Post-Game Talk: Devils 2 - Islanders 0: Wedgeout!!!

[Lou is God]

Watching the Hughes goal again I thought Wood should have gotten the secondary assist, not Palms. Not a big deal but just saying....

 

[Blender]

Watching the Hughes goal again I thought Wood should have gotten the secondary assist, not Palms. Not a big deal but just saying....

5 games in and Wood has been much better than Palmieri anyways.

 

[Nubmer6]

Watching the Hughes goal again I thought Wood should have gotten the secondary assist, not Palms. Not a big deal but just saying....

Watching the goal, Wood was making me nervous. He's waking a very fine line between screen and goalie interference. Maybe it's just his track record that has me a little on edge.

 

[Whaddagoal]

5 games in and Wood has been much better than Palmieri anyways.

Another one of those, "who would have thought that..." so far, this season

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

An off year for Palmieri could be a blessing rather than him having a good run of shooting luck and cashing in on a massive deal...if we wanted to resign him, that is. If he was getting traded regardless, different story.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

An off year for Palmieri could be a blessing rather than him having a good run of shooting luck and cashing in on a massive deal...if we wanted to resign him, that is. If he was getting traded regardless, different story.

Given what we saw in UFA last year, I doubt Palms will be getting a massive deal with the cap staying flat.

 

[Nocashstyle]

I don’t know if it’s been discussed yet, but look at Zajac using his stick on Pulock’s to keep the shooting lane open for Jack. Total pro move.

 

[Zippy316]

In my opinion last night was another example of how bad Hynes' system and Shero's ability to address the defense properly was...

Put a defensive structure in place and the defenders and goalies look better...

Add a couple competent defenders to balance out the pairings along with the structure and you have the ability to compete...you give your forwards a chance to dictate by not being on their heels, stuck in their own zone for their entire shift....

The last 5 games are a small sample and probably don't tell much of a complete story....but if there is a story, it's how bad the previous administration ran this team.

Shero did a lot of good here with what he had, but his idea of defensive structure was definitely a huge flaw of his. Maybe part of it was to fit Hynes system and defensive structure or just whatever he could compile together but it was so poor aside from the 2017-2018 season.

Definitely always seemed like Shero was GM to always like smooth skating or skilled defenders. But even in Pittsburgh he would keep around the Hal Gills or Ben Lovejoys or give up way too much for guys like Douglas Murray.

For some reason after that playoff berth, his idea of a defense was incredibly patchwork and completely unbalanced.

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Watching the Hughes goal again I thought Wood should have gotten the secondary assist, not Palms. Not a big deal but just saying....

It deflects off of Palms' right foot when Wood tries to towards the middle of the point.

 

[Zippy316]

I don’t know if it’s been discussed yet, but look at Zajac using his stick on Pulock’s to keep the shooting lane open for Jack. Total pro move.

This is why Zajac always finds his way onto PP units even as people gripe every single year about it. It’s plays like these why his units are always productive and get chances despite his stonehands at times.

Watch him along the boards or on zone entries on the PP and you’ll see a lot of the same plays that maintain possession or open up lanes.

 

[Maine Fan]

What a victory.

28 sog 28 stops terrific for Wedgewood.

The WOODs, BlackWOOD and WedgeWOOD, are now in charge of the goal for the Devils.

Tomorrow we play the Flyers. I hate all Philly teams because of their fans. Inaddition I treat the Flyers as the bad guys like the Rangers. The Flyers have a tendency to put the "hurt" on young players. Our muscle needs to protect our young guys.
I am not sure who our muscle is?

 

[Nocashstyle]

This is why Zajac always finds his way onto PP units even as people gripe every single year about it. It’s plays like these why his units are always productive and get chances despite his stonehands at times.

Watch him along the boards or on zone entries on the PP and you’ll see a lot of the same plays that maintain possession or open up lanes.

It’s such a blessing that he didn’t waive his NTC last year - especially considering the value we would realistically get back for him. He is the perfect veteran presence for this young core. He’s also looked great so far this year.

 

[Nubmer6]

What a victory.

28 sog 28 stops terrific for Wedgewood.

The WOODs, BlackWOOD and WedgeWOOD, are now in charge of the goal for the Devils.

Tomorrow we play the Flyers. I hate all Philly teams because of their fans. Inaddition I treat the Flyers as the bad guys like the Rangers. The Flyers have a tendency to put the "hurt" on young players. Our muscle needs to protect our young guys.
I am not sure who our muscle is?

Wood, I guess?

Wood's also been a Flyer killer in the past. Hope he keeps that up and scores a few.

 

[captainscott]

Shero did a lot of good here with what he had, but his idea of defensive structure was definitely a huge flaw of his. Maybe part of it was to fit Hynes system and defensive structure or just whatever he could compile together but it was so poor aside from the 2017-2018 season.

Definitely always seemed like Shero was GM to always like smooth skating or skilled defenders. But even in Pittsburgh he would keep around the Hal Gills or Ben Lovejoys or give up way too much for guys like Douglas Murray.

For some reason after that playoff berth, his idea of a defense was incredibly patchwork and completely unbalanced.

Shero was a good GM. His eye for talent was solid. Just a little too loyal to Hynes and Pitt and never had the goaltending.. but he didn't kill us

 

[billingtons ghost]

The progress of others aside, the panic and confusion we've replaced on the blueline with the calm smarts of Murray, Kulikov & Smith has been so transformative so far.

Don't forget Alfred Lord Tennyson.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I don't think it's going to be a question of "IF" here.

I think they'll both excel and become damn good NHL players.

Wow... that's coming from Glen.. the biggest Bratt fan around. High praise. I'm looking for some hidden emoji or white typeface.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Who is thrilled we don't have to watch the man-on-man defense coverage anymore, game in and game out?

This team actually does zone defense per more normal hockey and tries to and steers guys away from the middle slot so they don't just walk in unattended to.

This. I'm also happy with the sane pairings - that we have a defensive guy back there to bail out the offensive guys when they make crappy passes or bad pinches, who can break up passes, lift sticks, muck in the corners and generally be actual 'defensemen' instead of the goofiness last year where we have two chaos-makers on the ice at all times.

I'm kind of dreading what happens to Ty Smith if/when they pair him with Vats. I know Vats is >>>>>> Tennyson - but not for this particular situation.

 

[Whaddagoal]

This. I'm also happy with the sane pairings - that we have a defensive guy back there to bail out the offensive guys when they make crappy passes or bad pinches, who can break up passes, lift sticks, muck in the corners and generally be actual 'defensemen' instead of the goofiness last year where we have two chaos-makers on the ice at all times.

I'm kind of dreading what happens to Ty Smith if/when they pair him with Vats. I know Vats is >>>>>> Tennyson - but not for this particular situation.

Well, we'll have to see what kind of player Sami is still after injury recovery (again) and long break, lol. It is perhaps the wacky system previously that lead to all our defense to do stupid things for 2 years, with Sami being one of the high expectation guys we had. It wasn't always him spinning up high in the D zone, it was him, Subban, Butcher, all of them,...

I'd like to see him under a different coach now, not the clown system we had before for a few years.

Of course, I'm a Sami supporter so ....... my rose colored glasses maybe fogged.

There is always his goalie skills still....

 

[billingtons ghost]

Well, we'll have to see what kind of player Sami is still after injury recovery (again) and long break, lol. It is perhaps the wacky system previously that lead to all our defense to do stupid things for 2 years, with Sami being one of the high expectation guys we had. It wasn't always him spinning up high in the D zone, it was him, Subban, Butcher, all of them,...

I'd like to see him under a different coach now, not the clown system we had before for a few years.

Of course, I'm a Sami supporter so ....... my rose colored glasses maybe fogged.

There is always his goalie skills still....

I like him as a player too - I just don't like him as a compliment to Ty Smith. If Severson threw a few more brain-dead passes, or Subban fell down a few more times, I'd happily slot Vats into his spot for a game or two.

I think I'm just re-affirming my belief in having one stay-at-home guy anchoring a pairing with the offensive-minded guy free to roam... and Sami has been as good or better overall than both Sevs and Subban - certainly at the end of last year. I just don't know where to make space for him.

The sooner we see him, the better, and if he can replace Tennyson and play the role of stabilizer for Ty - that's great...

If he gets in there, and needs Ty to help HIM in our own zone - then we're damaging Ty and we are sunk.

 

[RangerDoggo]

Shero was a good GM. His eye for talent was solid. Just a little too loyal to Hynes and Pitt and never had the goaltending.. but he didn't kill us

The way we’re playing and developing under a decent system, I’ve warmed up to Shero’s eye for talent when I was quite critical before. If he wasn’t so loyal to bad coaches he should still be here. Perhaps we might still have Hall if Hynes was fired after the first six games (or, hell, a couple of seasons prior) like he should have been.

 

[Oneiro]

Shero kind of put together a talent casserole hoping it would work. There's probably a lot to be said for chemistry and cohesion that most, including me, ignored when we got PK, Jack, Goose and Simmonds.

And excessive loyalty to Bylsma and Hynes. In retrospect, we probably should have seen it coming.

All in all, not mad at him for anything other than Hynes. So far Castron has done a decent job and we have no long term overcommitments.

 

[Zippy316]

This. I'm also happy with the sane pairings - that we have a defensive guy back there to bail out the offensive guys when they make crappy passes or bad pinches, who can break up passes, lift sticks, muck in the corners and generally be actual 'defensemen' instead of the goofiness last year where we have two chaos-makers on the ice at all times.

I'm kind of dreading what happens to Ty Smith if/when they pair him with Vats. I know Vats is >>>>>> Tennyson - but not for this particular situation.

Don’t think Vatanen ends up with Smith. They’re both not particularly smooth skaters and on the smaller side.

I’d be willing to bet Vatanen gets Kulikov or Murray and they pair Smith - Severson together with favorable matchups. Let those two dominate 5-on-5 and create offense while Kulikov, Murray, Vatanen, and Subban take on the tougher minutes.

 

[Comparison Ford]

Watching the goal, Wood was making me nervous. He's waking a very fine line between screen and goalie interference. Maybe it's just his track record that has me a little on edge.

just imagine how the goalies feel

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

I don’t know if it’s been discussed yet, but look at Zajac using his stick on Pulock’s to keep the shooting lane open for Jack. Total pro move.

yup, it's things like that go unnoticed but 100% reason why the goal happened.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Don’t think Vatanen ends up with Smith. They’re both not particularly smooth skaters and on the smaller side.

I’d be willing to bet Vatanen gets Kulikov or Murray and they pair Smith - Severson together with favorable matchups. Let those two dominate 5-on-5 and create offense while Kulikov, Murray, Vatanen, and Subban take on the tougher minutes.

Smith-Severson would be worse than Smith-Vatanen. I'd rather pair Smith with Vatanen.