With 10 games left, team getting healthy, and the playoff picture pretty much set (Montreal, barring a miracle), it’s time for AV to have his lines configured. Most of us believe that Jesper Fast should be playing on the 4th line while young, skillful forwards should slide into the top 9 position.
LB has this to say about it too:
http://nypost.com/2017/03/19/how-jimmy-vesey-holds-the-key-to-rangers-best-lineup/
SMH
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Fast will be top 9 till they fall behind 2 games to 1, and they have been shutout twice. Then you will see Vesey, or Buchnevich in the top 9. Question is, will it be to late?
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I agree with LB, there is place and time to move Fast up. He has to start with Oscar though. Speaking of Oscar, if he is giving appropriate minutes and place, he could be a difference maker this year.
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given, not giving….Coffee time. Again.
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When Girardi comes back, Holden should drop down to play with Skjei on the 3rd pair. Holden’s not as good as he was for the 1st half of the season, but right now it looks tired. More importantly, Holden looks like he’s lost his confidence.
McDonough Staal
Smith Girardi
Skjei Holden
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I think Oscar is bound for Vegas. Age, position, ability, and cap hit make him the ideal player for Vegas to take.
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Those D pairings make sense, but I truly believe that when Klein comes back, Skjei sits.
McD, Girardi
Stall, Klein
Smith, Holden.
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Flip Holden and Klein.
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McPhee to resurrect the career of John Scott? 🙂
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Klein’s ‘back spasms,’ my azz.
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Skjei sitting? Never will happen. Grabner should be 4th line with Oscar and Fast. Vesey, Hayes and Miller. Buch, Mika and Nash. Step, Kreids and Zucc. Best 12 forwards on the ice. No team is as deep as that.
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Switch Zika and Stepan. Kreider with Step is like putting a turtle with a hare!
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No way Skjej sits …probably not for next 10 years either
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Yeah. LMAO at the thought of Skjei riding the bench.
Agree that Grabner should be on the 4th the rest of the way. I think the magic dried up a bit there. Rotate Vesey/Buch on the 3rd line for a little while. See who earns the spot.
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It would be nice if AV put the Buch, Mika and Kreids line back together as they only had like a zillion goals for the few games they were together until Mika and Buch got hurt. But that would be asking way too much. He’s literally tried every line combo BUT putting those guys back together when they were healthy. Idiotic. Esp since it doesn’t matter where you put Nash. He’s never gonna score goals and he doesn’t pass the puck so he’s the most expensive useless player in the NHL. Two assists this month. Wow.
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Grabner s/b with Miller and Hayes. been very good line all season. either Buch or Vesey on 4th line.
Skjei will play.
Vegas should draft Grabner or Raanta. can flip them for at least a 2nd rd pick and Lindberg never would get them that.
Although with Grabner, favorable cap hit we should protect him and if we don’t trade a forward for a defenseman then we should leave Zucc unprotected. would help our cap hit too.
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Not saying I would do it, I’m saying AV is going to do it. And when it happens I want you guys to remember that I said it would.
Think about it, AV is not going to scratch Girardi, we know that. So it would be Klein. Except that leaves one right handed Dman in the lineup., with two left handed Dmen having to play there off side. Klein is going to play. Who’s next, Smith? Just traded a second rounder for him. He’s going to play. Holden? He’s going to play. Staal is going to play. It’s Skjei who is going to sit.
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Skjei won’t sit.
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I wouldn’t break Staal-McDonagh. That’s the best first pair they had this year. Skjei is playing, BDL. Smith-Holden. Unless Holden continues his nosedive. Then either Klein or Girardi with Smith. Otherwise Klein and Girardi will compete for who’s playing with Skjei.
As for forwards, while reuniting Buchnevich with Zibanejad and Kreider sounds inviting, it won’t be the same environment during playoffs as it was during first month or two. It may backfire.
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Of course there is one other option, dress 7 Dmen.
Carp,
If not Skjei, who?
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Too early to talk about expansion draft. They’re yet to get another forward (s) to meet the exposure requirements. Unless they are exposing both Grabner and MZA
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Interesting thought about dressing 7 D-men, BDL. Question is, are they deeper on forwards or D-men position?
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You dress the 4 centers. Kreider, Nash, Miller, Zucc, Grabner, Fast, and Vesey. No Buchnevich, or Glass. Plenty deep ilb.
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Cooper’s strategy. May work.
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I have always been a big play your best p,ayers guy. With the 7D, you can do just that. The winger could all take turns double shifting. They would be picking up the 8 or so minutes a night Glass plays. Your 4th line would be,Lindberg, Vesey, and one of Kreider, Zucc, Miller, Grabner. Much rather that than Glass.
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7D probably means a few more “too many men” calls as they try to figure out who goes on next. Did AV ever explain what happened on Saturday?
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Seven D just has never been AV’s style, BDL. I don’t see it happening. And if so, which forward sits? Right now there barely seems room to have both Vesey and Buchnevich in the same lineup. You go seven D, one of those definitely comes out.
This coach wants to roll four lines. The other thing is, which forward is playing well enough to get double shifted? Miller? Who else?
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BTW, McDonagh took that puck off the hand the other night and had a maintenance day today. AV said he will play tomorrow. But …
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Not Rangers related but hockey related.
Happy birthday, Vladdy… true warrior!
There is almost something poetic about this picture. One of the toughest d-man to ever wear the Red Wings sweater pushed by a tenacious enforcer and lead by one of the toughest grinders to ever play. This picture defines love and respect!
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Anyone coming to the Anaheim game? See you there!
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RangersWest might be there.
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Shay is already a better all-around Dman than the bigly over-rated Staal. Already. And lengthening the gap.
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Does on lengthen the gap? Or does he widen it? At any rate, the Gap must be minded. Or is it mound?
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one
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Do one?
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Cooscoos
a 1 trick pony
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Widen the gap.
On a separate note, raise the damn mound and let’s get back to pitcher’s duel’s. Or is it dual’s?
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Staal is allergic to contact and for that reason will never have children or fistfights.
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Dools’
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Cooscoos
He has children
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Literally?
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Big game tonight: Boston-Toronto. Playing for the rights to NOT play Washington.
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Pretty good game so far, whun won afta one.
It’s got a little spice to it.
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Alex – duh. Thanx for the clarification.
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Writing about the lineup when everybody gets healthy for MSGNetworks.com tomorrow …
wonder where I got that idea?
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Klein or Smith #7
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Not sure what’s wrong with the balanced lines from the Wild game, if everyone stays healthy.
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19 is not top 9. That is the problem.
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Smith has been playing 20 minutes per. Skjei was atb20 once in the past 5, and that was an OT game. Otherwise he has been around 17. It’s not going to be Smith. Maybe Klein. Still think irbil be Skjei.
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Who on the 4th line is better than Fast? You can play him on either, but Buch has done nothing to earn more minutes, his replacement (Glass) is 4th through and through, and Vesey has looked pretty good in a high-energy limited role. Each line as currently constructed has good balance. At the very least, the current 4 has earned itself another look.
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Skjei is a much better hockey player than either of those guys. And unless AV bails on the speed game at the last second-not likely-he’s in the lineup.
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It’s difficult to predict which versions of Girardi and Klein we’ll see when they return.
Staal, Smith and Holden have all been inconsistant. Skjei has been up and down, but the expectations for a rookie as young as he is are different. He’s fast, talented and getting better.
I wonder if Holden isn’t 7th?
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Staal’s playing well now. Holden’s been struggling for weeks.
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Holden’s been stinking the place up since Optimus lost his Allspark and Girardi went down while they re-attach his foot. Basically he’s not under any pressure to lose his spot and if he were still here we’d be raising banners to the Garden roof for the return of the Undertaker.
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In other news – if Gorton trades Auntie before the expansion draft, we wouldn’t be draft compliant so what/who would we have to expose? Presumably we’d have to sign and expose an RFA goalie?
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Syndergaard Cespedes Bruce
deGrom Reyes Conforto
Matz Granderson d’Arnaud
Reed Smoker Gsellman
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Good morning, boneheads!
Game Day!
Back to back games 7. For their opponents.
Maybe this will motivate them: they win both games ( tomorrow in regulation) and they will only need 2 points to clinch.
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If you kids ever wondered about my Odessa 😀
https://www.wsj.com/articles/touring-odessa-an-unpredictably-cosmopolitan-city-1488993258
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CF Grabner
2B Vesey
3B JT Miller
RF The
1B Haze
LF Skjel
SS Zucc
C Glass
P McDonagh
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What’s Glass catching, Coos?
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McDonagh’s balls?
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Nash – batboy.
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Great retorts!
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AV: ‘We had a lot of good looks, but couldn’t put the ball in play.’
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‘I thought that Glass gave us a needed spark when he charged the mound.’
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AV and Arniel’ conversation before each game:
Arniel: Strange as it may seem, they give ball players nowadays very peculiar names.
AV: Funny names?
Arniel: Nicknames, nicknames. Now, on the NY Rangers team we have Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know is on third–
AV: That’s what I want to find out. I want you to tell me the names of the fellows on the St. Louis team.
Arniel: I’m telling you. Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know is on third–
AV: You know the fellows’ names?
Arniel: Yes.
AV: Well, then who’s playing first?
Arniel: Yes.
AV: I mean the fellow’s name on first base.
Arniel: Who.
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Horton Hears a Who
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Wicky what have you done to the blog? I thought we were talking hockey not Glass catching McDonagh’s balls!
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Those positions were actually well thought out. Each guy looks like he would play that position. LOL.
AV switches to tobacco.
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wonder if Hellberg can pitch?
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Good morning all! All these line combos are making me dizzy. But I am psyched (and a wee bit ascared)…by coincidence of timing and love from a cousin, will be seeing the boys v Crapitals April 5! Packing my jersey!
Plus, my mama will be joining for her second ever hockey game. She refuses to wear a jersey but I’m hoping to get a Potvin ducks out of her.
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I believe that the coaching staff should absolutely consider the skills and attributes of the Rangers forwards when they go about selecting who skates with whom on which of the four lines. Strong opinion, I know, but there it is.
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ILB
there’s more than 1 team to eliminate for purposes of clinching a spot. for example if the isles lost 4 in regulation that does not clinch a spot for us since toronto and tb are viable as well.
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did AV play 7 D in POs last year when hope was hanging by a thread?
.
Butch and/or VC sits in POs along with Holden who has been a pylon for a long stretch..
.
Cannot put DG pack with McD after this layoff. Be very afraid with him being out of lineup for so long with a hurt wheel on old legs during a PO run.
.
Would put Klein with Smitty.
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No, Alex. If they beat both the Devils and the Islanders ( in regulation ), and get 2 more points thereafter, they clinch. Tampa Bay is not viable in this case. They have 77 points with 11 games remaining. Maximum they can get is 99 points, but they will short on ROWs.
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Holden is not going to be the guy to sit. He and Smith are in the top 4 right now if you look at the minutes they are getting. Holden is above 20 minutes every night, and except for one game in the last 5, so is Smith. The decision is going to come down to Skjei, or Klein. If healthy, with Klein being a right shot, and AVs preference for veterans, Skjei will the odd man out.
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ILB
my point is a lot of people (even media members) talk about the magic number vs the isles as in any combo of pts gained by us or pts lost by isles gets us in. like in my example if isles lose 4 in regulation we do not clinch due to tampa and toronto. i’m pretty sure you get that but many don’t. obviously pts gained by us helps us against anybody a lot more than pts lost by another team.
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Skjei is not going to sit
http://thehockeywriters.com/rangers-still-have-decisions-on-defense/
cerny on the d when all are deemed healthy.
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SN, he dressed seven when McDonagh played with a broken foot that wouldn’t freeze.
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Alex,
Look at the minutes these guys are playing. Holden and Smith are not sitting. It’s going to come down the Skjei, and Klein. I believe AV will start with the vet.
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Carp,
AV also played 7 D in game 5 last year. Not the norm, but he does do it.
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Also I’m not saying if Skjei sits it going to stay that way. Imjustnthink that’s the way they will start.
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was somebody hurt? I can’t remember.
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I don’t think Skjei is sitting.
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Oh Shay, can you see?
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He desperately wanted to play Diaz. So he scratched Glass and went with 7D.
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I am not saying that I would scratch Skjei, I wouldn’t. AV has shown in his 4 years here, that he is sometimes loyal to his veterans to a fault. Skjei is the easy decision, and that is the path AV usually takes.
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Girardi played with a concussion, IIRC. Right?
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I don’t think he went with the easy decisions on Brad Richards when it was time, or with Eric Staal last year, or with Tanner Glass two seasons in a row.
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If anything, I think he might sit some vets during the 3-in-4 trip in California? Why make Staal and Smith, for example, play all three? Especially if they’re really close to clinching (which means winning Game 7 tomorrow).
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He waited till the finals before he demoted Richards. I think most will look at Eric Staal and think AV screwed that one up terribly. And Glass keeps returning. He played 4 games in the playoffs last year.
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Richards helped them get to the finals
E Staal had a bad shoulder. That is not on AV. Hurt is hurt.
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still, he didn’t give E.Staal preferential treatment, obviously, and he left Glass in Hartford almost all year despite his crush.
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A Florida senior citizen drove his brand new Corvette convertible out
of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he pushed it to 80 mph,
enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left.
“Amazing,” he thought as he flew down I-95, pushing the pedal even more.
Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a Florida State Trooper, blue
lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110,
then 120. Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m too old for
this!” and pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival.
Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his vehicle and walked
up to the Corvette. He looked at his watch, then said, “Sir, my shift
ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason
for speeding–a reason I’ve never before heard — I’ll let you go.”
The old gentleman paused then said: “Three years ago, my wife ran off
with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back.
“Have a good day, Sir,” replied the trooper.
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With Hank set to come back on the Left Coast trip do the Rangers keep Hellberg around as the third goaltender? It makes sense to me even if it eats up the final non-injury recall because they will need to call up a third goalie for the playoffs.
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Anthony
Hartfords season end on 15th or before game 3. Goalie can be brought up before that if emergency. If they don’t use the 4th call up on a forward (and they won’t if they are pretty healthy) then yes the 4th call up would be the goalie.
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I would still have the third goalie here in case of an injury during a Rangers playoff game. If that happened they could dress the minor league goalie rather than rely on an emergency arena goalie. Plus, with the team in California and Hank recovering I would want a third goalie with them in case of an injury.
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Flip Holden And Klein…I used that law firm once…very poor results
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“Have a good day, sir,” lol.
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Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe
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i tend to agree that the eric staal experiment was a big failure and i tend to pin that on how AV handled it. i sure hope skjei isn’t the scratch, would be a big step back, but i don’t think i’d be surprised.
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Sports Injury Law Firm of Mean Joe Greene, Malcolm X, and Jack Ham:
Greene, X, and Ham
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They tied their corporate yacht to a buoy named Sue.
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I don’t see where this idea of Skjei odd man out is coming from.
and, yeah, I know that’s dreadful grammar.
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Right now, though no threat to Bobby Orr, all parts of Shay’s game considered, he tips his helmet to only McD. Maybe he’ll fall back, but right now it is what it is.
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Give Stall a rest out West. Three or four days in a hot tub could only help as he charges on into the Playoffs.
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Skjei is not going to sit. Holden is the odd man out, though I think there will be maintenance days off until the playoffs to give him some time. I do not see AV going with Vesey and/or Buch in top 9. Play of both is inconsistent and defensive responsibility is critical in playoffs. If we are going to play with them up there on a temporary basis, go back to the BZK line and put Vesey with Nash. Hobbit goes to 4th with Couch and the Machine. Leave the MHG line alone.
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from last april before the playoffs
Rick Carpiniello
@RickCarpiniello
Eric Staal looks like he hurt his right shoulder on hit from behind by Pysyk.
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and I think his shoulder was an issue before that hit. I recall it popping out, or troubling him, a few times in his short time here.
but he was still misused. Waste to have him on third-line wing, IMO.
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Alex, I’m curious how that came from @RickCarpiniello, since i was tweeting as @RangersReport until October. … maybe it switched everything retroactively. Interesting.
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Last 5 games TOI for Ranger Dmen.
McD, 28.31, 22.25, 24.43, 24.21, 26.14
Staal, 17.33, 19.34, 19.51, 19.05, 21.08
Holden, 20.22, 21.30, 23.00, 21.25, 22.11
Smith, 20.39, 22.00, 22.36, 20.29, 18.43
Skjei, 16.27, 16.49, 16.42, 20.48 (OT), 17.25
Pretty clear who is the number 5, and it’s not Holden, or Smith. It’s going to be either Klein or Skjei who sits out game one of the playoffs.
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FUK BETTMAN
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/bettman-nhl-assume-no-oylmpics-1.4035051
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Carp when i googled it comes up this way but clicking on link came up way i showed (although i corrected the typo in the word right). like you said it must have changed things retroactively.
Rangers Report on Twitter: “Eric Staal looks like he hurt his rigth …
Apr 2, 2016 – Eric Staal looks like he hurt his rigth shoulder on hit from behind by Pysyk.
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yeah it’s Carp’s fault.
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Yo, coos…i’m about to order a large pie… do we have any napkins? or soda? and please, for the last time, clean your bong!
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Same lineup tonight.
I wonder if the plan is for Glass to play against the Islanders tomorrow?
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Zibanijad is the Draft Kings Player to watch tonight, so you know he’s not scoring or even notching an assist.
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I mean, I hope I’m wrong, but the player to watch, usually isn’t.
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good evening all! no blackout tonight! Getting ready to switch from the show that introduced the show about nothing….I think they may have something….
We gonna get a go time?
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do you guys want a go time thread? C3, you want I should do the honors or you got it?
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Do the honors, James… I’m not home right now.
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c# – Mom says she will pay for the pie, bring soda, and clean the bong when she gets home from work.
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Even playing wing on the third line and with a bad shoulder, Eric Staal tried and often succeeded to clear the crease with an energy unmadtched by our regular D. Embarrassing.
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Thank god for mom 🙂
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Thank you James….now go!
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Double header tonight. Let’s go Rangers! Let’s Go Hawks!
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In the meantime, I’m stuck with Devils feed….cripes…..
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No Prust? No Bickel? No Rupper off the opening face?
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That Danyko kid has got a good set of pipes along with quite a pair of mud flaps.
#demarebigears
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New post
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late but NEW POST FOR GAME!
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Laurel
Use the link i gave you.
…
James, you fell asleep? I can post a new thread
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