The Stealth and coach disagreeable must have kissed the Blarney Stone prior to the playoffs. How else to explain a 20 year old, less than two weeks from his last college game, leading them to the promised land. Look at it another way. If Hagelin lowers his elbow and misses Alfredsson's head he is still playing and the kid from Boston College is still sitting up in the luxury boxes 'learning' how to play the game. Or maybe the Rangers are all home watching the Senators play in the second round against the Flyers.
In the conference finals it was his key defensive play that set up Marc Staal's opening goal. Today he scored the winning goal on a blistering shot past Cap goalie Braden Holtby. Ninety seconds later Brad Richards put the nail in the Cap coffin via a clever Kreider assist. Kreider got 15:28 of ice time. He scored his second playoff goal, got an assist, launched seven shots, five were blocked. Marian Gaborik got 19:20 of ice time, one shot on goal and had an assist. In eight playoff games Gaborik has one goal. The Rangers have put out an APB on Gabby, who is definitely MIA.
The game was another fast paced hard hitting game. The players were more interested in hitting the opposing players rather then hitting the net.The Rangers out hit the Caps 35-28.The Caps outshot the Rangers 18-14, so neither goalie was overworked. The goalies could not be faulted on any of the goals.
The Rangers youngsters all played well. Artem Anisimov while only logging 11:51 scored his first playoff goal. Derek Stepan had 20:20 of ice time, a big asssist and doled out five hits. Carl Hagelin, Kreider's 'mentor', had 18:50 and Ryan McDonagh logged in with 25:04 and led all players with four shots on goal. The ever pressing Ryan Callahan meted out five hits.
But the big story is Chris Kreider. The former Boston College Eagle is soaring and he is taking the Rangers along for the ride. And a child shall lead them to the promised land.
I agree about Gaby but would lessen it a bit because he played hard. And sometimes a top scorer gets extra defensive attention (plays against the other teams best defense pair) which frees up other players. I also wish AA would shoot better.
Anonymoys-Good point but great scorers find a way to light the lamp.
AA seems reluctant to hold the puck and seems to be in a hurry to rid himself of the puck.
I was at the game yesterday and I was watching Gaby specifically because I suspect he is hurt. I think it was game 3 vs Sens that he went hard into the boards and it seemed as though he hurt his shoulder. I could be wrong but it seemed like he tried to avoid contact as much as he could. He doesn't seem to be himself. He was playing very physical in the first round and now he seems like he is just trying to stay in good position so he he doesn't become a defensive liability and hoping for a break offensively. Or it could simply be a byproduct of our game plan, however I strongly believe something is just not right with him. He had a great regular season and he looked like a player who was enjoying himself and now he looks unhappy. I'm very concerned for him.
Kreider is simply amazing. I was so worried about him stepping in under this pressure and wondering what to expect and this is just.... wow. This kid is out there and he's all over the ice owning the play sometimes and he has power. Power in his stride and in his shot. What a pleasure to watch him play. He looks sooooooooo offensive out there on a team that plays soooooooo defensive he really stands out. But let's enjoy his creativity and offense while we can because coach disagreeable is "licking his chops" and he's getting ready to teach him "the right way" to play and you can bet that he and mini me sully will suck the offense right out of him as soon as possible.
The good news is the Rangers keep on rolling in spite of all of the challenges they have. They seem to rise above and defy the odds no matter what arises. I'm taking it one game, one series at a time. Let's Go Rangers.
An injury to Gaby would be a good explanation of what's ailing him. The Rangers wouldn't advertise that either.
I think guys like AA and Dubi have to contribute in order for the Rangers to keep advancing.
With Kreider, I wonder if he hits a wall because he hasn't played hockey at this level(with travel,practices,etc) deep into spring. But he's young and the rush of the Stanley Cup could sustain him.
No doubt that as teams figure out that Kreider is for real they will start to check him but no matter what he does it is already amazing to see how well he has done and how he's jumped right in. 21 years old today. What a great story.
It has been reported by the beat writers that Dubi has been seen on crutches. I wonder if he even plays in this series and as far as AA it was certainly good to see him score. Funny story, the Rangers introduced Stephane Matteau at the game on a TV time out just a few minutes before Artie scored that goal on a wrap around reminiscent of the famous goal! I yelled "just like Matteau" to Jeanine right over the goal song lol!