Last time I checked, AV doesn’t have an XBOX controller in his hands, this is on the players
Are the Rangers frustrated? Absolutely. They are being obstructed and impeded a ton, but this is the playoffs and the refs aren’t calling it. Henrik Lundqvist also looked visibly frustrated as he kept looking to the heavens after almost every stoppage.
But do you want to know who was likely the most frustrated person last night? No dear Rangers fan reading this, it wasn’t you…it was the head coach, Alain Vigneault who watched his clueless star players pound shot after shot into a Capitals defender.
As per Steve Valiquette, AV has watched his best players shoot 52 times in the last two games into a Caps defender and haven’t made the on ice adjustments needed to get shots through. What adjustments you ask? Try getting the shots off quicker by being more decisive. How about more one-timers? Or maybe taking a “waster” on the next Capital that gets in the way.
A “waster” is basically a wasted shot where you send some heat to a goalie or defenders head to make them think twice. At this point, it would be more effective than watching Karl Alzner skate from Baltimore to get in front of Derek Stepan‘s prime opportunity he had in slot late in the game.
“We’re getting good looks,” AV explained of his team’s offense. The coach also addressed the issue of the Caps shot blocking by saying, “their forwards and their [defense] are doing a good job in front.” AV also stated the obvious, “we need to score more” and finished his presser as he normally does when he’s frustrated with a “Good? Thanks guys.”
Listen, all the couch potato coaches can sit there and complain about how he sets his lines or how he rolls them. Bottom line, it doesn’t matter who his combinations are or how he uses them if the players can’t finish on the ice.
Complaints as to why Tanner Glass, who was actually one of their better players last night was on the ice in the last 5 minutes is sheer stupidity. Not only did he get a prime scoring chance, he and his line gave the top 9 an additional :30 second rest in a one goal game. A rest, they would need for the frantic push in the final minutes.
Alain Vigneault is not being out-coached either. Tell me, how much of an impact Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green have made in this series? His team is simply being out-hustled and making bad choices at crucial moments on the ice.
Tell me, what fault does AV share for Marc Staal failing to move the puck quicker and Chris Kreider then playing with it instead of clearing the zone on the first Caps goal? Or how is he at fault on the game winner, when Ryan McDonagh for some inexplicable reason tries to softly force a puck through a sea of legs in the neutral zone? Please explain.
Maybe the people complaining are just big fanboys and fangirls that don’t want to blame their favorite players for inexcusable execution in this series? Last night the Rangers lost because of key players not getting it done.
Rick Nash has 1 goal in 9 playoff games this postseason! Please stop applauding him for his two-way play and then crush Tanner Glass for being actually effective at his role. Same goes for a goalless Martin St. Louis and Derek Stepan who has made some poor decisions with the puck at key times.
If you want some more brutal honesty, the most effective Rangers outside of Henrik Lundqvist are Derick Brassard and Dan Girardi. The latter is a favorite whipping boy of advanced stat bloggers – yet Ryan McDonagh gets a pass?
The reason the Rangers are in a hole isn’t for a lack of effort either. Every single Ranger is killing themselves out there and playing with heart. However, they may as well be spinning their wheels in mud with their execution during the game. What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Just how many blocked shots is it going to take to sink in?
These Rangers need to get simple stupid in game 5. It’s time to BLAST & CRASH. Don’t think in the offensive zone. Just GRIP IT & RIP IT and get to the front of the net to score some ugly dirty goals. That goes double on the power play.
Last time I checked, Alain Vigneault wasn’t sitting on the bench with a video game controller connected to the players on the ice. He’s putting them out there to do a job – no more excuses, do it.
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