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#1

too many good swings and y

in General Chat Fri Sep 20, 2019 10:38 pm
by yyys123 | 1.470 Posts

With the NHL regular season right around the corner, TSN.ca profiles each team leading up to puck drop. Next up are the New York Rangers, looking to go one step further after losing in the Stanley Cup Final last season. Catch up on their summer moves and the issues they face this season, as well as Craig Buttons analysis of their top prospect and an analytical breakdown by TSNs Scott Cullen. Division: Metropolitan GM: Glen Sather Head Coach: Alain Vigneault 2013-14: 45-31-6 (2nd in Metropolitan) Playoffs: Lost in Final to Los Angeles. Goals For: 218 (18th) Goals Against: 193 (4th) Powerplay: 18.2% (15th) Penalty Kill: 85.3% (4th) That Was Then: It might be simplistic to suggest that a teama€?s entire season hinged on a single trade, especially one at the deadline, but the acquisition of Martin St. Louis was the catalyst for the Rangersa€? first Stanley Cup appearance in two decades. When it became obvious that Ryan Callahan and the team couldna€?t come to terms on a new deal and that the Blueshirtsa€? captain would test the free agent market, GM Glen Sather acted swiftly and dramatically in trading for the aging sniper, who himself had sought a change of scenery after initially being left out of Boltsa€? GM Steve Yzermana€?s Canadian Olympic squad. If the fact that the Rangers were trading for a player a decade older than their captain didna€?t make it obvious that the team was moving into a€?win nowa€? mode, the addition of two first-round draft picks into the deal hammered that home. And that they did, improbably emerging from the Eastern Conference and leaving the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens in their wake. Alain Vigneault - the fall guy in Vancouver after coming ever so close, but failing to win the Stanley Cup - came to Broadway. Effectively having switched places with John Tortorella, Vigneault got his charges to buy into his program after a rocky start. Henrik Lundqvist was his all-world self between the pipes. Benoit Pouliot and Derrick Brassard proved a lethal combination on the power play. Speedy winger Mats Zuccarello had a career year and led the team in points (59). Anton Stralman was seventh in Corsi among defencemen, played crucial minutes and emerged as a guy who could handle the pressure of being in the top pairing. A year away from the game following personal tragedy, Dominic Moore returned to the NHL and was a key playoff contributor. Ryan McDonagh might have been the teama€?s best player, rounding into one of the finest all-around defencemen in the entire NHL. There was also a total team effort to rally around a tragedy: the untimely death of St. Louisa€? mother during the playoffs. Rather than leave the team, St. Louis soldiered on with the support of his teammates in tribute to his mother and helped get the team into the Stanley Cup Final. Though they couldna€?t overcome the Los Angeles Kings to claim hockeya€?s ultimate prize, last seasona€?s Rangers were a rousing success. Scott Cullens Analytics Predators 2013-14 Stats by Quarter Games GPG GAA SH% SV% SAF% PTS% 1-20 2.30 2.65 5.4% .921 51.2% .500 21-41 2.52 2.95 6.2% .916 51.1% .524 42-62 3.24 2.43 8.0% .935 53.9% .643 63-82 2.85 1.85 7.0% .945 53.7% .675 NHL AVG 2.67 2.67 7.8 .922 50.0% .562 Key: GPG= goals per game, GAA= goals-against per game, SH%= even-strength shooting percentage, SV%= even-strength save percentage, SAF%= score-adjusted Fenwick percentage (differential of shot attempts faced vs. shot attempts, excluding blocked shots, adjusted for game score), PTS%= percentage of available points. Analysis: Games 1-20: Slow out of the gate with nine straight road games to start the year. Games 21-41: Both shooting and goaltending were below average, offsetting decent possession stats. Games 42-62: Everything better in the new year, with percentages and possession climbing dramatically. Games 63-82: Dominant finish to the regular season, with excellent possession and goaltending. Key 2014 Additions: D Dan Boyle, LW Tanner Glass, C Matthew Lombardi, D Mike Kostka, RW Chris Mueller, D Matt Hunwick, F Lee Stempniak Key 2014 Subtractions: C Brad Richards, C Brian Boyle, LW Benoit Pouliot, RW Derek Dorsett, D Anton Stralman This Is Now: Though most of last seasona€?s team is intact, the Rangers have to weather through some key departures and hope that the players brought in can effectively replace the lost contributions. Veteran centre Brad Richards was a cap casualty, bought out after only three seasons into a nine-year, $58.5 million deal. Richards simply didna€?t live up to his contract. Then again, few could live up to such a price tag. Stralman left to join Callahan in Tampa Bay and, even if the Rangers might have not used him to his full potential, his minutes were still significant and will be missed. Pouliot headed to Edmonton and gone are his joint-team-leading seven power-play goals. Brian Boyle is also headed to the Lightning and, with him, his shutdown checking presence. Dan Boyle is the biggest off-season acquisition and - despite being 38 years-old and his offensive output finally showing signs of slowing down - hea€?s going to assume much of Stralmana€?s role. The drop-off here is in terms of possession, but Vigneault knows what hea€?s getting in the veteran and will likely give him power play time to build on last seasona€?s 12 goals. As for the rest of the new additions, none is exactly a sexy pick-up and the Rangers added depth more than anything else. The likes of Matt Lombardi, Tanner Glass and Lee Stempniak are serviceable players and should fill in where needed. In terms of pure talent, the Rangers likely lost more than they added, but the players in question are mostly on the periphery. With King Henrik in goal, the Rangers have a chance to win every night (and when he isna€?t, Cam Talbot is a more-than-adequate back-up) and even with the loss of Stralman, the defensive corps are still young and one of the leaguea€?s best with room to improve. It might be a big ask to expect the Rangers to replicate the highs of a season ago, but the team is equipped to make sure that they can give it a shot. DEPTH CHART Forwards Left Wing Centre Right Wing Mats Zuccarello Derick Brassard Rick Nash Chris Kreider J.T. Miller Martin St. Louis Carl Hagelin Dominic Moore Lee Stempniak Tanner Glass Kevin Hayes Jesper Fast Ryan Malone Chris Mueller Anthony Duclair Matthew Lombardi Derek Stepan Ryan Haggerty Defence Left Right Ryan McDonagh Daniel Girardi Marc Staal Dan Boyle John Moore Kevin Klein Matt Hunwick Mike Kostka Conor Allen Dylan McIlrath Goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist Cam Talbot Cedrick Desjardins Craigs List TSN Director of Scouting Craig Buttons Top Prospect: Anthony Duclair is an elite talent. As a Quebec teen track star, Anthony was fast, but on the ice he has blurring speed. That alone wona€?t carry a player but when you combine excellent puck handling skills, the ability to play successfully at a high pace and with a dangerous scoring ability, defenseman will not be eager to a match up versus him. Aside from the speed, he is very quick in traffic with the puck & can make plays in tight areas. Offensive talents like Anthony are special but when you think about him being the eightieth overall pick in the 2013 draft, the Rangers have to be thinking they won a lottery. One that should be paying out for years to come. Fantasy - Cullens Player to Watch - Chris Kreider Following a rookie season in which he scored 37 points in 66 regular-season games, before suffering a broken hand, Kreider returned to the lineup and contributed 13 points in 15 playoff games during the Rangers run to the Stanley Cup Final. A 6-foot-3, 230-pound winger, Kreider creates chances with his rare combination of size and speed and should be expected to play a bigger role in his second full season with the Blueshirts. Kreider played 15:44 per game last season, so if he adds a couple of minutes of ice time per game, and stays relatively healthy, a 50-point season could be within his grasp. Replica Shoes Online . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start. Fake Jordan Shoes . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. https://www.fakeshoesonline.com/ .com) - Bayern Munich winger Xherdan Shaqiri is expected to miss the next two weeks because of a thigh injury. Fake Nike Shoes . After Mondays comments by Coach Claude Noel that its work first and skill second, and that more “A” games are needed, the Jets responded with a 47-shot effort. If not for terrific goaltending by Braden Holtby the Jets would have had two points in regulation. Fake Shoes Free Shipping . The team announced that it exercised the options on 15 players including goalkeepers Evan Bush, Maxime Crepeau and Troy Perkins, defenders Matteo Ferrari, Karl W.BOSTON -- Jon Lester didnt feel very good warming up before the game. He couldnt have done much better once it started. The lefty struck out a career-high 15, allowing one hit over eight scoreless innings and pitching the Boston Red Sox over the Oakland Athletics 6-3 on Saturday. "Its probably the worst cutter Ive thrown in a bullpen in a long time, but I dont take much stock in my bullpens anymore," Lester said. "Youre down there to get loose. I think the biggest thing for me is just getting on the mound and getting that adrenaline going." He faced 26 batters and just nine hit the ball in fair territory. The only As to reach base against him were Craig Gentry on a leadoff single in the third and Derek Norris on walks to start the fifth and eighth. "Just the combination of power and command was impressive," Boston manager John Farrell said. "He was locked in seemingly from the first pitch." Lester (3-4) got plenty of support on a grand slam by Jonny Gomes and solo homers by David Ortiz and David Ross in Bostons second straight win after losing a day-night doubleheader to Tampa Bay on Thursday. But Oakland scored three runs off Chris Capuano in the ninth and had the tying run at the plate before Koji Uehara struck out Alberto Callaspo and retired Brandon Moss on a fly to right, securing his seventh save in seven opportunities. "I knew we had it the whole way," Lester said. "Weve got the best closer in baseball out there." The only hit off Lester was Gentrys bloop single in the third over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "Thats the best performance Ive seen him have," Oaklands Nick Punto said. Lester rebounded from taking the loss in his previous two games by striking out nine of his first 13 batters. His previous strikeout best was 13 on July 24, 2010, in a 5-1 loss at Seattle. "He looked pretty cozy out there," Gomes said. Lester, who threw a no-hitter on May 19, 2008 against Kansas City, struck out every hitter in the Oakland lineup, fanning Josh Reddick three times and Punto, Callaspo, Coco Crisp aand Josh Donaldson twice each.dddddddddddd Gomes hit the fifth slam of his career one day after Pedroia hit one. Tommy Milone (0-3) allowed Gomes homer after Pedroia walked, Xander Bogaerts singled and Ortiz walked. "It always seems that every time you walk somebody they have a tendency of scoring," Milone said, "so it just took that one big hit from Gomes to set the tone." Milone struck out the next four batters but ran into trouble again in the third when Ortiz led off with his sixth homer of the year. Ross started the fourth with his third homer. Lester threw 119 pitches before being replaced by Capuano to start the ninth. In his previous two starts, Lester threw 118 pitches in a 7-2 loss to the New York Yankees on April 22 and 122 in a 4-1 loss at Toronto last Sunday. Punto started the ninth with a double and took third on a single by Crisp. Both scored when Jed Lowrie doubled and left fielder Gomes threw wildly to the plate for an error. After Donaldson was hit by a pitch, Uehara walked Yoenis Cespedes. Norris hit into a forceout at home, but catcher Ross throw to first went wild, allowing a run to score before Uehara ended the threat. "Its easy to just cash it in after youve struck out 15 times in eight innings and hadnt had too many good swings and youre frustrated," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said, "and then to get those kind of at-bats in the ninth inning, its good." NOTES: Capuano hadnt allowed a run in his other 12 outings this season. ... Pedroia has reached base 35 times in his last 17 games. ... The Athletics have scored no runs while Milone was in the game in his three losses. ... Sonny Gray (4-1) pitches for Oakland in the finale of the three-game series against John Lackey (4-2) on Sunday. ... The crowd cheered each time a Red Sox worker walked along the left-field warning track to change the number next to the Bruins name on the scoreboard after each of their last three goals in Game 2 of their playoff series against Montreal. Boston was trailing 3-2 in the third period then scored three goals in the last six minutes to win 5-3 and even the series at 1. ' ' '

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