GDT: Devils @ Rangers - 7pm, MSGSN & NHLN

[JimEIV]

It's almost like half of this board spent the last year telling you we were on the cusp of breaking out as soon as we got healthy and found a goalie, and you stubbornly refused to acknowledge any evidence that went against your preconceived notions.

Wait a second...so you are going to tell me with a straight face that you "expected" this?

I'm gonna call BS on that

 

[NjDevsRR]

 

[Blackjack]

Wait a second...so you are going to tell me with a straight face that you "expected" this?

I'm gonna call BS on that

We were on the cusp, doesn’t mean we expected it. Our bad luck with injuries and goaltending was comical, and there was nothing stopping it from continuing.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Buffalo was not going to send Eichel the the Rangers. Their fans would have burned down the building on that trade.

Kakko or Laf as the return would've calmed them down except no Rags fan and their management wanted to do it.

 

[severian]

We were on the cusp, doesn’t mean we expected it. Our bad luck with injuries and goaltending was comical, and there was nothing stopping it from continuing.

Come on now. Even with competent goaltending and health no one expected this start. I expected this team to be in the playoff hunt all season and for Hughes to rip the league apart. I didn’t expect a 19-4 start or anything close to that.

 

[JimEIV]

It sure is a lot of fun regardless

 

[NjDevsRR]

Come on now. Even with competent goaltending and health no one expected this start. I expected this team to be in the playoff hunt all season and for Hughes to rip the league apart. I didn’t expect a 19-4 start or anything close to that.

Thats not the point. Jim eluding to no one seeing this coming is just a cop out on his BS and trying to save face. Yes, we did not expect THIS kind of run. But an overall improvement in offense? ABSOLUTELY. Second half of last season showed the offensive potential. The entire board who doesn’t have a bad faith agenda saw the improvement on offense coming.

 

[Nubmer6]

Wait a second...so you are going to tell me with a straight face that you "expected" this?

I'm gonna call BS on that

I think many expected a bubble team but may have secretly been expecting more.

I agree with you on our defensive zone play. It's absolutely amazing how much it's been cleaned up. I've blamed Nas for years for it. Not sure if that's the main difference, or if adding another defensively responsible player like Marino was the tipping point (or having a goalie that the players trust), but I feel SO much more confident in the back end now.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

Gallant got severely overrated from Vegas' first year. He's really not a good coach. He is awful with young players and isn't very good at adapting to what his teams are good at. There's a reason Vegas shot him out of a cannon to hire their arch-rivals' coach mid-season.

Easy to say now but I was in the minority not wanting Gallant when they hired Ruff. Gallant was the popular choice here on HFB

 

[Blender]

Wait a second...so you are going to tell me with a straight face that you "expected" this?

I'm gonna call BS on that

I didn't expect a 19-4 start, but I certainly expected improvement and that we'd be in the playoff hunt at least. Things aligned even better than expected.

 

[Eggtimer]

We were 11th in the NHL in 5on5 goals last season. That is with all the injuries we had on top. Another year of development for our young guys, a bit more depth, and being health has lead to the further increase.

Missing one thing . One under rated item - Brunette .

 

[Nubmer6]

Kakko or Laf as the return would've calmed them down except no Rags fan and their management wanted to do it.

I was TERRIFIED the Rags would be able to get Eichel for Kakko or Laf.

 

[JimEIV]

I think many expected a bubble team but may have secretly been expecting more.

I agree with you on our defensive zone play. It's absolutely amazing how much it's been cleaned up. I've blamed Nas for years for it. Not sure if that's the main difference, or if adding another defensively responsible player like Marino was the tipping point (or having a goalie that the players trust), but I feel SO much more confident in the back end now.

I think the forwards are much, much better this year...I don't know if it is just maturation or coaching or a combo of both.

But watch the layers of support in the defensive zone seems to be pure coaching to me?

 

[MauDevils]

I think it has more to do with our own zone play honestly. I don't see players leaving the zone early this season. It seems forwards understand the support they need to provide to the defense.

I haven't noticed any of those cross ice passes in our own zone to open men on the door step.

And I have noticed how quickly we tend to secure the puck once it does get in our zone...we seem to spend far less time chasing the puck around in our own the we ever have...that is contributing to the offensive success in my opinion.

I agree with this. I think our defensive group has been equally as large of an upgrade as the improved goaltending. And there's absolutely no denying the buy in of every single forward in our defensive zone.

It wasn't as simple as "insert league average goaltending" the entire team has improved and bought in from top to bottom.

For all the fast and offensive talk of the media, opposing coaches always harp on our team defense.

 

[OmNomNom]

They actually have a surprising amount of flexibility next season considering all the expensive contracts.

Fox and Shesterkin are signed to bargain contracts. Lindgren’s contract is also a good deal. Reaves gone, Blais likely gone. Schneider still on his ELC. Miller will probably be a cheap bridge. They have like $3.5 million in dead cap coming off too.

Having two of the best players in the NHL signed for a combined $15 million makes up for a lot of dumb shit, but if not for the dumb shit they might be competing for a cup.

they have no prospects though, and that's a heartening thing. their draft history is TERRIBLE

 

[Zippy316]

Yeah I think we can surpass 27 wins before 2022 is over.

I'm just flabbergasted by the success. I don't even understand how we've had zero year over year success/improvement over the last 4 years then this... it's truly astonishing.

I mean going from a clownish -59 goal differential last season to leagues second best +36 this season is just mind boggling to me.

The overhaul of the defense is the biggest story for me. Plus the years of leaving spots open for forwards to compete has absolutely paid off.

We’re icing basically an entire forward group of forwards we drafted except for Tatar and Haula. It’s an entire group that Ruff (and the team) have essentially molded to play this way for three years now.

Then knowing we had forwards who were going to beat our defensive prospects to the NHL development-wise, Fitzgerald wisely added young NHL defenders with mobility and size to close gaps quickly and win pucks. So you have a speedy forward group that takes away time and space, a mobile and tall defensive group that takes away time and space. At that point, the chances you’re going to give up defensively are going to be either rushed or forced for the most part.

It’s all coming together incredibly well, but on paper this team was very well constructed by Fitzgerald.

 

[OmNomNom]

upgrade on defense has been big, but the system buy-in on the defensive side and the quick transitions to offense are really what make it all work

 

[JimEIV]

I didn't expect a 19-4 start, but I certainly expected improvement and that we'd be in the playoff hunt at least. Things aligned even better than expected.

I think that is reasonable...a lot of people expected a push for the playoffs...this is way beyond that though. I don't want to jump any guns but my personal opinion is playoffs should be a forgone conclusion now...now, for me anyway is how good can this team be and will they progress even more during the course of the season to maybe even win a round....or two

 

[Nubmer6]

I think the forwards are much, much better this year...I don't know if it is just maturation or coaching or a combo of both.

But watch the layers of support in the defensive zone seems to be pure coaching to me?

Absolutely. It used to be like watching a peewee game. Everyone would chase the puck carrier, and as soon as there was a HINT that we'd get the puck the forwards would blow the zone.

I think I said it a few games in - maybe it was the Colorado game - but the players just suddenly looked MATURE in their coverage and play. It was a stunning turnaround.

 

[JimEIV]

The overhaul of the defense is the biggest story for me. Plus the years of leaving spots open for forwards to compete has absolutely paid off.

We’re icing basically an entire forward group of forwards we drafted except for Tatar and Haula. It’s an entire group that Ruff (and the team) have essentially molded to play this way for three years now.

Then knowing we had forwards who were going to beat our defensive prospects to the NHL development-wise, Fitzgerald wisely added young NHL defenders with mobility and size to close gaps quickly and win pucks. So you have a speedy forward group that takes away time and space, a mobile and tall defensive group that takes away time and space. At that point, the chances you’re going to give up defensively are going to be either rushed or forced for the most part.

It’s all coming together incredibly well, but on paper this team was very well constructed by Fitzgerald.

I am definitely a Fitzgerald fan. He addressed problems swiftly and immediately since he's been in charge. I like what he has done a lot.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I agree with this. I think our defensive group has been equally as large of an upgrade as the improved goaltending. And there's absolutely no denying the buy in of every single forward in our defensive zone.

It wasn't as simple as "insert league average goaltending" the entire team has improved and bought in from top to bottom.

For all the fast and offensive talk of the media, opposing coaches always harp on our team defense.

It wasn’t as simple in terms of making the jump to being a playoff team (or this level of good). It was that simple to avoid being a basement team. It’s probably a good thing that it happened in the end.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

I would have been completely on the up and up at 12-10-1 right now watching a healthy Jack Hughes and .905 goaltending. This is mind-blowingly f***ing awesome right now!

 

[Stephen Gionta]

That Roope Hintz contract should/will serve as a CEILING for the Bratt contract. He is a much better player than Bratt and just got 8.45 million per season over 8 years.

 

[Nubmer6]

I am definitely a Fitzgerald fan. He addressed problems swiftly and immediately since he's been in charge. I like what he has done a lot.

I think Shero's edict of fast , attacking, supportive (or whatever it was) was taken to an extreme. We valued speed over all else. It worked with the forwards, but getting guys like John Moore, who was fast but horrible in all other aspects, was pretty horrific. He also didn't seem to value shutdown defenders.

Fitz, being a former defenseman, seems to evaluate defenders soooo much better and actually value defensive ability. He's very good at acknowledging holes in the lineup and does what he can to fill them. It just took a few years for the proper hole fillers to become available for him to snatch up.

i still think we can get better in goal (yeah I know VV has been tearing it up). He had some tremendously bad luck trying to fill the position, and I still think we have room for improvement there.

As for Shero, I don't blame him entirely either. We really didn't have much in the pipeline and he did what he could to get more talent onto the team. It's just that it was a mish mash of talent that couldn't gel. Fitz was handed a team where he could take the talent use it to actually make a team, not just a group of hockey players.

 

[Blender]

That Roope Hintz contract should/will serve as a CEILING for the Bratt contract. He is a much better player than Bratt and just got 8.45 million per season over 8 years.

I would not go with "much better". They are different players with Bratt being better in some areas and Hintz in others.

I agree this should be a comparable deal for him though.