Too bad Trouba didn't let Hughes go. An Igor save right there would've been a giant cherry on top. All good though
So did Vesey in the limited minutes. Mikkola was impressive as well. The entire team contributed to shutting down the Hughes and Bratt line.
Have to admit the Rangers looked really good, Tarasenko was a huge addition. Watching him play last night, it shows he is still hungry for another cup. His example on the ice is setting Rangers up for a great run. The Devils were playing like it was a pickup hockey game, Hughes acts like there are no teammates on the ice, if they have any chance they need to change that approach, otherwise it will be a sweep. When Islanders get bounced, I’m rooting for Rangers. Love playoff hockey!
Or worse, Trouba will absolutely FLATTEN Hughes if he is left alone skating with the puck in the middle of the ice like that.
Solid all-around game. If we play like this throughout the playoffs we're a solid favorite to hoist the cup.
Listening to WFAN this morning: Patrick Kane is getting a LOT of heat from Rangers fans, especially Boomer Esiason, who went as far to suggest that Kane has some kind of hip injury. It's hard for ALL 19 players to make a dominant impact in a single playoff game. There were so may bright spots that I think it's unfair to dump on Kane for one game. If he plays like that for the entire series? That's a different story.
Especially when the player who didn't play well didn't do anything obvious to hurt the team (Senseless penalty, awful turnover, ect.) and the team still won 5-1.
Kane's been playing with an undisclosed injury all season. I assume the Rangers knew this when they traded for him. The trade makes sense if he signs a cheap deal to stay here for the rest of his career.
Tarasenko isn't going to fit unless the Rangers talk somebody out of their NMC and make a big trade. Trouba isn't going anywhere. So that leaves Kreider, Zibanejad, Panarin and Fox. Who do you want to give up to keep Tarasenko?
Kane DOES have a hip injury. There were talks of him getting season ending surgery at one point in January or early February. Luckily, Kane does not have to be Showtime Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks Cup runs. He isn’t that player anymore. Kane’s value in this team is a top 6 right winger that allows us to run a legitimate shutdown 4th line with Motte - Goodrow - Vesey. The scary thing is that this team has even more untapped potential.
Forgive me if I am off base on this, because I am NOT a mathematician. According to this report, the Rangers will be 10M under a projected 83.5 M Salary Cap next year: https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/rangers Assuming Kane, Motte, Hajek, Halak, and Mikkola are gone, that leaves 10M to resign Tarasenko, Miller, and LaFreniere. Again, if I am reading this wrong, I apologize in advance.
Yet somehow he managed to play 73 games and score 57 points. He does not need to carry this team. he should be more than capable of performing the role the team needs.
