GDT: Devils @ Canucks - 10:00 PM - MSG

[HBK27]

They're not looking at this in terms of starter/backup. They're doing 1A/1B. As such, I think it's 50/50 whether Blackwood is playing next game.

Though there's only a 10% chance of that.

 

[devilsblood]

They're not looking at this in terms of starter/backup. They're doing 1A/1B. As such, I think it's 50/50 whether Blackwood is playing next game.

If Blackwood gets next game, I think it's fair to say he is the 1A of that equation.

I'm not on the anti Blackwood bandwagon, but I think Vitek should have the edge as 1A at this point.

I also don't want to get ahead of reality either. Let's see what they do Thursday, Vitek should get that start.

 

[Bleedred]

Though there's only a 10% chance of that.

Love your optimism on the matter, but I'm 60/40 Blackwood plays next game, maybe even 70/30.

And I was actually 95% sure Vanecek was gonna start last night and 99% sure he would start the Columbus game, after being irrationally paranoid Blackwood would start pretty much any game (including the Colorado game) before that.

 

[devilsblood]

Wish I knew what Schenn said that made Miles crack up

It's interesting how Schenn is mirroring the Van fan behind him.

 

[devilsblood]

And I think that's wrong that they're looking at it that way.

Blackwood has been the inferior goalie this regular season, preseason and the last two seasons before this.

If he were on a rival, our fans would be giggling about how much of a bust he is, just like they were with Carter Hart.

Do we not see the irony here given how well Hart has played this year?

 

[Bleedred]

Do we not see the irony here given how well Hart has played this year?

Key word: WERE

 

[HBK27]

If Blackwood gets next game, I think it's fair to say he is the 1A of that equation.

I'm not on the anti Blackwood bandwagon, but I think Vitek should have the edge as 1A at this point.

I also don't want to get ahead of reality either. Let's see what they do Thursday, Vitek should get that start.

I was just going for the rather dated joke.

I didn't give it much thought prior to last night's game, but I figured there was a decent chance of Blackwood starting last night in order to save Vanecek for the tougher opponents. Seeing Blackwood's career stats against Vancouver probably solidified the decision. I think Ruff's done a good job balancing the workload so far while also riding the hot hand to a point.

I'd be surprised if Blackwood plays tomorrow night. FWIW, Blackwood is 1-0-1 with a 3.77 GAA & .864 SV% against Edmonton, while Vanecek has yet to face the Oilers.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Smith with the 2nd best xGF% amongst d-men.

 

[devilsblood]

Key word: WERE

Doesn't reduce the irony.

 

[My3Sons]

And I think that's wrong that they're looking at it that way.

Blackwood has been the inferior goalie this regular season, preseason and the last two seasons before this.

If he were on a rival, our fans would be giggling about how much of a bust he is, just like they were with Carter Hart.

I think you have to judge each season on its own merits to be fair to the player. Blackwood has been better to my eyes this season than the prior two seasons. He's not consistent and he still looks shaky at times, but he's trying to rebuild his game from a fairly bad level to at least be decent. He did make some good stops in the first last night to help NJ find its footing. That's about all I will ask from him. I don't expect him to win many games for them but if he can give them a chance that's more or less the league average goaltending the fancy numbers suggested NJ needs to be good. I wouldn't advocate for a long term extension for him, but let's see if he can continue to gain some confidence and maybe work on a few technical elements that can at least get him from an 88% goalie to a 90% goalie or a bit better.

It's hard to see NJ having a true number one with this tandem but presumably with a solid team in front of them the team can ride the hot hand and both guys play roughly an even number of games. After the last few seasons I'd take that as an improvement even if it is far from ideal.

 

[devilsblood]

I was just going for the rather dated joke.

I didn't give it much thought prior to last night's game, but I figured there was a decent chance of Blackwood starting last night in order to save Vanecek for the tougher opponents. Seeing Blackwood's career stats against Vancouver probably solidified the decision. I think Ruff's done a good job balancing the workload so far while also riding the hot hand to a point.

I'd be surprised if Blackwood plays tomorrow night. FWIW, Blackwood is 1-0-1 with a 3.77 GAA & .864 SV% against Edmonton, while Vanecek has yet to face the Oilers.

View attachment 602188

So Anchorman stole that joke?

 

[Bleedred]

Doesn't reduce the irony.

Why not? A lot of people were writing him off after the last two years. A lot of people were pounding their chests when Blackwood appeared better out of the gate than Hart did back in 2019.

For what it's worth, Hart's last two seasons combined might have been worse than Blackwood's. He wasn't nearly as bad last year, but Hart's 20-21 was worse than any season Blackwood has had yet.

I thought Hart was solid for most of last year, but he got hurt at the end of the year and just had a really poor string of games before he was shut down for the remainder of the season.

 

[devilsblood]

Why not? A lot of people were writing him off after the last two years. A lot of people were pounding their chests when Blackwood appeared better out of the gate than Hart did back in 2019.

For what it's worth, Hart's last two seasons combined might have been worse than Blackwood's. He wasn't nearly as bad last year, but Hart's 20-21 was worse than any season Blackwood has had yet.

I thought Hart was solid for most of last year, but he got hurt at the end of the year and just had a really poor string of games before he was shut down for the remainder of the season.

Not sure which part to bold, the question, or the answer, but, exactly.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

I'm a sucker for multiple pass sequences but the Hughes to Bratt to Nico goal may be the prettiest goal we've scored in a decade.

The type of goal really good pp teams score.

Was nice. Two two-on-one goals in the second period - particularly the one off the stretch pass by Marino - may have been even sweeter.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I don’t even know how I’ll respond if we have a loss and the usual group shows up to complain.

For the life of me I can’t figure out why some people only want to come here for losses and have no interest during this winning streak.

I honestly needed to step away during the first two losses, I just didn’t need the board’s rage on top of my frustration.

Where is guitarguy whatever? Unless I’m blocked, I haven’t seen him posting during the win streak.

 

[Bleedred]

Not sure which part to bold, the question, or the answer, but, exactly.

So basically what you're saying is because Hart has had a good start that there's hope for Blackwood too?

Well, I think there's a little bit of hope, but not as much. He certainly hasn't started the season as hot as Hart or even as hot as his last two years, where his first 5-6 games were quite a bit hotter than his .879% start to this year.

Now, as I've said, the fact that we don't allow many shots has probably cost him a few save percentage points, but our shot differential (As well as goals scored) has made goaltending on our team largely irrelevant to this point.

Really, the only particularly great goalie game we've had was the Vanecek shutout and that was mostly because we only scored one goal.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Well that was a fun game to watch.

Now the real tests start to begin.

If they can hang with McJesus and drai while taking at least one convincingly from Calgary I will be thrilled.

 

[Bleedred]

Where is guitarguy whatever? Unless I’m blocked, I haven’t seen him posting during the win streak.

I actually can't find his name when I go to look him up?

 

[HBK27]

So Anchorman stole that joke?

What joke did Anchorman have - can't recall one that's similar, though haven't seen the movie in a long time. I also don't have that one memorized like I do The Naked Gun.

I actually can't find his name when I go to look him up?

Same, looks like he's gone.

 

[devilsblood]

What joke did Anchorman have - can't recall one that's similar, though haven't seen the movie in a long time. I also don't have that one memorized like I do The Naked Gun.


Same, looks like he's gone.

Something like "50% of the time, it works every time".

I remember seeing Naked Gun in the theater when I was 12ish, so I wasn't real familiar with that style of humor. It was a big moment.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Looking back at that PP goal yesterday. That pass by Jack to Bratt was absurd. Didn’t see how great it was intially. Wow wow wow.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Same, looks like he's gone.

Where is guitarguy whatever? Unless I’m blocked, I haven’t seen him posting during the win streak.

The amount of people who lack humility is stunning. Like shit, stop being a downer, admit you may have overreacted and come back and support the team during a good stretch.

But nope, of course not.

Humility is a fantastic trait that everyone should have.

 

[mtnet]

Heck of a win last night, glad I stayed up for this one

 

[devilsblood]

Looking back at that PP goal yesterday. That pass by Jack to Bratt was absurd. Didn’t see how great it was intially. Wow wow wow.

The Nico pp goal? Hughes pass was absurd?

Seemed fairly generic.

The Bratt pass on the other hand, that was nice.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Though there's only a 10% chance of that.

I agree and believe the only reason he got the start is because the Oilers are up next.