Around the NHL Part XI "Around The Playoffs Edition" (Year of The Comeback)
 

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So what are the percentages on our playoff chances after tonight?

1st in this pile of ****. :D

According to http://www.sportsclubstats.com/NHL/Eastern.html we now have a 37.5% chance of making the playoffs.

I expect fans at the garden tomorrow to throw trash/bricks/kids onto the ice after we lose.

It would be hilarious if everyone refused to take the jersey off the players back after the game. Although I know there is no chance of that happening.

I expect them to win tomorrow, I just hope Carolina drops the ball and we can sneak in

I would laugh my ass off if this happened

You wouldn't laugh your ass of because you'd probably be wiping the tears out of your eyes :D :sarcasm:

I already know the punchline to this rangers joke. Enjoy the links, boys. Tee time's at 8.

I think the Rangers are going to win tomorrow. Brodeur will not get his dying wish...

The Hurricanes should be renamed The Team That Refuses To Die.

nah I would be too drunk to even care lmao

Disappointing. You know what separates us and the bottom feeders? Henrik Lundqvist. That is about it. It is starting to show just how poor of a team we are. Despite having back to back great seasons, Henrik can't carry the team to a playoff spot. He's been fantastic, but not fantastic enough, and that is sad. We need a lot more than Henrik Lundqvist to make this a legitimate team.

First off, we need legitimate top-6 talent. Not Boyle, Fedotenko, Prust, Christensen, Avery, or even Dubinsky / Callahan. Dubinsky and Callahan are great, definitely players you need to win a Cup, but they cannot be your corner stone players.

During the off season we need to acquire a legitimate first line center (no, not Stepan, a legitimate star center), a legitimate offensive puck moving defense man at least Streit caliber (and no, not Del Zotto), and another legitimate top-6 forward. The only legitimate top-6 talent we have are Gaborik, Dubinsky, Callahan and Prospal (and Prospal will be 37 next year). We need at least another two high quality forwards, one being a star center.

This can go either for the Rangers or Canes.

I want to see Del Zotto next year but I agree we need to improve

I'll wager Del Zotto never wears a Ranger jersey again if Torts remains coach.

Depending on what Biron's status is in the off-season, I wouldn't be shocked if Del Zotto is traded for a back-up goaltender and a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick.

Yea how much you want to wager because I wager that you are absolutely and completely wrong.

Well, I'd be willing to wager that Del Zotto never develops into a 50-60 point offensive defense man who plays sound hockey at both ends of the ice. And, I'm fairly confident I'd win that wager. I can only imagine Del Zotto, in his prime, putting up ~ 35-40 points with average defense. Basically, the production from his rookie year with extremely better defense. And that is good, but nothing special.

That is a bet I wouldn't make because I agree with you.

We can ship you Scott Gomez for very little, if you want.

hey sounds pretty goo.... wait a second you wont pull a fast one on me, we gave him to you guys for very little first :sarcasm:

You would think so, and yes, in the short-term the Rangers would draw better ratings, but that's now how you a run a business. You don't look at right now, you look at the future. Carolina winning and being in the playoffs will generate more new fans in an obscure hockey market. New York is probably as big as it's going to get (give or take) and isn't going to shrink much either if they miss again. Let's be honest we'll all be back here next year in the pre-season with smiles on our face ready to watch the same failure all over again.

I'm not saying there is a conspiracy but having small markets in the playoffs is good for the league in the long-term. If small markets keep losing and losing and bottom feed every season they will never grow.

With Skinner in Carolina they can promote him as the future face of the franchise, probably a Calder winner soon. While he is no Sidney Crosby, we all saw what a fresh face and a winning franchise can do for a fanbase.

So the bad part is that TB has nothing to play for tomorrow. They can't move up or down in the standings. Wonderful.

Who would have thought that the Rangers could very well be the first victims of the new regulation/ot wins tie-breaker rule.

"Around the playoffs edition" should be changed to "Another long summer"

If Lecavalier and St Louis still like Torts, then maybe they'll win one for their old coach.

OK, I just talked to a buddy of mine and we figured out exactly how the Rangers will disappoint us this time. They will win tomorrow. But then Carolina and Tampa Bay are going to go to a shootout. This time instead of Olli Jokinen blowing it for the Rangers, Jussi Jokinen is going to score the last shootout goal for Carolina, winning them the game. So for two years in a row, the Rangers will have been eliminated on the last game of the season in a shootout because of a guy named Jokinen.