Post-Game Talk: Devils Win 3-2 in the shootout

[JimEIV]

We got a point in two of those three games. Our goaltending and defense are keeping us in games we would have gotten blown out in last year.

The special teams obviously needs to be addressed but it's encouraging that we're getting points even in losses, and even stealing some wins in games where we aren't playing our best.

I agree that our season will be decided by our Metro division games but there's still a lot to shake out. The Canes will not continue winning 90% of their games. The Flyers and Jackets are nowhere as good as they've looked the first 10 games. I don't buy the NYR hype, they have three good skaters and can't win a game unless Shesterkin starts. There are going to continue to be struggles, especially if we don't get special teams figured out, but I think we can hang with every team in the division and not look like a Mickey Mouse club.

An interesting note: people remember the 2012 team for the dominance in the playoffs, but we only finished 6th in the East and were on the bubble for most of the season. That team was 15-13-1 on December 1st, definitely a bubble team (18th in the league, T-10th in the East). Probably because our PP was horrible, 13% which was bottom-5 in the league. On December 12th we traded for Kurtis Foster, who gave our PP a shot in the arm. It went from 13.2% to 20.6% the time he was here. Ponikarovsky was acquired January 20th to improve our bottom-6 depth. Then Foster was flipped on February 24th for Zidlicky. Zajac came back from injury, Gio2 got called up on the last game of the season. The roster we had for Game 1 against the Panthers was very different from the roster we had in November/December.

I bring this up because that team was a work in progress all season. We went from 10th in the East on Dec 1 to 5th in the East by the trade deadline because Lou was proactive about supplementing the roster and fixing the holes he saw. I'm fascinated to see what Fitz does with the roster if we're still hanging in there late in January. We have plenty of picks/prospects to use as trade fodder if he wants to add reinforcements. He's been preaching about the long game for a while, but we have expendable assets and holes that need to be filled.

This is a great post and I completely understand your analogy to 2012 as an example of a "work in progress" but we were supplementing Parise, Kovalchuk, Elias, Sykora having one last hoorah, Clarkson having a career year and Henrique having a Calder worthy year.

In this instance we are still trying to figure out what we have...we still don't know if our players are capable of moving the team to a competitive level. So when you leave points on the table that a progressing team should get...It brings us back to the question if these players are capable of moving this team forward. At least it does for me.

 

[Emperoreddy]

10 games in and we have had Wood, Hughes, Blackwood, Bernier, Smith, Severson, and Dougie all miss multiple games due to injury.

Team has plenty of issues and flaws to iron out, but our early season injury bug has been really rough.

People overestimate even top teams in the league. NHL anyone can beat anyone on any given night. We should be finding points in the games coming up, especially if Dougie is back and thr goalies are healthy.

Special teams is just a glaring issue though. Beyond the counting stats, it's measurably ruining the team's 5 on 5 momentum and leaving them in a hole for multiple minutes afterward until they regain their legs possession wise.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Spot on, I'm glad someone noticed this. I made a comment last night saying I can't believe how many times they dumped the puck in AFTER gaining the zone. The Devils are at the top of the list with controlled PP entries but there are no options once they do so. If they can get set they don't look too bad but most of the time they just waste half the PP retrieving the puck after failing to keep it once they get into the zone.

The other point is spot on as well, they rarely move up the ice as a unit with speed and often have guys standing flat footed at the blue line.

5 on 5 zone entires vs PP zone entries are just night and day. I know the situations are different so it wouldn't mirror totally, but we always try to gain the zone with speed in normal situations but on special teams it's a slow slog with everyone at the line waiting along with PKers to force a bad pass or a weak dump in.

 

[Bleedred]

It's frustrating when the one thing (other than calling up Holtz) that they wanna do to get the power play going is to try and dig for this ''Untapped'' offense that Subban still has stored away somewhere. A guy that was never a particularly amazing power play producer, even when he was elite and a big time point producer.

 

[Buck Dancer]

5 on 5 zone entires vs PP zone entries are just night and day. I know the situations are different so it wouldn't mirror totally, but we always try to gain the zone with speed in normal situations but on special teams it's a slow slog with everyone at the line waiting along with PKers to force a bad pass or a weak dump in.

Yup. We have to ditch this new thing where everyone is static on the offensive blue line with the puck carrier dropping off the puck around center ice just to have Bratt or whoever else gain the zone with little to no options.

It’s not working and trying to force the same damn play all the time is getting frustrating to watch, so I can just imagine what the players are feeling as well.

 

[Barry Tallackson]

I’ll take 3 points in Cali but I’m not confident in this team. the way we’ve had to score in the final minutes to get a point isn’t sustainable (granted we don’t even get those points last year). The way we’ve played our last 8 still reminds me of the team that could spiral and lose 5 in a row.

 

[Saugus]

I went to bed after the second period last night. Pleased we came away with the victory. Can't complain about the result. If you told me before the California road trip that we would get exactly half the points I would have been pleased.

 

[Hisch13r]

I went to bed after the second period last night. Pleased we came away with the victory. Can't complain about the result. If you told me before the California road trip that we would get exactly half the points I would have been pleased.

I wouldn’t have been pleased before it. I would’ve wanted at least 4. If you told me after Dougie went down a period in I’d have been fine with it

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Through 10 games as a team:

52.33% CF% (10th in NHL)
54.57% SF% (4th)
55.05% xGF% (4th)
60.00% high danger CF% (1st)

So the team is playing quite well at 5 on 5 overall this year.

 

[My3Sons]

Through 10 games as a team:

52.33% CF% (10th in NHL)
54.57% SF% (4th)
55.05% xGF% (4th)
60.00% high danger CF% (1st)

So the team is playing quite well at 5 on 5 overall this year.

and it’s been getting good goaltending for the most part. The PK and PP are holding the team back at this point.

 

[Hisch13r]

and it’s been getting good goaltending for the most part. The PK and PP are holding the team back at this point.

It’s been getting good goaltending outside of the PK. This year the PK actually has bounced back and has really good numbers but the worst SV% in the league.

 

[My3Sons]

It’s been getting good goaltending outside of the PK. This year the PK actually has bounced back and has really good numbers but the worst SV% in the league.

How much of that is attributable to Wedge or Daws?

 

[Hisch13r]

How much of that is attributable to Wedge or Daws?

Decent amount but it still wouldn't be good. They'd jump from last to 26th. I guess it's more important to just look at 4v5 though and that's a jump from 28th to 18th. The numbers have been great (literally 3rd in 4v5's across the board in CA/60, xGA/60, SCA/60, and HDCA/60) and I have faith the goalies can be much better. There's reason for hope with the PK and I'm not on the kick Nas to the curb train.

The PP though maybe you can see it be like 20th with both Dougie and Jack around but even that seems like a tall task with just how brutal they've been