Decisions, decisions…

Good morning, boneheads!

ilb’s here. Thought it was time for a new post. It looks like Jesper Fast is ready to come back. Who is coming out? Glass, Buchnevich? I think AV will experiment, and make his decisions based upon the opponent for the next 12 games. I always felt that Buchnevich, and his skill set, is something they need for the playoffs run. But he will not make an impact unless he is playing top 9. Can he handle tough, physically demanding playoffs hockey?

A lot of decisions to be made on defense. Girardi is coming back, so is Klein at some point. Does AV continue playing McDonagh-Staal pair going forward? And who sits? Kampfer is an easy decision, but he has done pretty well so far. Smith and Holden seem to be a lock to play mid-range minutes.

What do you think?

60 thoughts on “Decisions, decisions…”

  5. Anybody know if the Russian defensemen Friedman said the Rangers were the favorite to sign would come this year? He’s a former teammate of Buchnevich. I kind of figured it would be next year, but it wasn’t clear.

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  6. I think AV has the luxury of waiting until both Girardi and Klein are 100% before having to make that decision. You have to keep Staal-McDonagh together. Smith-Holden has been OK. I don’t think they acquired Smith in order to sit him in the stands when the wounded get better. Kampfer goes to the stands or back to Hartford. Now what does he do with Girardi and Klein is anybody’s guess. Whoever plays is pared with Skjei. Who gets Prucha’d and who plays will be a tough decision. That’s why AV makes the big bucks.

    As for forward, it’s easy. You have to sit Glass. As All-World as he has been in his return {s}, he adds nothing other than being a tough guy.

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  7. Good morning Boneheads it is pretty cold here in St Pete 46° thanks for the nor’easter! Sit Glass play Buchnevich, kid needs the experience. Besides as far as the playoffs are concerned it won’t make any difference in the outcome. I would like to see the Kreider, Zibanejad, Buchnevich line back together.

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  10. Eli it’s our fault. We brought this cold with us. As soon as we leave Sunday the temp is going back up to 79.

    ILB- Thanks for the new post.. AV will base his lineup on the opponent and I suspect that come post season time he will go with the vets that have earned his trust as always. Meaning no Buchnevich, Kampfer to start. Girardi will go right back to his top spot with McD. It’s just how the coach operates. Some fans will lose their minds

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  11. I don’t think that Alexei Bereglazov would be eligible to play this year. I can’t remember the exact NHL/European contract agreement, but I don’t think he would be eligible to play this year. Plus, the Rangers wouldn’t be able to sign until his KHL season is over and his contract is up. He is a big boy (6-4/195) and turns 23 on April 20.

    I found this report on him from the OHL Stars vs Team Russia matchup from November 2013″
    “#5 Alexei Bereglazov (RUS, D) – Outside of Zadorov, Bereglazov was the lone Russian defenseman that caught my eye. He’s a ’94 born 6-foot-4 defender with good feet who plays a simple game. He was quite effective at closing the gap on some of OHL’s top offensive players and seemed to never panic under pressure. It’s impossible to tell if he has any interest at bringing his skills to North America but he could be a player teams look at. Bereglazov snuck in the back door and scored a nice goal on Russia’s opening powerplay goal of the game.”
    http://www.dobberprospects.com/subway-super-series-scouting-reports/

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  24. Thanks for the Bereglazov info Anthony!

    I think Vesey will be looking over his shoulder, but Buchnevich and Glass will probably platoon depending on the opponent and their play. As Carp pointed out, there will be more injuries.

    On D:

    McDonough McDonough
    Smith McDonough
    Skjei McDonough

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  37. Speaking of Keenan…

    He was hired by a Chinese club Kunlun Red Star, which competes in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League. Kunlun wants to develope Chinese players as the country builds a national team to compete at its first home Winter Olympics in 2022.

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  39. Wow. People really go nuts over Glass. I don’t see the problem with Glass playing right now over Buch who has looked unfocused offensively and defensively. He is also really easy to move off the puck. I think he can develop into a terrific player someday, but that is not today. He has flashes of brilliance and episodes of inconsistency. He’s a rookie for God’s sake and a really skinny one at that. I say play Glass now against desperate teams fighting for a playoff spot who will be very physical against us. Put Buch in against the teams who are out of the playoff picture or solidly in it.

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  40. See, Carp… that is where you are wrong. Tretiak did not lose that game. Myshkin did.

    Victor Tikhonov gifted the game to Americans. Sort of like, eh, let them have ONE…In Soviet Union this game is known as “Gift on ice” 😉

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  42. Carp – I always said that if I ever had a daughter I would hope she would marry someone like Adam Graves. He forever cemented a place in my memory when he mentioned Ceil Saidel following the Rangers Cup win.

    For those who don’t know/remember her she was a long time member of the Rangers Fan Club who was murdered during the Cup run -I think it was during the Caps series. Following the Game 7 win they talked with Adam and her mentioned her and how she helped kick the dragon out of the Garden.

    My screensaver at work is a picture of me, my late wife Roe and Adam – whom she called Mr. Graves 🙂

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  46. The Tretiak choke job got me thinking about some of the worst ones in history in this very particular order.

    1. Russia ’80 Olympics
    2. Greg Norman ’96 Masters
    3. Oilers/Bills ’93 AFC Wild Card game
    4. My beloved 2007 Mets putting us through hell for the last 2 weeks
    5. Chris Webber ’93 NCAA Final

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  47. Why you sound bitter, Carp? USA won that game…. but obviously you don’t remember what really happened, Carp… but that is ok…giving your old age, I wouldn’t remember much either 😀

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  48. Biggest thing that gets forgotten about the Miracle on Ice was the pasting Russia gave to the U.S. at MSG just prior to the Olympics. I still contend that Herb Brooks scheduled that game so that his team would get over being awestruck before the Olympics and concentrate on playing, and winning, at Lake Placid.

    I am sure it also made the Russians very confident – perhaps too much so.

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  49. Good point, Anthony….but I don’t think that Soviet team needed boost of confidence at any time. Tikhonov panicked and made a gravely mistake pulling Tretiak after first period.

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  52. Vladislav Tretiak

    10 World Championship gold medals.

    3 Olympic gold medals.

    Canada Cup gold and NHL Challenge gold

    15 gold medals in total. Not bad for a “choker”, eh?

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  54. Great documentary, Carp. Seen it a few times.

    Gonna look into the book you suggested. Wanna read yet another American point of view of what happened back then 🙂

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  58. Not for nothing but people should be thankful if Glass is in the lineup post season. He’s one of the few guys that is guaranteed to play a post season style game. Buchnevich will get time but don’t expect the coach to count on him. Unless of course he pulls a Kreider rookie post season

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