surprised to see LA come back so strong - as I said in an earlier post, I thought LA would be a tougher team for the Rangers to play then the Hawks. Time will tell. Really looking forward to Game 2. Go Rangers.

it is very hard for some fans to lose, then its the blame game. l.a. had a poor first period, middle of the
game sort of evened out, third period rangers had a poor period, just the way it goes, can't blame the
goalies, no soft goal.

doughty made a huge mistake to allow the first goal, BUT because it was not near the end of the game or in
OT, it is forgotton about.

i think many ranger fans, don't know anything about l.a., and just go into games thinking their team should
beat them, end of story.

well, not so easy pal, a stanley cup two years ago, a world class goalie, some world class players, and a
coach that any team would love to have, this team is solid and knows what has to be done, they just went
through three 7 game series, and do look a tad leg weary, they have to be greatly respected.

doesn't mean rangers can't win this series, but they certainly have their work cut out for them, and need
to use their 'speed' for 3 periods, and lunquist can't blink. if rangers can skate their best all game,
i see they could wear down the kings a tad, but only their legs, as kings have no intention of quitting
in any game.

and i'm sure many l.a. fans don't know anything about the rangers either.

 

[Mowich]

Agree with you about the strength of the LA team, talloola..........and might add one of the best coaches in the NHL today - absolutely love how he makes line changes and mixes up the players to get what he hopes will do the job - never know who is going to end up partnered together. Might add that while the Rangers have 12 Canadians on their team, LA has 15 including Carter who played so well for us in the Olympics. Hard not to cheer for either team but I will stick Alain's just because I would love to see him win the Cup his first year after being fired from the Canucks and I have so much admiration for the man.

 

[talloola]

Agree with you about the strength of the LA team, talloola..........and might add one of the best coaches in the NHL today - absolutely love how he makes line changes and mixes up the players to get what he hopes will do the job - never know who is going to end up partnered together. Might add that while the Rangers have 12 Canadians on their team, LA has 15 including Carter who played so well for us in the Olympics. Hard not to cheer for either team but I will stick Alain's just because I would love to see him win the Cup his first year after being fired from the Canucks and I have so much admiration for the man.

yes, i do too, and if they were to pull it off, i would be very happy for him, actually very excited,
but i can't desert my western team, i wouldn't feel good doing that.

so its actually a win win situation.

 

[gopher]

Martie is but one player on the team, gopher and singling him out for criticism is no better than blaming the OT goal on Girardi for letting Williams by him when he didn't get any support from his partner who was up by the blue line instead of down in the zone backing him up. Mighty Mouse is always a threat to score and fights hard for the puck all the time he on the ice.

It's not so much singling him out but the fact that as a team the Rangers now rely on a finesse player who lacks the physicality to dominate especially at the crease (note that I have complained about the Rangers lack of physicality several times on this thread). Significantly, today on WFAN the NYR fans were all saying precisely the same thing I said and the announcers on the morning show were largely in agreement. I forgot if I discussed it on this forum but in my hockey chat room several fans (myself included) voiced our opposition to the Callahan trade as MSL is 38 years old, only 5'8" and has managed to score only ONE goal. Yeah, he is fiery but vocal leadership does not replace scoring, physicality, dominant presence in the crease, and digging into the corners with the ferocity that Callahan gives in every game. True, MSL started the game fast - but eventually he was worn out and this led to NYR turnovers. 200lb Callahan plays with 100% ferocity all game long and cannot be swept away from the puck as readily as MSL is. Well, again, let's hope the Rangers can make the necessary adjustments and ultimately win that Cup.

taloola,

i think many ranger fans, don't know anything about l.a., and just go into games thinking their team should
beat them, end of story

Kings were odds on favorites. Even the NY media has reported that.

 

[talloola]

It's not so much singling him out but the fact that as a team the Rangers now rely on a finesse player who lacks the physicality to dominate especially at the crease (note that I have complained about the Rangers lack of physicality several times on this thread). Significantly, today on WFAN the NYR fans were all saying precisely the same thing I said and the announcers on the morning show were largely in agreement. I forgot if I discussed it on this forum but in my hockey chat room several fans (myself included) voiced our opposition to the Callahan trade as MSL is 38 years old, only 5'8" and has managed to score only ONE goal. Yeah, he is fiery but vocal leadership does not replace scoring, physicality, dominant presence in the crease, and digging into the corners with the ferocity that Callahan gives in every game. True, MSL started the game fast - but eventually he was worn out and this led to NYR turnovers. 200lb Callahan plays with 100% ferocity all game long and cannot be swept away from the puck as readily as MSL is. Well, again, let's hope the Rangers can make the necessary adjustments and ultimately win that Cup.




Kings were odds on favorites. Even the NY media has reported that.

far too much attention and blame put on st. louis. calahan could have stayed, wanted more money,
there was good offer on the table, he turned it down. good riddance to those kinds of players.
he isn't worth all the time you have given him, he is history. any player who doesn't want to
stay, is history in my books, move forward and concentrate on 'what is', not on 'what could have been'.
that is counterproductive.

st. louis fits in just fine, he isn't the leader on the team, he is a good veteran player, with lots of
experience, lots of ability to help the team in many waYs.
teams need all ages of players, and a player his age is not brought in to save the team, and the
mgr. and coaches would have known that, he was a piece of a puzzle.
he was not brought in to replace 'what' calahan did, he is an entirely different
type of player, more finess, better goal scorer, but a team needs good chemistry
for good goal scoring.
calahan was leaving anyway, and if they had not done some sort of a deal, he
would have been gone at the end of the season, 'for nothing' in return.

if you feel it necessary to moan and groan about a player on the rangers, look
in the direction of rick nash, a 6ft 5in 'supposedly' a power forward, who does
not play any bigger than 5'8", moves too slow and isn't playing the game he
was brought in to play. he has lost a step, isn't intense enough, and doesn't
produce goals, as he is suppose to do.

 

[Kreskin]

I agree with Gopher. It's not that anyone is to blame for them having St Louis over Callahan but in order to win this series they need St Louis to have an impact and I don't see that happening. He might score a goal, maybe even two, but LA is going to eat him for lunch the rest of the series. I just hope he survives without any major hospitalization.

 

[talloola]

I agree with Gopher. It's not that anyone is to blame for them having St Louis over Callahan but in order to win this series they need St Louis to have an impact and I don't see that happening. He might score a goal, maybe even two, but LA is going to eat him for lunch the rest of the series. I just hope he survives without any major hospitalization.

if anyone expected st. louis to come in and save the day, they weren't thinking very well, he is 38 yrs
old, not a player any mgr. should be choosing to lead a team to the promise land. sure, he could have
scored a few more goals, but that didn't happen before the playoffs, so when playoffs came around, if
n.y. fans were expecting him to be the leader and score goals to win the playoffs, it just wasn't
going to happen.

l.a. will have lots of players for lunch, but they have their own mistakes to rectify right now, or
they won't be winning this series either, they aren't invincible.
they were not happy about their game and they need to be better.

everyone expected l.a./chicago/san jose/anaheim to beat any team that got thru in the east, but that mind set has its
problems too, expectations don't win games.

come on rick nash, step up and carry this team on your back. 6 ft. 5" superstar remember? where is he.

 

[Kreskin]

I don't think anyone expected him to save the day. The Rangers have already exceeded expectations. The point is simply to chat about one of the major challenges for the Rangers. There isn't a lot of wiggle room out there for old small guys, no matter how talented.