Tundra
Registered User
- Oct 20, 2005
- 10,363
- 1,375
I don't necessarily disagree on Nico playing well (certainly not better than Hughes but I'm not gonna argue), but Meier? The only thing he has done is been physical (and I'd argue he's been taking himself out of plays to be needlessly physical). I am wondering what you have seen that is giving you this opinion on Meier, because it seems like I must be watching a different game than you are. To me, I see a player who is careless all over the ice, whether it being him taking penalties at a rate only Brendan Smith could match or just making consistently bad decisions with the puck on his stick. His passing has been Sharangovich levels of bad and he has seemingly been turning the puck over a ton in the neutral zone through either these bad passes or just a lack of awareness with the puck on his stick. It's nice seeing him make all of these power moves around the net and skilled plays in the neutral zone but when the puck inevitably gets either softly shoveled on net for an easy save or poked away and turned over, it's hard for me to say he has generated anything offensively. He hasn't been setting anyone up, he hasn't really gotten all that many dangerous chances on net by my viewing, he turns the puck over way too much. I really would like to see much more out of him.I don’t really have any evidence to back it up but for me, Hischier and Meier have been the Devils’ best forwards in the series. I feel like they’ve looked a little more calm and composed and been more valuable in all 3 zones. But at the end of the day, everyone’s just gonna look at the scoresheet and judge you by how many times your name is there.
I haven’t been happy with how Hughes and Bratt have looked; like they’re trying to win the whole series every time the puck’s on their stick. But it’s a testament to their skill that they can still tilt the ice and get good scoring opportunities (and score now and then) even when they kinda look like shit. Everyone else on the roster doesn’t have that luxury. Overall it’s just tough to watch a bunch of talented youngsters fail to reach their potential due to a lack of structure.
But i bet if i could go back in time to October, I’d have had really similar thoughts at the beginning of the season. I’d love to think there’s something to the players saying they’re gonna reach another level, but i’ll believe when I see it. The team finally started to look like themselves in overtime on Saturday. Hopefully they can build off that.
I don't necessarily disagree on Nico playing well (certainly not better than Hughes but I'm not gonna argue), but Meier? The only thing he has done is been physical (and I'd argue he's been taking himself out of plays to be needlessly physical). I am wondering what you have seen that is giving you this opinion on Meier, because it seems like I must be watching a different game than you are. To me, I see a player who is careless all over the ice, whether it being him taking penalties at a rate only Brendan Smith could match or just making consistently bad decisions with the puck on his stick. His passing has been Sharangovich levels of bad and he has seemingly been turning the puck over a ton in the neutral zone through either these bad passes or just a lack of awareness with the puck on his stick. It's nice seeing him make all of these power moves around the net and skilled plays in the neutral zone but when the puck inevitably gets either softly shoveled on net for an easy save or poked away and turned over, it's hard for me to say he has generated anything offensively. He hasn't been setting anyone up, he hasn't really gotten all that many dangerous chances on net by my viewing, he turns the puck over way too much. I really would like to see much more out of him.
The Rags can have all the "gameplanning" they want.With 2 days off it will be interesting to see what wrinkles both teams come up with.
For the Rangers, I think they’ll want to attack through the sides of the neutral zone with speed and dump pucks hard around for their opposite side winger and instigate puck battles where the Devils are prone to overcommit and not dangerous if the Devils win the puck.
For the Devils, I think they want to stress the instances where the defenseman can safely activate and/or pinch to generate more possession and opportunities.
The Rangers had the better gameplan games 1 and 2. The Devils have now put in place a new strong plan so it’s incumbent on the Rangers to adjust and the Devils to guess the adjustment and already have the next plan ready.
As good as these numbers paint Meier, the eye test does not tell the same story. He has been a big negative on the PP with turning the puck over and making poor plays.I would very much like a goal from Meier too, preferably next game, but he’s gotten a bunch of scoring chances by getting pucks to the net.
I don’t understand how you can say Meier hasn’t generated anything offensively, as frustrating as it is for him to not have a goal yet.
Devils Forwards 5v5
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Devils Forwards Overall
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So we now know what time Game 6 is.
Hopefully it's going to be a Series-Clinching game for the Devils.
What?
You posted the same thing I did hours earlier.What?
did I say something wrong?
I used the word "Hopefully", not GUARANTEE (if a "jinx" is what you're worried about)
Sorry but I don't go back and look through threads to find if someone posted something already.You posted the same thing I did hours earlier.
You posted the same thing I did hours earlier.
Is there an echo in here?
Yep. I think Meier is working hard, but he hasn't been close to good enough. Costly penalties and poor puck management in some instances. He's a guy they need to pick it up if they want to win this series.As good as these numbers pain Meier, the eye test does not tell the same story. He has been a big negative on the PP with turning the puck over and making poor plays.
At even strength, the shots he is generating might be overrated in terms of xG since public metrics do not account for puck movement. A shot that is getting the goal to move laterally is different than a outside shot with Meier coming in 1 on 2 on a rush.
He easily could have costs us game 4 with bad plays and taking a bad penalty.
I think he can be better but I think you need to keep him on the 3rd line and PP2. He has clearly had trouble adjusting to our system.
So the Devils played the Rangers this way three times and won all three. (Last regular season matchup and games 3 and 4).the team just isn't scoring enough goals from top to bottom though and won't win unless that changes most likely
I suspect Hishier and Bratt would look good with a Tatar, Palat or Mercer as well. Personally, I think we are better off with Timo on the 3rd line for now. But you are right, we need more goals.Meier had a rough game 4 but a great game 3. The Meier/Hischier/Bratt line has been good the last two games as a whole. Other than Hughes who has two breakaway/penalty shot goals, the team just isn't scoring enough goals from top to bottom though and won't win unless that changes most likely. Schmid's been great but putting up three straight games like games 3/4 shouldn't be expected.
The team trailing in these low event games tends to look terrible and the team leading tends to look great defensively. In the first two games, the Devils could barely get through the neutral zone without icing the puck and they looked awful, while the Rangers looked like defensive stalwarts. Everyone immediately said that the Devils style wouldn't work in the playoffs.So the Devils played the Rangers this way three times and won all three. (Last regular season matchup and games 3 and 4).
They played this way against Colorado in October as well. They have a history of winning low scoring affairs if needed. I am confident they can continue doing that against a Rangers team that has little flexibility on their roster to make changes. Devils push play when needed and I trust that.
What they did Monday was impressive. Only giving up 3 shots in the last 15 mins of a pivotal game on the road.