“Great teams are essentially playing against themselves and how great they think they can be, and that opponent is nothing but in my way to me being as great as I can be.” Matthew McConaughey in conversation with Theo Von
By: Gabriela Yareliz
The New York Rangers will be hitting the ice tonight to play the Senators after Tuesday’s (lucky) win against the Dallas Stars.
You can find the analysis of the identity-less team anywhere you look. But I am here to talk about us fans. We’re frustrated. Somewhere in the world (maybe Boston?) Peter Laviolette is laughing and feeling so good he is not subjected to this pit of instability with these players.
I feel confident I understand what the fandom wants. Clearly, it’s not landing for the management or players. So, I’ll spell it out. This is what fans want to see less of:
- Injuries
Who exactly will be on the ice is a million-dollar question, because it feels like half the team is out on injury (Fox, Rempe, Quick…). Ok, not half the team, but the players who make a difference.
The timeline of the injured remains uncertain, but with each passing game, the team looks unfamiliar and disjointed. It feels like the third season of the Rangers lacking structure. We’ll see if Lafrenière returns after a bloody stick to the face. He played the rest of the game, but so did the others who are now out for weeks.
This bloody stick to the face caused a four-minute power play for the Rangers. Close to the end of the game—after about ten minutes of power play, the Rangers were still at one point.
2. Unsuccessful Power Plays
Four power plays and one point. Now, last year we couldn’t score on a power play to save our lives. We could only score short-handed (don’t ask).
Coaching needs to implement structure with the players who get out there to score because the scoring isn’t happening. And when it does, it comes with risk (removing a goalie when the team doesn’t have a good handle on controlling the puck) or a fast shot or broken play infused with luck.
The players are slow, predictable (in the worst ways), and imprecise (always going wide on their slow predictable shots).
3. Delusional Commentary
I am convinced the real caring fans are the passionate ones. The ones who want to see these guys win.
Not the ones in the comments on social media calling Mika a star when he doesn’t score the majority of his time on ice, but the ones who call this team on their BS. (The only commentators who give us honesty are John Giannone and Steve Valiquette).
The new line Game 7, co-created by Mark Messier, is correct in analogizing sports to life. The deep fans feel the sport deeply because they are the ones who know what it feels like to defy odds and push through. When you don’t have a team that does the same, it is disappointing.
The Rangers need leadership, and more than that, each man on the ice needs to stop being okay with the mediocrity they bring to the table.
The commentators need to stop saying the team needs to be “rewarded” for their effort or that they outplayed other teams when they lost. If that were true, they would have won.
Part of me is unsure if someone is telling the commentators in their earpiece that they need to be positive or they will be fired— but it is odd to hear commentary that doesn’t match the game we were all watching together. Gaslighting the fans, whether it be the commentator or the players in the locker room is not landing well. This is why MSG is empty even while MSG is giving away tickets with food vouchers.
The fans don’t want dirt cheap tickets to waste their time at the Garden. They want a team worth watching.
——
When you see large groups of Rangers fans you will see a lot of 1994 gear. I saw a man this morning in front of a Dunkin with a Rangers jacket, and you know what it said? It was a 1994 Stanley Cup jacket. Most fans rally around the 1994 team that defied the mediocrity that seems to stalk this franchise. Why? Because people like to win. They deep down inside crave excellence, discipline and the reminder that one can WIN and win BIG.
The current players need to decide they want to win. They haven’t, yet. We all know it. Until that happens, nothing will change. They can change the coaching staff and keep hoping. I don’t think Mike Sullivan has gotten through (a conversation for another day). Captain Miller — jury is still out on him. But what we mostly see from his body language is he is tired. Tired of what? I don’t know. But I hope that soon they become tired of losing.
We need sustainable wins and marked strategy. In a time and era where people accept “good enough”, we need a team that truly represents the New York spirit. A team that can grind it out and fight like hell. What is more New York than that?
GABRIELA YARELIZ 