Captain Lando

That is a killer for the Rangers. Only 21 seconds after they tied the game and it took everything for them to tie the game. I think it is over for the Rangers. 

Just a dismal PP.

5 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

Yeah but Lafrienerre hasn't scored in 14 games either - and it was Gallant's "No" that made me wonder if something more, something off the ice maybe was the reason.

 

It's a 1-goal game with 20 minutes to go - seems like anyone's game. But the Rangers haven't shown any fight, that they're willing to empty the tank...maybe because it's already empty.

It is not because of Shesterkin or the Rangers defense in the game. It is because of the Rangers offense and only having 13 shots on the net. That is not going to get it done against the Lightning and Vasilevskiy. They need to in this 3rd period to have more than 13 shots on net and they need to be setting up in front of the net to block Vasilevskiy from seeing the puck and get tip ins and redirects. 

13 shots is not going to get it done for the Rangers. If that doesn't change the Avs will be facing the Lightning. 

3 minutes ago, FD19372 said:

Well, his replacement, Hunt has a lot of willingness to go to the net, in traffic. Maybe Gallant is thinking he needs more dirty goals, to survive this game. It won't matter though...obviously...if they can't get more consistent zone time, and the puck.

I do like that mindset by Gallant about get in front of the net and getting possible tip ins or redirects, but if they can't get shots like you said it is not going to matter. 

To Gallant: Can you tell us why you decided to sit Kaapo Kakko tonight? 

Gallant's response: Nope

Kaapo Kakko a healthy scratch. 

3 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

I said before it started this series is meant to go 7 but G5 threw a twist into it. I figured we’d see home ice wins only but TB proved me wrong and the way they did it was impressive. They dominated the Rangers, took away space in the neutral zone, killing any chance for a speedy entry, and that pretty much shut down the Rangers attack.
 

I’m still rooting for a G7 but I won’t bet on it. 

I am cheering for a game 7 for 1 reason and one reason only. That is for more hockey between these two clubs and more opportunity for them to beat up on each other. 

My Avs are resting and await the winner. 

Right from the beginning in Vegas they had the right chemistry with everything it seemed. Then they had to start F-ing with that chemistry because that is what the owner of the team likes to do. He seems like he always has to be making some sort of changes in the team or head coach and a lot of that has not worked and the team has dropped since then. 

12 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

yep and double yep. I'd cut it even finer, delete the ALMOSTs and say it is a must-win for Tampa. If they lose G6 tonight the momentum shift coming into NY will be unstoppable for the Rangers and they'd a good bet to take G7. But first things first. TB has to feel pretty good about G6 on home ice; the odds are all on their side and they're on a 3-game roll. But your boys better get it done tonight. They (almost) have to!

Did we not count out the New York Rangers when they were in this exact same position against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes? What happened in those series? The Rangers rallied and won the final 2 games and won the series 4 games to 3. Now the Tampa Bay Lightning is a whole other beast of a team they are dealing with so this challenge is going to be a lot more difficult, but I can't count them out quite yet. If the Rangers somehow win this game tonight, I fear the same could happen that happened in the first two series. 

One goaltender I believe will be picked is Brett Brochu from the London Knights. In 2019-20 he had a 32-6 record with a 2.40 GAA and .919 Sv%. He will most likely be taken in either the late 6th or 7th round. 

His strengths are quickness, rebound control, can see the puck through traffic , and good post to post movement. He needs to improve on his size and strength. He is only 19 years old. 

53 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

Bishop will not play.  There is no "may not" about it.  It's will not.  He announced his retirement.  He won't be well enough. Ever. It's sad, but that's the truth.

Yeah, when I first read this and saw that the Sabres picked up Bishop, the first thought that came to my head is I thought he retired awhile ago and he was out of the game. 

I then read the your post and thanks for explaining why the Sabres would even think of doing something like this even though I still don't think it is the smartest thing. After this they still need another goaltender and as you stated they are still up against the wall with the cap even after this move. They also need to sign a lot of players as well. 

It just seems to me some extra baggage to sit around and do nothing. 

35 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

I am pretty sure the next flight the Lightning take, they'd like it to be for Denver, CO...NOT New York, NY.

The boys in Colorado are waiting for whomever it will be. 

Jon Cooper has announced that Brayden Point may be a game time decision for playing in tonight's game 6.  

4 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

Love this!  Thanks for sharing / posting.

No problem at all. It shows there is good in this world. 

Here is a photo of the Humboldt players and Ben Stelter & his family at game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. 

The Stanley Cup is in full swing and what goes along with the Stanley Cup playoffs is NHL players beards. 

Who do you think sports the best beards in the NHL (Now and in the past) 

Photos welcomed

Joe Thornton- Florida Panthers

Brent Burns- San Jose Sharks

Radko Gudas- Florida Panthers

I really and truly honestly want to believe that the Rangers are going to win this game 6 and we are going to have a game 7 on our hands. Not that I want the Rangers to win this series as I don't really care which team comes out in the end, but I want the series to be extended as long as it can go. I want both of these teams to beat each other up and get as tired as possible so that when it comes to playing in the Stanley Cup Finals my team the Colorado Avalanche who are resting now for the most part will have at least a little advantage going in. 

Do I think this is going to happen, I doubt it.

What the Rangers really need to do and it is very simple is they need to aggressively out shoot the Lightning and put the puck on the net 40 to 50 times making Vasiliveskiy work extremely hard. To do this they also need to make sure when these shots are coming that Tampa's goaltender doesn't have the best sight line of the puck and redirects are happening quite often. So basically not many soft shots. 

On the defensive end for the Rangers to get the job done they pretty much have to do quite the opposite of what they have to do on the offensive side. Limit the Lightning to getting shot to the net by blocking shots, clearing out the Tampa players in front of the net so Shesterkin can see the shots coming. 

This is the formula for getting the win tonight for the Rangers. Easier said then done though. 

5 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

First, I am happy for Miller, a celebration will be done next year at one game to honor him.  On a 2nd and very important note, the Sabres have their established goaltender.  Finally.  Ben Bishop has been picked up by the Sabres.  I could care less about the contract stuff.  As long as he is ok, I would not consider him the starter unless something happens with Luukenen.  I would assume Luukenen is gone soon.  He was never going to be Hasek or Miller and not even Edwards or Sauve.  Now we do need a backup. But maybe Luukenen does stay to compete?  I doubt it. I hope Ullmark gets lit up like a Xmas tree in Boston next year.  They are going to have problems.  Fire a good coach, cap strapped and Hockey Guy thinks Bergeron might be gone. Back to my Sabres, to the other poster, I did not read his comment.  I do not even know if he is a Buffalo fan.  He named his post "Its Miller Time", NO, it was Miller time.  He will be honored.  I wish he was suiting up.  Now we must hope Bishop can have  a jump in his step in a new franchise. And that we can get our hands on a good FA this summer, a forward.  I think we are ok on defense right now as long as we get decent pay from the goalie. 

It will be Miller time next year when they honor him rightfully by raising his number. I guess that is what I was referring to and also making a pun on the beer commercial at the same time. 

No, I am not a Sabres fan, but a hockey fan that definitely knows of the brilliant goaltending play of Ryan Miller. So you are also correct that it also Was Miller Time when he was playing in Buffalo. He was amazing. 

Next season the Buffalo Sabres will be retiring Ryan Miller's #30 number and it will be raised into the rafters. 

Miller leads the Sabres in wins with 284, games played with 540, and had 41 wins in one season which is also a team record. He played 11 seasons for the Buffalo Sabres.

His jersey number being retired is well deserved. 

20 minutes ago, FireDillabaugh said:

The whole Bowness situation just reeks of a rift between the coaching staff and front office, or the staff and player(s).  With him stating that his passion for coaching still exists just days before stepping down.  And with them also letting the assistants go.  Really has drama written all over the situation.  And the statements by Nill are nothing but the same jargon used when these situations happen.

If it is that and the star and veteran players running the show, that is the worst way of running an organization and developing leadership for a team. Whoever they end up replacing Bowness with and if it is rift between the players and coaches then it will just happen again. It is just a matter of time. There is a reason why a coach is a coach and the players are the players. 

37 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

@pilldoc

Just nuts how some people will act over a spectator sport.

I know I said earlier that people "can be such animals", and while that may hold water, I also must say there are many people that will also do the right things and know how to behave.

First of all, kudos to those fans that tried to help the guy that got hit. They saw what I saw...NOT a rival fan, but a human being assaulted.
Second, I HAVE been to rival arenas/stadiums (wearing opposing gear!) and have been treated well by the venue workers and fans......of course, wearing rival gear got me some ribbing, but I knew THAT going in!

My husband took me on getaway weekends to both Chicago and New York on two different summers, and I followed the MLB Minnesota Twins to the South Side of Chicago to play the White Sox....fans were pretty awesome to us, even with us wearing Minnesota jerseys at their ballpark.

Also showed up at Yankee Stadium following the TB Rays on a road trip, again, New Yorkers gave us a bit of grief, harmless stuff, but our experience there was very nice as well.

In hockey, have been to Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center for Wild games many times when the Lightning are in town...wearing my Vinnie LeCavalier sweater and outside of some incredulous Wild fans asking, "You know about hockey!?", or "What? No Stamkos jersey?", or even "Your guys aren't that good", it's been all good.

I mean, even the bit of crap we got was all in good fun.
I probably confused some of them because we were Wild season ticket holders at one point, always showed up in Wild gear....only time I dressed in opposing gear is when the Bolts come to town.

But anyways, hoping that one fan is fine. He should press charges.
Last I checked this was still a nation where anyone from any state was free to go to any other state and do whatever they wanted as long as they weren't breaking any laws.

It is my belief that most fans will be cordial when another fan supporting another team or another teams jersey is visiting their building. Most fans don't want to risk assault charges. This New York Rangers fan who assaulted the Tampa Bay Lightning fan was nothing more than an Idiot Thug. I can see some ribbing and fun bantering, but never assaulting someone.  You also saw once the Tampa Bay fan was knocked out that several New York Rangers fans came to his assistance and were calling out to the authorities the guy who did the assault. Those people are real fans and not ###hole thugs. The sad thing is you never know when there might be one ###hole thug in the crowd. 

1 minute ago, FireDillabaugh said:

The talk seems to be that he's looking at returning later in the Finals.  Incredibly difficult to to stickhandle, shoot and pass with a surgically repaired thumb.  If he's able to return during the Finals and is able to still be a factor, it will be a huge feat.  Personally, I don't see it happening.  But, hockey players are a different breed.

Hockey players are a different breed and come back from injuries in time frames that the regular person wouldn't even think about doing. 

Yesterday I was reading through a thread on here about painkillers and that will have to come into play if he does return at anytime in the Finals I would think. I would actually rather have him recover fully the regular way then to push it and take painkillers and possibly re-injury it. 

8 hours ago, Math said:

 

If this is true, well, it sucks. Going with retreads is rarely a good thing.

 

I'm not surprised but I really hoped the Stars would go with promoting and giving a chance to some coach in lower leagues like Savard or Grönborg, give him a go-ahead-and prove-it green light and give the team a brand new message and direction. DeBoer failed in Vegas and apparently he's known to be very hard on his goalies. With Öttinger looking like a franchise player, I really hope he won't screw this up. And there's this:

 

 

So I'm not thrilled at all.

 

Dallas was one of those teams that I scratched my head when Rick Bowness stepped away from the coaching job. I fully understand he is 67 years old and that could easily be a part of his decision, but he seemed like a decent fit with this club. You might be correct that having a coach in this case step in that is familiar with the organizations players might be the best way to keep the success going rather than trying to hire that high profile head coach that could totally change up the mindset of the way things have been done and that could be a disaster in the long run.  

16 minutes ago, pilldoc said:

 

 

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/34070111/new-york-rangers-fan-given-life-ban-madison-square-garden-abhorrent-assault-tampa-bay-lightning-supporter

 

Madison Square Garden says it has banned a New York Rangers fan for life after he was seen punching a Tampa Bay Lightning fan in the face following Thursday's Game 5.

 

A Madison Square Garden statement Friday called the incident an "abhorrent assault," saying the Rangers fan also attacked a second person who tried to intervene.

 

"We are cooperating fully with law enforcement as this is now a criminal matter. The assailant will also be banned from The Garden and all other MSG venues for life," MSG said in its statement. "All guests -- no matter what team they support -- should feel safe and respected in The Garden. This has and always will be our policy."

 

Police confirmed to multiple outlets that a 29-year-old Staten Island man had been arrested on two counts of assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. There had been an interaction between the Rangers and Lightning fans before the punch was thrown, police said.

 

 

Glad many fans got that on video with their phones so the police can have so much evidence to arrest that idiot for assaulting that guy. That guy should be put behind bars.  Absolutely disgusting. It is a ####ing game!!!!!