Pre-Game Talk: Devils @ Leafs | Wednesday @ 740pm

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

You forgot Kyle Palmieri who was basically the Josh Leivo of the Ducks and has flourished with the Devils.

They also have MoJo now who is quite good.

Palmieri is hurt I think. He missed the game against Buffalo and I'm not sure he'll play tomorrow. MoJo is alright though, I forgot about him

 

[jrgtml67]

Watched NJs 2 games, and they are better than people think. Hischier is the real deal, Bratt is on fire, and Butcher is good as well. Thing is that they play our speed game, if they get into that with us they are in trouble. So far in the games I have watched Schneider hasnt been tested all that much, but again we cant take these guys lightly, they have several players that can score at will, or at least are dangerous. Hall looks real good in the games I saw, and again Hischier has a sweet pair of hands. I agree with a couple people here, we should win, but it is those games in the past that we have lost. Last night we dominated for a bit more than half the game, against a powerhouse team. So really, we can beat anybody, it all depends on if we show up.

Question for anyone--what were the leafs D pairs today in practice? Or does anyone know which swede will be in? Or if it is both? They both played well last night. Rosen for me matches up well only against teams that dont forecheck hard. Chicago is a rush scoring team, and at least last night didnt pressure our D all that much. Borgman looks good no matter who against. I really like his confidence too. He will wheel, and he picks his spots. That penalty was a joke. DeBrincat missed the puck so that split second, how does any player hold up. If Borgman waits, DeBrincat has the puck and goes past him. Those close plays like that, if the hit is clean, should be legal. It was not blind side, he had his head down, and one hand on the stick, which is why he missed the puck. I hate that. Good comparison is NHL18 even. I have done the same thing. Guy passes the puck I go for the hit and his player misses it, boom penalty...so dumb

 

[CanadasTeam]

Gone are the days of NJ being a trap team. This is a pretty offensive team which we can't take lightly.

Agreed. Btw, love the avatar

 

[wingman75]

yep but I'm on Windows 7 Professional. Right now my ad block is showing 4 and the performance is good. When it hangs that number is 176 I believe which is crazy.

Assumed it was the ads. Not running adblock but will have to start using it for this site. Thanks

 

[kk87]

Devils are not a good team, seems like people are starting to overrate them based on their hot start. They have some very promising pieces, but their offence doesn't have great depth and lacks proven game breakers outside of Hall, and their defence is worse than ours on paper. That being said, it's games like these where it's easy to get complacent and take your foot off the gas. As long as we come in prepared and set the pace early, we'll be fine.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Devils are not a good team, seems like people are starting to overrate them based on their hot start. They have some very promising pieces, but their offence doesn't have great depth and lacks proven game breakers outside of Hall, and their defence is worse than ours on paper. That being said, it's games like these where it's easy to get complacent and take your foot off the gas. As long as we come in prepared and set the pace early, we'll be fine.

they're not as good as us, but they're definitely not a bad team

 

[Randy Randerson]

heading into game #4, still feels like Christmas morning

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Both Rosen and Borgman deserved to be in the lineup based on last game - by the way who is carrying this game?

Matthews.

 

[54thecup]

they're not as good as us, but they're definitely not a bad team

Agreed. I have watched both games as well and have been impressed. Can't believe how good Butcher and Hishier look as rookies!

Can never take any team lightly! We have too much depth so we should prevail and Scheider should have a busy nite. Wonder how long he lasts

 

[DarkKnight]

Wonder if Babs would consider sitting Martin and playing both Fehr and Moore with Brown? He's bringing very little at the moment, and he's turned into a play killer on offence. I realize you can't put Leivo in for that line, but it needs something.

 

[Nithoniniel]

and he's turned into a play killer on offence.

In the minutes he played, I thought the absolute opposite. Prior to the first goal, he made some plays that showcased both skill and vision.

I mean, he is and always have been a limited player, but he hasn't gotten worse.

 

[DarkKnight]

In the minutes he played, I thought the absolute opposite. Prior to the first goal, he made some plays that showcased both skill and vision.

I mean, he is and always have been a limited player, but he hasn't gotten worse.

I haven't liked Martin at all, except after the fact hits that didn't impact the play. Fair enough.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Wonder if Babs would consider sitting Martin and playing both Fehr and Moore with Brown? He's bringing very little at the moment, and he's turned into a play killer on offence. I realize you can't put Leivo in for that line, but it needs something.

If he benches Martin it should be for Leivo
Leivo - Moore - Brown would be a slightly above average 3rd line depending on how Moore plays

 

[DarkKnight]

If he benches Martin it should be for Leivo
Leivo - Moore - Brown would be a slightly above average 3rd line depending on how Moore plays

Agreed, but Babs doesn't seem to want to put Leivo on his energy line. Love to see Leivo get in there, he can cycle and keep the puck in the O zone which is what you want on that line, at least traditionally.

 

[carko32]

Yeah, what I've seen from Devils this season (and I caught one preseason game as well), they are fast and do not play that typical Devils hockey.

Hall is real deal, Bratt surprised probably even himself and Hischier is playing really well. MoJo has been great as well, so they had started this season pretty good.

We should be a difficult test for them and I believe we have much more skill, so we should win. But they definitely know how to punish small mistakes.

 

[crump]

Make them dread the day they came to Toronto. No mercy.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Agreed, but Babs doesn't seem to want to put Leivo on his energy line. Love to see Leivo get in there, he can cycle and keep the puck in the O zone which is what you want on that line, at least traditionally.

i'm sure Babs wants Leivo on the team, he's not stupid. He probably just wants Martin more for whatever reason. i guess he's a lot better at punishing people physically

 

[Cult of Hynes]

Palmieri is hurt I think. He missed the game against Buffalo and I'm not sure he'll play tomorrow. MoJo is alright though, I forgot about him

According to Gross, Palms was on the ice for practice today. So very possible he plays.

Andrew Gross‏Verified account @AGrossRecord
Lo and behold Kyle Palmieri is on the ice for team practice. #NJDevils

Watched NJs 2 games, and they are better than people think. Hischier is the real deal, Bratt is on fire, and Butcher is good as well. Thing is that they play our speed game, if they get into that with us they are in trouble. So far in the games I have watched Schneider hasnt been tested all that much, but again we cant take these guys lightly, they have several players that can score at will, or at least are dangerous. Hall looks real good in the games I saw, and again Hischier has a sweet pair of hands. I agree with a couple people here, we should win, but it is those games in the past that we have lost. Last night we dominated for a bit more than half the game, against a powerhouse team. So really, we can beat anybody, it all depends on if we show up.

Schneider faced 41 shots in the first game against the AVS. I'd say that's being tested. Yesterday he only saw 25 shots, so not tested too much there.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

According to Gross, Palms was on the ice for practice today. So very possible he plays.

Andrew Gross‏Verified account @AGrossRecord
Lo and behold Kyle Palmieri is on the ice for team practice. #NJDevils.

Well that's good for the Devils. They have one of the better top 6s in the league in my opinion so this should be a fun game

 

[Randy Randerson]

Well that's good for the Devils. They have one of the better top 6s in the league in my opinion so this should be a fun game

I don't know if I'd go that far yet, but they've definitely come a long way in a short time

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I don't know if I'd go that far yet, but they've definitely come a long way in a short time

by one of the better ones I mean somewhere between top 15 and top 10.
Hall, Palmieri, Zacha, Hischier, Zajac, and Bratt/MoJo are nothing to sneeze at. They need to become a bit more proven but I think they'll get there

 

[Eyedea]

They have a talented top 6, but in terms of immediate production I don't think they're one of the better in the league. Youthful exuberance aside their defence looks exploitable. Leafs were able to really control the slot and pounce on loose pucks/rebounds in their matchups last season, and having several inexperienced blueliners gives the Leafs depth some prime matchups.

 

[Randy Randerson]

by one of the better ones I mean somewhere between top 15 and top 10.
Hall, Palmieri, Zacha, Hischier, Zajac, and Bratt/MoJo are nothing to sneeze at. They need to become a bit more proven but I think they'll get there

fair enough - if Hischier hits his ceiling I'd agree. They need a star center but if that happens they could be very good, and Zacha turns into David Backes type on top of Hischier being a star then for sure they'd be formidable

 

[TML Dynasty]

In the minutes he played, I thought the absolute opposite. Prior to the first goal, he made some plays that showcased both skill and vision.

I mean, he is and always have been a limited player, but he hasn't gotten worse.

Ive firmly been in the camp of platooning him with someone to add a different dimension on some nights but his play this year has me impressed. I get the sample size is very small but his forechecking has resulted in some great chances and changed the pace.

 

[jrgtml67]

Did you watch the game against colorado by chance? most of the shots were just shots, not difficult saves.
They thoroughly dominated the sabres, I watched that game as well. In any case, not saying schneider is looking bad, simply saying he has not been tested like we will (should).

Further to that, we better be ready, because the Devils are fast. They are much like we were last season. Young and too dumb to care who they are facing. If we come out like we did last night we win no sweat. If our defense plays like they did (esp 2nd period) against the Rangers, we are going to have a possible 8-5 game again. Guys to watch from them outside Taylor Hall, Jesper Bratt is on fire right now, and we already know about Hischier, the kid has some hands on him. He is like if Marner and Nylander had a baby.

What we need to do here is throw adversity their way. They have yet to deal with that this season. Plant the seed of doubt early, and should be a sure win. But again if we sit back, or dont come out ready...it will be 2,3,4 zip real quick.