suspension talk has grown stale now. anyone down to just talk about the game on sunday?

suspension talk has grown stale now. anyone down to just talk about the game on sunday?
- Nomad91

Yes. Simple, must win.

Yes. Simple, must win.
- tomburton99

yeah, Im super nervous. I still feel positive, well more positive than usual in the playoffs . but montreal is going to come out hard with a chance to tie the series at hand. If they can keep the habs shots to the outside, they will have a better chance of withstanding the inevitable surge montreal will have in the first 5 minutes. Scoring first doesn't hurt either.

suspension talk has grown stale now. anyone down to just talk about the game on sunday?
- Nomad91

I believe Sundays game will come down to which team can maintain its cool
I expect a good hard hitting game and anticipate that moen draws back in if physicality is on the Habs mind

yeah, Im super nervous. I still feel positive, well more positive than usual in the playoffs . but montreal is going to come out hard with a chance to tie the series at hand. If they can keep the habs shots to the outside, they will have a better chance of withstanding the inevitable surge montreal will have in the first 5 minutes. Scoring first doesn't hurt either.
- Nomad91

I would agree with you but mtl didn't come out like that in game 3
It was the rangers that brought the game to the Habs

Love reading how some of the media thinks Prust's hit is going to benefit Canadiens. It helps because now the Rangers are frustrated and are going to get themselves off their game. The Canadiens and Rangers now have a hatred that is closer to the hatred the Habs share with the Bruins. Okay, so the hit can't motivate the Rangers in any way? The coverage that I have read anyway, all seems to be Canadiens-centric. And that is alright. Let the Rangers get that chip on their shoulder and let them use that as extra motivation. It's all good.

I would agree with you but mtl didn't come out like that in game 3
It was the rangers that brought the game to the Habs
- MTL1

habs have tasted victory in the series though. They are very much in this series and know that they can shift the momentum with a series tying win. I expect a lot of quick passing and hard hitting from them in the beginning. Rangers always take a few minutes to get settled in.

Here's what the Rangers need to take away from this last game:

First, the Canadiens D is starting to wear out. Therrien has been shortening his bench as opposed to rolling four and three like AV. Some of his best guys look like they are starting to tire. If the Rangers play with the puck and continue to pressure the D with their speed and forecheck the Rangers should be in good shape.

Also, Tokarski was solid but allowed a ton of rebounds. He played the butterfly and took away the bottom part of the net but I didn't think he moved well within his crease. He made some good saves but there are holes their.

I think CK is going to be a stud Sunday. I also think the vets like St. Louis and Richie are going to have good games. I anticipate better execution offensively and a couple more goals.

Call me an optimist, I'd rather be that than a negative nelly. That's just what I think though.

habs have tasted victory in the series though. They are very much in this series and know that they can shift the momentum with a series tying win. I expect a lot of quick passing and hard hitting from them in the beginning. Rangers always take a few minutes to get settled in.
- Nomad91

Whoever takes game 4 will take the series I believe
Seems like the Habs are still hungover from the bruins series
They are playing like 2 different teams
The rangers are building from their series win against the pens
But with price out - anything less than a 5 game series win for the rangers would not be great

Here's what the Rangers need to take away from this last game:

First, the Canadiens D is starting to wear out. Therrien has been shortening his bench as opposed to rolling four and three like AV. Some of his best guys look like they are starting to tire. If the Rangers play with the puck and continue to pressure the D with their speed and forecheck the Rangers should be in good shape.

Also, Tokarski was solid but allowed a ton of rebounds. He played the butterfly and took away the bottom part of the net but I didn't think he moved well within his crease. He made some good saves but there are holes their.

I think CK is going to be a stud Sunday. I also think the vets like St. Louis and Richie are going to have good games. I anticipate better execution offensively and a couple more goals.

Call me an optimist, I'd rather be that than a negative nelly. That's just what I think though.
- gkmkiller

yeah, the 2014 Rangers fan in me agrees with you on all fronts. I have to believe AV will have the boys ready mentally, and they will in turn respond with a strong overall game. They need to launch pucks from the point and put guys around the net to put in the rebounds and possibly score some garbage goals as well. Just do whatever it takes! The Rangers best games have been when they kept it simple yet structured offensively and had great attention to detail on the defense end.

Rags will choke this series away!

Here's what the Rangers need to take away from this last game:

First, the Canadiens D is starting to wear out. Therrien has been shortening his bench as opposed to rolling four and three like AV. Some of his best guys look like they are starting to tire. If the Rangers play with the puck and continue to pressure the D with their speed and forecheck the Rangers should be in good shape.

Also, Tokarski was solid but allowed a ton of rebounds. He played the butterfly and took away the bottom part of the net but I didn't think he moved well within his crease. He made some good saves but there are holes their.

I think CK is going to be a stud Sunday. I also think the vets like St. Louis and Richie are going to have good games. I anticipate better execution offensively and a couple more goals.

Call me an optimist, I'd rather be that than a negative nelly. That's just what I think though.
- gkmkiller

Subban has been irrelevant this series, which is great for us. Hopefully we can continue to make him a non-factor, although that's tough for a player with as much talent as him. We just need to keep respecting him and his shot and take away his space and hopefully we'll have a good chance at winning.

I feel as though Montreal's offense runs through Subban. If we can nullify him, we stand a good chance.

As for Tokarski, there's no denying this kid does have something special to him. His pedigree and resume proves that. But honestly, I feel like we didn't challenge him much in game 3 outside MSL's shots which DT definitely ROBBED him off...like all 3 of MSL's A+ scoring chances. I wouldn't be surprised if Therrien showed him some video of the Flyers series where we scored from that spot a bunch of times and now he expects that and cheats to that area. Regardless, we need to just get shots on net with traffic in front because it seems like getting the lucky deflection or bounce is the only way to score in this series.

I'm so puzzled on Nash. Those moves he does to cut to the slot and try to rip it worked real well last regular season and he was awesome, but ever since last playoffs, it's just not working for him. It seems like the other team pokes it away or he loses control right before he's about to take a shot every time. I still think he might be a little banged up, only because when he was slumping in the regular season he said he looked at tape and noticed he was playing too much on the outside so obviously he would be aware if he was doing it again. I will say that before Nash scored those last couple of goals, he was pretty passive with the puck and just passed it or took bad angle shots, but now he's at least trying those moves to get into the slot which I guess shows that his confidence is raised a bit with his 2 goals.

It's funny how pissed I was in the Pitt series at how condensed the schedule was and now I'm pissed that it's so spread out It does benefit us though with Brassard hurt, Stepan hurt, and guys like Boyle and McDonagh and probably a bunch of other people on this team still a little banged up.

yeah, the 2014 Rangers fan in me agrees with you on all fronts. I have to believe AV will have the boys ready mentally, and they will in turn respond with a strong overall game. They need to launch pucks from the point and put guys around the net to put in the rebounds and possibly score some garbage goals as well. Just do whatever it takes! The Rangers best games have been when they kept it simple yet structured offensively and had great attention to detail on the defense end.
- Nomad91

From watching the Rangers this year, I feel like if the Rangers outwork their opponents, they usually win. If we beat them to loose pucks, win 1 on 1 battles, do well on the boards, and just throw things on net, we usually win. It all comes down to the effort.

On a side note, Zuccarello has been awesome this series. A lot of people talk about this year being a coming out party for McDonagh, but I feel like Zuccarello deserves a lot of praise too. He's making his name well known around the league this postseason. I hope for his sake that he gets his linemate Brassard back ASAP because while Pouliot is a key piece on that line, Brassard and Zuccarello together is what really provides the magic there.

Rags will choke this series away!
- MJLjr

Brooksie`!

http://nypost.com/2014/05...ing-hit-was-far-too-soft/

Brooksie`!

http://nypost.com/2014/05...ing-hit-was-far-too-soft/
- evitageN

Not sure I agree with Brookie on this one. I could see a longer suspension if this was the regular season, but I've said 2 from the start and I still stick by it.

There was about a second before Stepan got rid of the puck and Prust hit him. Is it late? Yes, it is. Is it a blindside hit to a vulnerable player? Yes, it is. Is it a headshot? No, not directly at least. Is Prust known to play a physical style? Yes, and he usually doesn't cross the line. I think all this contributed to it only being 2 games.

But like I said, it wasn't even a second between Stepan getting rid of the puck and Prust hitting him and a lot of us were justifying the Kreider-Price situation by saying that Kreider ran into Price with less than a second between Emelin making contact and the collision, so I think it's fair.

Anyone else as impressed as I am that Stepan was able to yell at Prust as much as he did with a broken jaw?

Not sure I agree with Brookie on this one. I could see a longer suspension if this was the regular season, but I've said 2 from the start and I still stick by it.

There was about a second before Stepan got rid of the puck and Prust hit him. Is it late? Yes, it is. Is it a blindside hit to a vulnerable player? Yes, it is. Is it a headshot? No, not directly at least. Is Prust known to play a physical style? Yes, and he usually doesn't cross the line. I think all this contributed to it only being 2 games.

But like I said, it wasn't even a second between Stepan getting rid of the puck and Prust hitting him and a lot of us were justifying the Kreider-Price situation by saying that Kreider ran into Price with less than a second between Emelin making contact and the collision, so I think it's fair.
- RAGSareDANGERus

I generally try to stay measured on anything related to the Rangers or hockey. Me and Pete V. are the guys that don't overreact at any point. However, I completely agree with Brooks in this article. 1,000 percent.

Prust was skating free for nearly a second before he hit Step. He had a choice to make even before that and he exercised that choice with the result we have now.

Kreider was coming in on a breakaway and lost his balance in large part because of being contacted by a Canadiens player. He had zero chance to avoid what happend given his commitment to his move on the breakaway. For anyone to say differently is a severe lack of understanding of the sport and/or general physics. I see no comparison whatsoever and I see no comparison whatsoever as one of the most objective Rangers fans on this board over the last three or four years. And that's the bottom line because Stone Cold Glen said so!!!

I generally try to stay measured on anything related to the Rangers or hockey. Me and Pete V. are the guys that don't overreact at any point. However, I completely agree with Brooks in this article. 1,000 percent.

Prust was skating free for nearly a second before he hit Step. He had a choice to make even before that and he exercised that choice with the result we have now.

Kreider was coming in on a breakaway and lost his balance in large part because of being contacted by a Canadiens player. He had zero chance to avoid what happend given his commitment to his move on the breakaway. For anyone to say differently is a severe lack of understanding of the sport and/or general physics. I see no comparison whatsoever and I see no comparison whatsoever as one of the most objective Rangers fans on this board over the last three or four years. And that's the bottom line because Stone Cold Glen said so!!!
- gkmkiller

You and Pete are definitely 2 of the most objective Rangers fans on here, and I look forward to reading your posts because not only are you guys objective, but you guys have a way of expressing your thoughts well in text.

I'm not necessarily comparing the Kreider and Prust incidents against each other, just saying that the time between Kreider getting tripped and hitting Price and Stepan passing and getting hit by Prust are kinda similar.

Kreider was tripped and tried to score. End of story on that one. No intent to injure or anything like that. Prust physically skated into Stepan on purpose to hit him while he was vulnerable. Not denying that at all.

I guess all I'm saying at the end of the day is that I'm okay with a 2 game suspension

The optimistic side of me is hoping that after that OT goal Hank raises the bar again resulting in back to back shutouts to end this series.

You and Pete are definitely 2 of the most objective Rangers fans on here, and I look forward to reading your posts because not only are you guys objective, but you guys have a way of expressing your thoughts well in text.

I'm not necessarily comparing the Kreider and Prust incidents against each other, just saying that the time between Kreider getting tripped and hitting Price and Stepan passing and getting hit by Prust are kinda similar.

Kreider was tripped and tried to score. End of story on that one. No intent to injure or anything like that. Prust physically skated into Stepan on purpose to hit him while he was vulnerable. Not denying that at all.

I guess all I'm saying at the end of the day is that I'm okay with a 2 game suspension
- RAGSareDANGERus

The length of suspension probably won't matter because all Prust was going to be good for Montreal was this type of stuff. However, since we don't know how long Step might be out, and it could be zero games or it could be the rest of the playoffs, it seems ridiculous. The explanation stated how bad it was. How late it was. Yet Prust may miss less time than the better player will due to his actions. If the Rangers are without their best center for a couple of games then it is not a fair trade off. Especially considering Prust's value to his team as opposed to Step's value to the Rangers. I am not okay with the length of suspension due to the severity of injury to Step yet I can't come up with a more appropriate penalty given Prust's lack of value to his team. It isn't like we can have Pacioretty suspended for five games. It pisses me off, flat out.

Rags will choke this series away!
- MJLjr

Flyers, the Flyers. Hmm, they lost in the first round, yes? Yes they did. To whom? Oh yeah, the Rangers. We won't choke it away. Begone troll.

Here's what the Rangers need to take away from this last game:

First, the Canadiens D is starting to wear out. Therrien has been shortening his bench as opposed to rolling four and three like AV. Some of his best guys look like they are starting to tire. If the Rangers play with the puck and continue to pressure the D with their speed and forecheck the Rangers should be in good shape.

Also, Tokarski was solid but allowed a ton of rebounds. He played the butterfly and took away the bottom part of the net but I didn't think he moved well within his crease. He made some good saves but there are holes their.

I think CK is going to be a stud Sunday. I also think the vets like St. Louis and Richie are going to have good games. I anticipate better execution offensively and a couple more goals.

Call me an optimist, I'd rather be that than a negative nelly. That's just what I think though.
- gkmkiller

Hey boys, it's been a while, I agree with you 100% The Rangers didn't get to the "dirty" areas in game 3, you have to figure that with the anger growing in the series that it might change.

As far as the whole Prust, Stepan, Kreider and Price drama, let's just play the game, this lay off is only fueling the fire, I'm sure more quotes will come today from both sides

I did notice that Therrien stopped using the term "reckless" and now refers to Kreider-Price as accidental, any coincidence?

As far as Carcillo, he's been a good soldier for the Rangers, he's been as effective as he ever has been but again he crossed the line and his future with the organization is doubtful, while I don't condone what he did the NHL has no one to blame but themselves and he's being used as something to hang over the Rangers heads

So Larry Brooks reports today Brad Richards was told on the ice that the Prust/Stepan hit was a "clean hit".

The officials didn't miss it at all.

Love reading how some of the media thinks Prust's hit is going to benefit Canadiens. It helps because now the Rangers are frustrated and are going to get themselves off their game. The Canadiens and Rangers now have a hatred that is closer to the hatred the Habs share with the Bruins. Okay, so the hit can't motivate the Rangers in any way? The coverage that I have read anyway, all seems to be Canadiens-centric. And that is alright. Let the Rangers get that chip on their shoulder and let them use that as extra motivation. It's all good.
- gkmkiller

What le monde de Canadiens are going to discover very quickly is that the Ranger are mentally tough and have already shown an ability to rally around a teammate. I think the Rangers get motivated and play with much more emotion. No need for the Rangers to manufacture it like the Habs did. I think the Rangers win going away tomorrow.

Hey boys, it's been a while, I agree with you 100% The Rangers didn't get to the "dirty" areas in game 3, you have to figure that with the anger growing in the series that it might change.

As far as the whole Prust, Stepan, Kreider and Price drama, let's just play the game, this lay off is only fueling the fire, I'm sure more quotes will come today from both sides

I did notice that Therrien stopped using the term "reckless" and now refers to Kreider-Price as accidental, any coincidence?

As far as Carcillo, he's been a good soldier for the Rangers, he's been as effective as he ever has been but again he crossed the line and his future with the organization is doubtful, while I don't condone what he did the NHL has no one to blame but themselves and he's being used as something to hang over the Rangers heads
- Bannedforbros

It's unfortunate because Carbomb played very well in the playoff games he dressed for that I saw.

But his reputation precedes him and he isn't going to get any breaks from any officials after he went nuts on them when playing for the Flyers in that playoff series vs Boston and got a 2 game suspension.