GDT: The Amazing Schneiderman Returns! ECQF Game 3 - Lightning @ Devils, 7:30 PM, MSG+

[Tao Jersey Jones]

 

[glenwo2]

he's arguably mentally soft. i'm hoping (and maybe he is already) he ends up not being reliant on a mental coach, but unless it was just a normal slump, if the mental part of the game has him down, then i don't know if i want him in a series where we're down 2-0.

nico has been able to play consistently well this whole season, and got better as the season went on.

physically, though, both are strong. bratt has great legs and is able to stay up on his feet.

I get what you're saying but how would we know how he would play or react if he's stapled to the bench?

See what I mean?

We're(or rather you and others) making assumptions on how a player would do when the stakes are higher(Playoffs) instead of letting the player go out there and either sink or swim. Problem is that at this point, Bratt hasn't even been allowed to get in the water, so to speak.

Maybe @SteveCangialosi123 is correct and Bratt gets his opportunity in Game 4(I'm hoping) but as of right now, I'm pretty damn annoyed at Hynes.

 

[DerekDevils30]

I want a win tonight to see the back pedaling because I know how ugly its going to be if they lose

 

[Holtz My Bahls]

Guys... guys... you're all forgetting how good Stafford is in shootouts, obviously that's why he's back in.

 

[glenwo2]

Guys... guys... you're all forgetting how good Stafford is in shootouts, obviously that why he's back in.

 

[Wingman77]

Minus Lovejoy still being in, the lineup is fine. Say what you will, but the staff has liked going to Stafford when we've been getting pressured significantly by teams because of his ability to hang on to the puck and use his body to keep some possession of it or get it to somebody else. We don't have another option like that aside from Hayes which we know isn't happening.

Stafford may be invisible more often than not, but he isn't a liability with the puck and with the way the series has been going, can't hurt to try because the other scratch options aren't going to cut it.

 

[OmNomNom]

I get what you're saying but how would we know how he would play or react if he's stapled to the bench?

See what I mean?

We're(or rather you and others) making assumptions on how a player would do when the stakes are higher(Playoffs) instead of letting the player go out there and either sink or swim. Problem is that at this point, Bratt hasn't even been allowed to get in the water, so to speak.

Maybe @SteveCangialosi123 is correct and Bratt gets his opportunity in Game 4(I'm hoping) but as of right now, I'm pretty damn annoyed at him.

i get the reason to be angry, but perhaps coaching staff knows some things about where he's at mentally than we do - at least, i HAVE to give them the benefit of the doubt. i mean, coaches do have some kind of rationale behind their decisions, no matter how twisted we think those reasons may or may not be, or if we're even correct.

i just keep whispering to myself "house money" though, and rocking myself, saying everything will be okay, at least we'd be losing to one of the best teams in the NHL right now

 

[DerekDevils30]

I never understood this rationale :

So some of us think Hynes isn't playing Bratt because he doesn't want to throw out a so-called "soft" rookie there.

EXCEPT that makes no sense 'cause it's in the face of Nico(who is a rookie himself) playing regular minutes. How is Bratt considered "soft" while Nico isn't?

What? Because Nico is the first overall pick in the draft while Bratt was selected in the 6th round in 2016?

Because Nico has shown the ability to bounce back after getting tossed around and go to the dirty areas. He's also the 1C. This team looks a LOT worse with him out of the lineup.

 

[Alex NJD]

I'll be at the game tonight, my first playoff game. M friends and I are 2-0 on the year going together. Hopefully we bring some luck

 

[glenwo2]

i get the reason to be angry, but perhaps coaching staff knows some things about where he's at mentally than we do - at least, i HAVE to give them the benefit of the doubt. i mean, coaches do have some kind of rationale behind their decisions, no matter how twisted we think those reasons may or may not be, or if we're even correct.

i just keep whispering to myself "house money" though, and rocking myself, saying everything will be okay, at least we'd be losing to one of the best teams in the NHL right now

If we do, I hope they sweep friggin' Rat-face and Peter-in-Sweatpants next.

 

[Holtz My Bahls]

Won't be surprised if we find out Bratt had been playing inured for the last quarter of the season. Didn't seem right after getting leveled in the last meeting against Buffalo by I believe Ristolainen. His play fell off a cliff after that.

 

[My3Sons]

Won't be surprised if we find out Bratt had been playing inured for the last quarter of the season. Didn't seem right after getting leveled in the last meeting against Buffalo by I believe Ristolainen. His play fell off a cliff after that.

That would certainly explain a lot. Good point.

 

[Sdevils42]

As far as the Stafford decision I can understand the negativity attached to the decision. That being said Stafford is a vet and you know what you're going to get. He's going to be on the 4th line and his job isn't to score necessarily, it's to play responsibly in reduced minutes in a supporting defensive role. If you dress Bratt he's not going on the 4th line, he's completely ineffective playing w/ Boyle. I don't think you can move any wing off of the other top lines to give him better line mates to maximize his skill set. He's a rookie and with the way Tampa is playing you need some defensively responsible which Bratt is not (not his fault). He also has 4 points down the stretch (February-March) when the games are tighter and there's far less room. Love him going forward but this is the right move although it looks bad on paper i.e. fast young skilled guy being sat for older vet.

I love Mueller out for MoJo. People are killing Lovejoy and rightfully so, but Mueller has been even worse in the series so far IMO. Lovejoy's errors haven't been as noticeable as Mueller's besides getting absolutely trucked twice on the same shift by Miller. Mueller on the other hand has made at least 2 or 3 bad turnovers that were lucky didn't turn into goals. Also love Schneider in for Kink... none of this is Kinkaid's fault, all of his goals against have been legit and I for one thought Cory was completely physically and mentally checked out in January. But he looked good in the 3rd in Tampa. Besides actually changing the goalie this should be thought of as a mentality change for the rest of the team.

If the Devils can limit the first period onslaught which has buried them in the 1st 2 games which I hope the Rock will be able to help with a little than I think they can compete w/ TBL. I'm not sure how much of the success later in the game can be attributed to TBL going into a shell defensively (which they do not have the personnel to do and will get beat going forward) or the Devils throwing it all up front and going for it. Regardless the adage is you're not in trouble to you lose at home, this is a proverbial must-win.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Minus Lovejoy still being in, the lineup is fine. Say what you will, but the staff has liked going to Stafford when we've been getting pressured significantly by teams because of his ability to hang on to the puck and use his body to keep some possession of it or get it to somebody else. We don't have another option like that aside from Hayes which we know isn't happening.

Stafford may be invisible more often than not, but he isn't a liability with the puck and with the way the series has been going, can't hurt to try because the other scratch options aren't going to cut it.

Lineup absolutely isn’t worth all the vitriol in this thread.

They can win with this lineup. A lot is on Cory’s shoulders though.

 

[glenwo2]

Won't be surprised if we find out Bratt had been playing inured for the last quarter of the season. Didn't seem right after getting leveled in the last meeting against Buffalo by I believe Ristolainen. His play fell off a cliff after that.

It would calm me down a lot if that was the case 'cause right now, all I'm seeing is Hynes choosing an invisible vet over someone who contributed to the Devils getting here to this point.

Hoping he gets that one game in Game 4, though.



In the meantime....LET'S GO DEVILS!!

(and Let's Go, Ginger-Man Schneider!)

 

[bobilly45]

Lineup absolutely isn’t worth all the vitriol in this thread.

They can win with this lineup. A lot is on Cory’s shoulders though.

Last game he came in to a no pressure situation... tonight it's all on him. I think we win 4-3, but cs let's in 2 weak goals and 1 late in the third.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Bit late to update but the team wants everyone wearing red tonight. Rock some red if you are going to the game.

 

[Whaddagoal]

As far as the Stafford decision I can understand the negativity attached to the decision. That being said Stafford is a vet and you know what you're going to get. He's going to be on the 4th line and his job isn't to score necessarily, it's to play responsibly in reduced minutes in a supporting defensive role. If you dress Bratt he's not going on the 4th line, he's completely ineffective playing w/ Boyle. I don't think you can move any wing off of the other top lines to give him better line mates to maximize his skill set. He's a rookie and with the way Tampa is playing you need some defensively responsible which Bratt is not (not his fault). He also has 4 points down the stretch (February-March) when the games are tighter and there's far less room. Love him going forward but this is the right move although it looks bad on paper i.e. fast young skilled guy being sat for older vet.

I love Mueller out for MoJo. People are killing Lovejoy and rightfully so, but Mueller has been even worse in the series so far IMO. Lovejoy's errors haven't been as noticeable as Mueller's besides getting absolutely trucked twice on the same shift by Miller. Mueller on the other hand has made at least 2 or 3 bad turnovers that were lucky didn't turn into goals. Also love Schneider in for Kink... none of this is Kinkaid's fault, all of his goals against have been legit and I for one thought Cory was completely physically and mentally checked out in January. But he looked good in the 3rd in Tampa. Besides actually changing the goalie this should be thought of as a mentality change for the rest of the team.

If the Devils can limit the first period onslaught which has buried them in the 1st 2 games which I hope the Rock will be able to help with a little than I think they can compete w/ TBL. I'm not sure how much of the success later in the game can be attributed to TBL going into a shell defensively (which they do not have the personnel to do and will get beat going forward) or the Devils throwing it all up front and going for it. Regardless the adage is you're not in trouble to you lose at home, this is a proverbial must-win.

Nice points you laid out there. I don't remember as much the Mueller mistakes you're referring to, but I could have missed them.

I think the last one is critical, i'd extend it as far as possible. We looked good in 1st period last game, or if not good, at least decent. it was the 2nd period that unraveled it all. Don't give up stupid shit early in the game. Don't unravel horribly so. Limit TBL possession, get some goals early.

 

[OmNomNom]

Bit late to update but the team wants everyone wearing red tonight. Rock some red if you are going to the game.

t-shirt giveaways would help as well, but i mean all we get are towels

damn cheap team

 

[glenwo2]

t-shirt giveaways would help as well, but i mean all we get are towels

damn cheap team

At least we're not getting those tacky-as-hell clappers.

 

[Maine Fan]

TONIGHT, THE AMAZING SCHNEIDERMAN MAKES HIS TRIUMPHANT RETURN

NOT ONLY THAT, BUT OUR BELOVED MOJO IS BACK AS WELL!

BUT, BUT....LOVEJOY IS STILL IN?

THAT MAY BE, BUT STAFFORD EVEN SEEMS LIKE AN UPGRADE COMPARED TO A CERTAIN SOMEONE

NOW I KNOW MANY HERE ARE PANICKING OVER THE RESULTS OF THE LAST 2 GAMES

BUT WE MUST REMEMBER THE MENTALITY THAT GOT US TO WHERE WE ARE. NO ONE THOUGHT WE WOULD BE HERE!

REMEMBER: NJD VS. EVERYBODY!

YOUR NEW JERSEY DEVILS CONFIRMED LINEUP:
#9 Taylor Hall (A) - #13 Nico Hischier - #21 Kyle Palmieri
#90 Marcus Johansson - #37 Pavel Zacha - #17 Patrick Maroon
#20 Blake Coleman - #19 Travis Zajac (A) - #23 Stefan Noesen
#44 Miles Wood - #11 Brian Boyle - #18 Drew Stafford

#6 Andy Greene (C) - #45 Sami Vatanen
#2 John Moore - #28 Damon Severson
#8 Will Butcher - #12 Ben Lovejoy

#35 Cory Schneider
#1 Keith Kinkaid

Scratches/Injuries:
#10 Jimmy Hayes (Healthy)
#16 Steven Santini (Healthy)
#25 Mirco Mueller (Healthy)
#31 Eddie Lack (Healthy)
#40 Michael Grabner (Healthy)
#63 Jesper Bratt (Healthy)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING PROJECTED LINEUP:
#10 J.T. Miller - #91 Steven Stamkos (C) - #86 Nikita Kucherov
#18 Ondrej Palat - #21 Brayden Point - #9 Tyler Johnson
#37 Yanni Gourde - #71 Anthony Cirelli - #17 Alex Killorn
#14 Chris Kunitz - #13 Cedric Paquette - #89 Cory Conacher

#77 Victor Hedman - #5 Dan Girardi
#27 Ryan McDonagh - #6 Anton Stralman
#55 Braydon Coburn - #98 Mikhail Sergachev

#88 Andrei Vasilevskiy
#70 Louis Domingue

SCRATCHES/INJURIES
#24 Ryan Callahan (Upper Body Injury, Day to Day)
#29 Slater Koekkoek (Healthy)
#31 Peter Budaj (Healthy)
#59 Jake Dotchin (Healthy)
#62 Andrej Sustr (Healthy)
#73 Adam Erne (Lower Body Injury, Out Indefinitely)

Devils Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Hall/Zajac/Hischier/Vatanen/Coleman - 1
Assists: Hall/Zajac/Greene/Moore/Butcher/Schneider - 1
Points: Hall/Zajac - 2
+/-: Coleman/Butcher/Grabner - +1
PIM: Palmieri - 4
PPG: Zajac - 1
SHG: None - 0
GWG: None - 0

Lightning Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Killorn - 3
Assists: Palat/McDonagh - 3
Points: Kucherov/Palat - 4
+/-: Palat/Johnson/Point/McDonagh/Stralman/Hedman - +2
PIM: Miller/Point - 4
PPG: Killorn - 2
SHG: None - 0
GWG: Kucherov/Gourde - 1

WE'VE GOT OUR FIRST HOME PLAYOFF GAME IN 6 YEARS TONIGHT!

AND WITH OUR BACKS AGAINST THE WALL WITH ONE OF THE BEST TEAMS IN THE LEAGUE, NO BETTER TIME TO SHOCK THE SYSTEM

LET'S GO DEVILS!!!

​

MadDog172430, outstanding, just terrific, we have to win with this guidance. Thank you.

 

[OmNomNom]

 

[My3Sons]

As far as the Stafford decision I can understand the negativity attached to the decision. That being said Stafford is a vet and you know what you're going to get. He's going to be on the 4th line and his job isn't to score necessarily, it's to play responsibly in reduced minutes in a supporting defensive role. If you dress Bratt he's not going on the 4th line, he's completely ineffective playing w/ Boyle. I don't think you can move any wing off of the other top lines to give him better line mates to maximize his skill set. He's a rookie and with the way Tampa is playing you need some defensively responsible which Bratt is not (not his fault). He also has 4 points down the stretch (February-March) when the games are tighter and there's far less room. Love him going forward but this is the right move although it looks bad on paper i.e. fast young skilled guy being sat for older vet.

I love Mueller out for MoJo. People are killing Lovejoy and rightfully so, but Mueller has been even worse in the series so far IMO. Lovejoy's errors haven't been as noticeable as Mueller's besides getting absolutely trucked twice on the same shift by Miller. Mueller on the other hand has made at least 2 or 3 bad turnovers that were lucky didn't turn into goals. Also love Schneider in for Kink... none of this is Kinkaid's fault, all of his goals against have been legit and I for one thought Cory was completely physically and mentally checked out in January. But he looked good in the 3rd in Tampa. Besides actually changing the goalie this should be thought of as a mentality change for the rest of the team.

If the Devils can limit the first period onslaught which has buried them in the 1st 2 games which I hope the Rock will be able to help with a little than I think they can compete w/ TBL. I'm not sure how much of the success later in the game can be attributed to TBL going into a shell defensively (which they do not have the personnel to do and will get beat going forward) or the Devils throwing it all up front and going for it. Regardless the adage is you're not in trouble to you lose at home, this is a proverbial must-win.

Excellent points all. I don't necessarily agree with everything, but you provide good food for thought and given that Boyle is not coming out of the lineup and Wood is playing LW4 you are likely spot on about Bratt. As the other poster noted, I'm not sure I've noticed Mueller's mistakes more than Lovejoy but again, the vet over the more skilled rookie in a limited ice role is comforting to a coach and Hynes sees some positives in Lovejoy's play with Butcher at 5 on 5.

 

[Maine Fan]

I still say Kinkaid has earned the right to start but I can accept starting Schneider as long as we pull him quickly if he let's in softies. I like all the other changes except Lovejoy staying in.

Home crowd and ice, we can do this.

Go Devils

 

[MartyOwns]

@Cult of Hynes , preach.

A Veteran that does NOTHING to contribute to a team's success should NOT be put into the lineup just 'cause of tenure.

1) veterans provide more than on-ice performance during the playoffs. let's act like we've been there before, please

2) you keep on clamoring for bratt. on what, the 4th line? do you really think that is going to be the difference maker here? he's 19 for christs sake, if he doesn't play in the playoffs this year it's not the end of the world