Post-Game Talk: Devils win! Devils 4 - Rangers 3

[ghughes20]

Quick thoughts....

It sure seems like Jack is figuring out the NHL, and I don't think it's because he put on 15lbs of muscle. Rather, that weight gain has just made him more confident. He's a puck magnet in a way no Devils player has since probably Elias at his peak. That said, I think he has to tone down his cellys; someone will take a run at him and he hasn't put on enough muscle to discourage that.

MB is in the zone, 2 of the three goals were lucky bounces. Remarkable play by the big guy.

Palmeri still isn't playing great, and Gusev needs to break out. I'm confident things will change for them soon.

Zajac is playing great. I think he's earning his next contract from the Devils.

I'm getting frustrated by the Nico injury and visa problems (Bratt & Sami). These will become big problems if COVID appears in the locker room.

 

[Triumph]

You’re going to lose more often than not when the PPs are 6 to 2 in your opponents favor.

Because PPs admit of score effects, I bet this is less true than you would think.

So while it wasn’t a pretty game I’ll take it.

At some point Blackwood won’t stop pucks at a rate greater than the greatest goaltending season of all time. At that point the Devils need to be putting the puck in the net more often or preventing more shots.

These things are certainly true, though. I do think that while the Rangers did get off a lot of shots, they didn't get a lot of rush chances.

 

[AfroThunder396]

That's not the point. Just enjoy the season with the youngster's growth. It's your own fault if you were expecting them to suddenly be some elite team or something.

Who said anything like that? We played like shit but won because the Rangers are terrible and Blackwood stood on his head. I'm happy to see Hughes, Smith, and Blackwood all play well individually but those aren't the only young guys on the roster.

That game was fun to watch but very poorly played. I know we're not at full strength but there are at least 4 players on this roster that are not NHL caliber and another 4 who are just coasting and cashing checks right now. There is going to be an inevitable crash unless those guys get their shit together.

If you guys want to celebrate being Game 3 NHL January Champions go right ahead but there is still a LOT of work this team needs to do. I am encouraged but lets not kid ourselves.

 

[Nicomo Cosca]

That said, I think he has to tone down his cellys; someone will take a run at him and he hasn't put on enough muscle to discourage that.

Hell no! The celly was fantastic. Guys are going to try and run him regardless if he keeps making them look stupid on a nightly basis.

The NHL needs more fun personalities. Not less.

 

[Oneiro]

There are tons of flaws but they're 1) fixable and 2) far less discouraging than what we've seen before, where it looked like the collective IQ and talent was subpar, like these guys didn't fundamentally understand the game.

The point is if you can win and get points even when you don't deserve them, you are on your way. This team has looked lost for a long time and I think a lot of the celebration is because that no longer appears to be the case.

 

[Guttersniped]

Hey pals, great game last night, and wow what a game by Blackwood and JH.

Gonna be a fun season with many games over the Hudson!

Sure, you guys are all pretty cool and collected banking on the future with players like Lafreniere and Fox. I see through your games. And will endlessly complain about you getting gifted Fox because he’s great. So annoying.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

Who said anything like that? We played like shit but won because the Rangers are terrible and Blackwood stood on his head. I'm happy to see Hughes, Smith, and Blackwood all play well individually but those aren't the only young guys on the roster.

That game was fun to watch but very poorly played. I know we're not at full strength but there are at least 4 players on this roster that are not NHL caliber and another 4 who are just coasting and cashing checks right now. There is going to be an inevitable crash unless those guys get their shit together.

If you guys want to celebrate being Game 3 NHL January Champions go right ahead but there is still a LOT of work this team needs to do. I am encouraged but lets not kid ourselves.

Posters are happy they beat the Rangers. Did you not get the memo that this is a "process" year? Posters constantly stated we needed Blackwood to stand on his head to win games. No one expects him to play like he did last night every game. I think most posters do not view the Devils as a playoff team. I do not think anyone is kidding themselves that the team is good. They are happy the team beat a rival without 2 of the teams top 6 players. Why be a fan if you cannot be happy with that?

 

[Guttersniped]

Posters are happy they beat the Rangers. Did you not get the memo that this is a "process" year? Posters constantly stated we needed Blackwood to stand on his head to win games. No one expects him to play like he did last night every game. I think most posters do not view the Devils as a playoff team. I do not think anyone is kidding themselves that the team is good. They are happy the team beat a rival without 2 of the teams top 6 players. Why be a fan if you cannot be happy with that?

Nope, stop enjoying this big win, Jack’s four three point night and put on the hair shirt because the team has flaws.

You may want to wait until we have a bad loss to be miserable but that’s a sucker’s play.

 

[Devil X]

One of the things I have been looking for with Hughes is how strong he is on the puck. Last night in the second period, Hughes got the puck in the offensive zone and was headed toward the blue, he turned back into the zone but Zibanejad was just entering the zone and gave Hughes a pretty healthy push, almost a cross check. Hughes brushed it off and took the puck deeper in the zone. Last year he would have been sent flying.

With Hughes those are the things I like to see. Anyone who doubted his offensive abilities was being a bit silly. That kid looked fantastic last night.

 

[Camille the Eel]

The referees were absolutely tilting the ice deliberately to make the game closer. There were at least half a dozen equally tenuous penalties by the Rangers that went uncalled (and an extremely blatant crosscheck on Subban) once they got behind, meanwhile virtually every minor infraction by the Devils resulted in a PP. It doesn't excuse our lack of discipline in certain situations, we weren't helping ourselves, but the officiating was absolutely brutal and transparently uneven throughout the game.

That cross check on Subban - by Chytil with about 4 minutes left from behind when PK was pursuing a puck in our end - was an infuriating non call.
With no fans in the arena I didn’t expect the refs to be homer’s. But even the Rags fans were talking about it after the game.

 

[Camille the Eel]

must add . . . I thought we looked good in a game where we were furiously challenged physically. The Rags are big and were seriously crashing and pressuring us. It gave us trouble. Welcome to the 2021 season in real time. We bent but didn’t break. Unlike the last couple seasons we didn’t blow the 3D period lead. To me this looked very positive.
People are complaining about it. HF boards is alive again. It’s fun to kick it around. (Imagine if we had lost?). It’s been a long time without hockey.

 

[JimEIV]

I have more hope and encouragement than any time since the first half the 2017-18 season.

I'm sorry but the previous two seasons have been nothing but despair from incompetence and failure...Failure is one thing but failure with no light at the end of the tunnel is tough...Having two former #1OA in the lineup producing next to nothing, young players sputtering in general, no structure or rhyme or reason to our play, with no direction from the coaching staff or front office was a dark time in devils history. It was like a car stuck in the mud just spinning its wheels and going nowhere...We might still be in the mud but there seems to at least be a bit of traction right now.

 

[FinnishDevil]

Just got done watching the match after work. I swear I screamed like a little girl when Jack scored on the breakaway, cursed so much everytime we took a penalty and stood up for the last 3 minutes holding my breath. Is it a bad thing I enjoy these games like they were playoff matches?

Also, should we give the Stone hands nickname to Bastian from now on?

 

[Sgt Brylin]

Remember when we drafted Mac 42nd overall and people went insane over wasting such a high pick on him?

 

[My3Sons]

Think it's an easy decision to sit him once one of Bratt or Nico returns.

Bratt can push Johnsson down a line and in turn push Kuokkanen to the bench for now. But with immigration what it is this may all be hypothetical for a while.

 

[JimEIV]

Remember when we drafted Mac 42nd overall and people went insane over wasting such a high pick on him?

It started as a #36 overall.

 

[The Devil In I]

It started as a #36 overall.

Damn that was a hell of a trade, just looked back to remember what it was. We traded #36 for our future starting goalie + Joey Anderson. Ottawa picked an AHL/ECHL-tweener at #36.

 

[billingtons ghost]

As much as I'm happy with the results of the first three games, the team in general really isn't performing that well. The system is obviously improved and they've cut some dead weight, but really it's just been Hughes/Wood/Sharangovich/Smith/Blackwood and everyone else has ranged from passably decent to outright bad.

Zacha, Gusev, and Subban have all been actively bad. I forgot Johnsson and Kuokkanen were on the roster. McLeod may as well be playing without a stick. Boqvist looked good Game 1 against Boston but has been pretty invisible since. Tennyson and Bastian are not NHL players.

I know Butcher is soft, slow, and dumb but at least he has hands and can complete a pass in the neutral zone. I know handedness matter but there's no way he's not one of the six best defensemen on this roster.

With no timetable for Nico, Bratt, or Vatanen we're just going to have to ask the Blackwood and the three good forwards to pull a rabbit out of their hat every night. Eventually we're going to have to play one of our backup goalie hydra and we're going to get reamed in the ass.

Good post - you're right on almost all counts...have a couple of issues with it tho. With last nights game I think folks forgot the flashes that some guys had in previous games - Zacha had a tough night but I think he was very good the first two games, and is really strong on the puck. Bastian and MacLeod looked great together in spurts.

I think when it comes to the defense, Ruff will gladly sacrifice any offense for stability - and I'm absolutely fine with Tennyson in there being stapled to Ty Smith's ass as a bottom pair for now. We want to bring the kid along slowly, and the sure way to screw that up is by playing him in situations above his head. He shouldn't be out there with a clown show like Subban at any times like he was last night... and predictably they gave up a goal and Smith got traffic coned. Let him play alongside a guy who's one job is to smash people in the corners and clear the crease and who is going to play an ultrasafe game and let Smith be a part of the offense. Butcher isn't that guy.

... and Murray should be stapled to Subban doing exactly what he is doing - being practically invisible by playing very good defense.

 

[JimEIV]

Damn that was a hell of a trade, just looked back to remember what it was. We traded #36 for our future starting goalie + Joey Anderson.

Tactically I think it was a bad move. One of the best players of the entire draft was taken at #35. 4 players in the top 20 in games played from the 2015 draft came from the 2nd round - 15 came from the first round...I think turning a #36 into a #42 in that draft was just bad idea.

While it seems to have worked out I think taking a skater at #36 would have been a better move.

 

[Oneiro]

Yeah, I do like the idea of Smith cutting up easier match-ups.

Wonder if you want to go bottom pair / first line more often than not when we have home ice. It seems to have resulted in a couple of goals.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Remember when we drafted Mac 42nd overall and people went insane over wasting such a high pick on him?

Not me man... while I don't like drafting goalies high, I remember looking at the scouting combine scores the day before the draft and wondering how a goaltender was a beast on top of many of the categories, like high jump and whatnot. I had never seen that before. Didn't think we'd ever draft him, but the name was peculiar enough that I sat up in my chair the second we got him. Amazed that it translated into his game. He's a monster and becoming my favorite player on the team right now.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Some of you think the defense was worse than it really was because you were so used to seeing Schneider and Kinkaid (and Domingue) bleed goals, as if they weren’t the worst players at their position in the entire league. They’d be getting scored on from all over the ice.

We probably have had a couple this bad over the last few years, but I can’t imagine any of those awful goalies in this game. It would have been a blowout loss, which it usually was when Blackwood wasn’t in there.

No. Completely No. Absolutely No. You and I will always differ on this point.

Our defense was TERRIBLE and it was because we had nothing but ultra-high-event players out there like Severson, Subban, Vatanan, Butcher... the exception being a broken down Andy Greene.

When the defense was 'better', goalies like Schneider who is a great first shot stopper because of positioning, but a bad skater, and a terrible rebound controller could pile up SV% by stopping those easier shots and then had defense to help him survive.

Once our defense was a bundle full of breakaways, stupid giveaways, cross-ice passes, and high danger chances, he hurt himself trying to turn himself inside out and folded like a cheap lawn chair.

The change this year is:
1. There are no 'second' shots with MacBlack, because he controls rebounds and freezes play. (How many times do you see him clutch a puck to his body that would have bounced off Cory into the crease?)
2. Murray is here, keeping things sane on the #1 pairing. This is ridiculously huge.
3. Guys like Kulikov and Tennyson, although they suck, are a safety net allowing Severson and Baby Ty to play their game.
4. There seems to be a sane system.

MacBlack can have a chance with 50 shots to win. Last year, he'd face 50, and at least 10 of them would be post-to-post saves, or breakaways, or just ridiculously impossible shots to stop. This year, he only saw tough chances on the powerplay.

 

[JrFischer54]

I thought blackwood was a great pick at the time. I was blown away but his athletic prowess during the combine kid was and is still a freak.

i'm not going to pretend i know one prospect from another but i dont get the hate on drafting a goalie in the 2nd round. if you have a need and there is a kid you go get him. seeing his size when they drafted him i thought it was a no brainer as long as he could/would put everything together

 

[JimEIV]

No. Completely No. Absolutely No. You and I will always differ on this point.

Our defense was TERRIBLE and it was because we had nothing but ultra-high-event players out there like Severson, Subban, Vatanan, Butcher... the exception being a broken down Andy Greene.

When the defense was 'better', goalies like Schneider who is a great first shot stopper because of positioning, but a bad skater, and a terrible rebound controller could pile up SV% by stopping those easier shots and then had defense to help him survive.

Once our defense was a bundle full of breakaways, stupid giveaways, cross-ice passes, and high danger chances, he hurt himself trying to turn himself inside out and folded like a cheap lawn chair.

The change this year is:
1. There are no 'second' shots with MacBlack, because he controls rebounds and freezes play. (How many times do you see him clutch a puck to his body that would have bounced off Cory into the crease?)
2. Murray is here, keeping things sane on the #1 pairing. This is ridiculously huge.
3. Guys like Kulikov and Tennyson, although they suck, are a safety net allowing Severson and Baby Ty to play their game.
4. There seems to be a sane system.

MacBlack can have a chance with 50 shots to win. Last year, he'd face 50, and at least 10 of them would be post-to-post saves, or breakaways, or just ridiculously impossible shots to stop. This year, he only saw tough chances on the powerplay.

I don't know if it's correct but I like the analysis

 

[JrFischer54]

still way too early to tell but if given a legit chance with talent on his wings i think mikey will exceed peoples projections of him on here.

also for jack....just goes to show you what a legit nhl coach can do for a kids game. super early still i get that but beyond glad the devils went with a veteran coach behind the bench