GDT: Devils @ Islanders, 7:30 PM, Apocalypse Now

[Blender]

Statistically not all that far from the team that lost to Philly and Detroit. Those games weren’t all that different, goaltending aside.

I think we were better defensively than in those games at least. We were flying in both directions as when the Islanders got the puck we were all over them to try and get it back.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Absurd

 

[MauDevils]

Absurd

And yet we're 21st in actual GF/G.

They played amazing, but it was still scary to only be up 2-0 after all of that. The (second) Palat goal was massive.

The finish has to improve, they just can't keep being required to work so hard for so little.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

And yet we're 21st in actual GF/G.

They played amazing, but it was still scary to only be up 2-0 after all of that. The (second) Palat goal was massive.

The finish has to improve, they just can't keep being required to work so hard for so little.

Agreed. You have to figure Hughes/Bratt breaking out of their goal funk will help a lot. But secondary scoring will be an issue all year.

 

[Devs3cups]

And yet we're 21st in actual GF/G.

They played amazing, but it was still scary to only be up 2-0 after all of that. The (second) Palat goal was massive.

The finish has to improve, they just can't keep being required to work so hard for so little.

They worked hard, but don’t forget they were facing an elite goalie in Sorokin who played amazing even with 3 GA. Against an average goalie we probably see 5 to 7 GF.

Not too worried about the finishing these last 2 games. Hope they can keep it going!

 

[MauDevils]

Agreed. You have to figure Hughes/Bratt breaking out of their goal funk will help a lot. But secondary scoring will be an issue all year.

Most importantly just fix the power play. It's 4th worst again.

Getting Jack some help would be nice too.

 

[Devs3cups]

Most importantly just fix the power play. It's 4th worst again.

Getting Jack some help would be nice too.

PP definitely needs to start potting some goals.

There are definitely some encouraging signs though, the PP looked good last night in general, but the one we got early in the first was one of the best PPs we’ve had in years lol. Maybe they start clicking soon.

 

[ninetyeight]

Great win! Good vibes for the weekend. We match very well against the isles, them being one of the slowest teams and us one of the fastest. Will be interesting to see what happens when we play another fast team (I guess Detroit is pretty fast though, even the big "tree line" is pretty mobile). I think finishing is still a problem, we could have had like 3 goals in the 1st alone. But Sorokin is elite, fortunately we won't have to face goalies like him very often. The second line is money. I still think the Hughes line is not clicking as well as it could. I would like to see Holtz there, but hopefully Sharangovich gets into his groove soon. Two good games for Blackwood now, but lets be honest he hasn't faced the most dangerous offence yet, we'll see where he's really at when we play the leafs, caps, rags etc.

Good stuff!

 

[Better Call Sal]

If you keep this type of shot generation up, the goals will come. I cannot look at anything negatively last night. Of course we want the finishing to improve, but if you control the puck that heavily and get 3 pucks past one of the better goalies in the league, I feel confident that can be a recipe for success.

 

[Patrik26]

Did Barzal play last night?

 

[njdevil26]

That was honestly the best Devils performance in at least several years. The Palat-Hischier-Bratt line is the best line we've had since Parise Zajac Langenbrunner.

If we can just get Sharangovich and Mercer on board with Jack holy crap.

 

[Omar Little]

PP definitely needs to start potting some goals.

There are definitely some encouraging signs though, the PP looked good last night in general, but the one we got early in the first was one of the best PPs we’ve had in years lol. Maybe they start clicking soon.

Yea the PP looked good last night. Decisive with the puck. Having two righties on the PP makes a world of difference imo. That said, I still don’t like how little we use down low plays. I think we become a little predictable at times which limits our ability to make cross ice plays

 

[Japam]

Just watched highlights. Hard to get the whole story from highlights but seeing those and what's being said in this thread looks/sounds promising. Two way domination for sure.

 

[Emperoreddy]

You have to think that finishing will start to come easier as they loosen up and gain some confidence.

Pretty obvious from comments they were extremely tense those first two games.

Lines improving their chemistry should help as well

 

[tailfins]

I don’t think there’s much to take away from this game. We’ve seen this almost every year early in the season. Teams aren’t tight defensively, they get surprised by the speed and the Devils look great. I feel like I can find quotes going back to 2018 where early opponents talk about how fast the Devils are and how they got surprised. Never lasts.

Barzal’s quotes from after the game are dead on. The way to play the Devils is to limit turnovers in the middle of the ice, get pucks deep and cycle the puck. Clog the middle of the ice and force the Devils to win along the boards.

The Devils have played one game against a team that forced them into board battles (Flyers) and they looked terrible. I’m hoping they’ve solved for that. But until we see them win games against teams that are playing with structure and commitment (which will be most of the top teams), it’s hard to know if the Devils have really turned a corner.

Edit: not meaning to say it wasn’t fun watching the Devils win last night. You should take what the other team will give you - and the Devils did a great job of that against the Isles. Definitely happy to see that.

 

[ninetyeight]

The Palat-Hischier-Bratt line is the best line we've had since Parise Zajac Langenbrunner.

The HBP line, causes high blood pressure in opponent's fans

 

[Triumph]

They sure looked different. I know the stats, but I don't feel like they tell the whole story. The team was flying last night. They had chemistry and shots were coming from the most dangerous areas on the ice. And they were good shots. Not easily savable muffins. The defense too. It was so solid. No extended, pinned in their own zone for 2 minutes shifts. That almost never happens.

The shots in these other games weren't 'easily savable muffins', they just didn't go in.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I don’t think there’s much to take away from this game. We’ve seen this almost every year early in the season. Teams aren’t tight defensively, they get surprised by the speed and the Devils look great. I feel like I can find quotes going back to 2018 where early opponents talk about how fast the Devils are and how they got surprised. Never lasts.

Barzal’s quotes from after the game are dead on. The way to play the Devils is to limit turnovers in the middle of the ice, get pucks deep and cycle the puck. Clog the middle of the ice and force the Devils to win along the boards.

The Devils have played one game against a team that forced them into board battles (Flyers) and they looked terrible. I’m hoping they’ve solved for that. But until we see them win games against teams that are playing with structure and commitment (which will be most of the top teams), it’s hard to know if the Devils have really turned a corner.

Edit: not meaning to say it wasn’t fun watching the Devils win last night. You should take what the other team will give you - and the Devils did a great job of that against the Isles. Definitely happy to see that.

This roster is pretty damn good. The Islanders play some of the most boring “clog the middle” crap as anyone and they got smoked.

Not expecting this type of game every night obviously, but we’re clearly a cut above the shit tier teams, and I expect to be fighting for the playoffs if we can get some saves.

 

[Triumph]

I don’t think there’s much to take away from this game. We’ve seen this almost every year early in the season. Teams aren’t tight defensively, they get surprised by the speed and the Devils look great. I feel like I can find quotes going back to 2018 where early opponents talk about how fast the Devils are and how they got surprised. Never lasts.

You sure can, but also the Devils have never been this fast. They've also gotten rid of the slowpokes on D.

Barzal’s quotes from after the game are dead on. The way to play the Devils is to limit turnovers in the middle of the ice, get pucks deep and cycle the puck. Clog the middle of the ice and force the Devils to win along the boards.

Yes, and the Islanders failed to do this from minute one. When I saw people saying they'd loosened up defensively this year, I wasn't sure it was true, but when Tatar and Haula got that 2 on 1 a minute into the game, I believed it.

The Devils have played one game against a team that forced them into board battles (Flyers) and they looked terrible. I’m hoping they’ve solved for that. But until we see them win games against teams that are playing with structure and commitment (which will be most of the top teams), it’s hard to know if the Devils have really turned a corner.

Edit: not meaning to say it wasn’t fun watching the Devils win last night. You should take what the other team will give you - and the Devils did a great job of that against the Isles. Definitely happy to see that.

The Devils did not look terrible against the Flyers, they played them even and couldn't get a save. They were also missing maybe their best boardwork forward in Nico.

 

[JimEIV]

Last night was a perfect example of how winning (or losing) has almost nothing to do with your goaltending.

Take care of your own zone, capitalize on your chance...let your goalie be the last line of defense (and not the first) and you'll win more games than you lose.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Last night was a perfect example of how winning (or losing) has almost nothing to do with your goaltending.

Take care of your own zone, capitalize on your chance...let your goalie be the last line of defense (and not the first) and you'll win more games than you lose.

Then why did you spend half a decade crying about Cory Schneider

 

[Triumph]

This roster is pretty damn good. The Islanders play some of the most boring “clog the middle” crap as anyone and they got smoked.

Not expecting this type of game every night obviously, but we’re clearly a cut above the shit tier teams, and I expect to be fighting for the playoffs if we can get some saves.

I don't think this is true about the Islanders generally and I am curious to watch their other games sometime if they weren't the most uninteresting team in the league. They were not tight to the Devils in the neutral zone and even though there'd be 2 or 3 guys back, the Devils would just end up skating through them because you can't stop this team unless you get right on top of them.

Last night was a perfect example of how winning (or losing) has almost nothing to do with your goaltending.

Take care of your own zone, capitalize on your chance...let your goalie be the last line of defense (and not the first) and you'll win more games than you lose.

Almost no NHL games look like this, where a team is leading most of the game and outshoots the opponent 2 to 1. I'd bet it happened in less than 1% of games last season. Most games are played pretty even and it comes down to whose goalie stopped the shots.

 

[JK3]

They really skated them into the ground, the Islanders looked like traffic cones.

Nico was really good last night.

 

[JimEIV]

Then why did you spend half a decade crying about Cory Schneider

"cried" about him??? He was just never good as some made him about to be. Those weak side bad angle goals were happening when he was .920+. He was a joke and smoke and mirrors.

This board would overlook that shit on a nightly basis now we crucify goalies for letting in a goal with a dude standing in the crease covered by no one and recieves a perfect pass on his tape from another guy who was hardly covered by a Dman scrambling to pick up his man.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

"cried" about him??? He was just never good as some made him about to be. Those weak side bad angle goals were happening when he was .920+. He was a joke and smoke and mirrors.

Just absurd nonsense.

If the Devils had 2014-2016 Cory Schneider on this team, they would be one of the best teams in the NHL.