GDT: It's the Late, Late Show with your host, the New Jersey Devils! Ft. Ducks, 10 PM

[Bleedred]

For a goalie it's all about confidence and swagger.

When Kinkaid is really on his game, he has that bit of swagger to him. I wouldn't call it cockiness or overconfidence but it's that no one is beating me attitude.

I don't think the game was really that much of his fault. He's not Schneider where he is going to absolutely bail out a horrendous team in front of him. Ducks turned it up in the second and the Devils had no match for them. Devils are so flawed that they need to play a near-perfect game with exceptional work ethic in order to compete against the top teams. Once we stop dictating the play, it's not going to look good, especially with Kinkaid in net.

I think he should have been pulled definitely after goal 5. Which was a backdoor type goal (if I recall) that he really had no chance on.

But then he stayed in and I thought goal 6 was kind of bad on him, if I had to say any were bad on him tonight. Same with goal 4 if not deflected.

 

[mtnet]

I've gained new perspective tonight

This game made me recall this season's home loss to the ducks as "the good ol' days"

 

[Zippy316]

I think he should have been pulled definitely after goal 5. Which was a backdoor type goal (if I recall) that he really had no chance on.

But then he stayed in and I thought goal 6 was kind of bad on him, if I had to say any were bad on him tonight. Same with goal 4 if not deflected.

Funny thing though was he actually got his stick on that fifth goal. Made a pretty spectacular effort to get back.

 

[Bleedred]

The Ducks only had 8 high danger chances tonight. So defensively, they weren't bad.

Regarding the offense, I've been saying all season long that the lack of offense from the blueline was gonna bury this team. You're right, the blue line offense has been non existent. That's why someone like Gelinas should have been given more of a chance.

Kennedy has decent scoring ability for a 3rd liner.
Farnham is a 4th liner, and all he has is a good shot.
Gionta is good on the forecheck and the pk.
Kalinin has skill. I think he can be a 30 point guy in this league.
Ruutu is flat out useless.

There are some games where people say ''The defense was bad'' and that's why the goalie allows a bunch of goals.

I think it's reasonable to say that the team maybe has played as bad defensively as they have tonight, and Kinkaid only allowed 2 or 3 goals instead of 6.

I think tonight it was a matter of the puck not hitting him, for the most part. Though I've seen him stop goals 4 and 6 tonight in other games.

And yeah I agree on your forward assessment. I don't think Kennedy is really a 3rd liner anymore though, he's a 4th liner.

I agree on the other guys. 12 more games until Ruutu's NHL career ends, same goes for Tootoo hopefully. Not that I care if another team signs them. I just think the only team signing Tootoo to play in the NHL next year will be us, if we're DUMB enough to do it. Ruutu is playing for a job for Jokerit right now or some other Finnish league team. Maybe KHL team if he's REAL lucky.

 

[SladeWilson23]

He's certainly been pretty bad this year. He had a strong run before his one injury, the few games around that Minnesota game when he scored.

I wouldn't be upset if this was a bit of a step-back benching for him; he could certainly use one.

Maybe I bought too much into the hype, but even the past couple of years, he never really stood out to me. I was hearing comparisons to Paul Martin, but have yet to even see a sliver of that from him.

The thing with Merrill was the overhype on him before he made his NHL debut and then in his rookie season.

He was highly touted, I remember hearing he was supposed to be a first round picked but dropped into the second because of his off ice issues. And the defensemen he was compared to, you would think we were getting a real stud.

He's just been a #5 or 6-ish defensemen to me. But that's better than Helgeson and Warsofsky.

I definitely bought into the hype which is probably what my problem is.

For a goalie it's all about confidence and swagger.

When Kinkaid is really on his game, he has that bit of swagger to him. I wouldn't call it cockiness or overconfidence but it's that no one is beating me attitude.

I don't think the game was really that much of his fault. He's not Schneider where he is going to absolutely bail out a horrendous team in front of him. Ducks turned it up in the second and the Devils had no match for them. Devils are so flawed that they need to play a near-perfect game with exceptional work ethic in order to compete against the top teams. Once we stop dictating the play, it's not going to look good, especially with Kinkaid in net.

Kinkaid is still young, and I have high hopes for him. I think he can make it as a starter in this league, or at least a solid backup for Cory. I do think he gets rattled too easily though and to me his problems are all mental.

 

[Bleedred]

Funny thing though was he actually got his stick on that fifth goal. Made a pretty spectacular effort to get back.

Yeah that probably would have been his best save all year if he got it.

It was a backdoor goal though, if I'm remembering right.

And Helgeson was a falling statue on it.

 

[Eggtimer]

Some goals looked better than they really were. Kink overplaying shooter and not reading play well
makes it appear to be wide open net with no chance for the goalie . In reality , play more conservative as far as how far he came out to challenge and doesn't have to fly across the net and sprawl out , just a simple push across the net in the butterfly and it turns into a very makeable save , vs. a diving sprawling lunge .
Just my 2 cents.
Good or elite goalies make those saves and make them look easy because of their positioning and ability to read a play . (OUt numbered down low you don't come out past the blue paint to challenge unless you know for darn sure your d man has guy off to the side covered or passing lane taken away)

 

[Zippy316]

Maybe I bought too much into the hype, but even the past couple of years, he never really stood out to me. I was hearing comparisons to Paul Martin, but have yet to even see a sliver of that from him.

Merrill in his first year was very solid. He showed glimpses of what Larsson is doing now, quietly solid positional play and a nice transitional game.

For whatever reason, since then and especially this year, he's always been just a little off. A little too far away from a forward or a little too passive defensively. When he is playing well, he is making very simple yet effective plays to defend or transition the puck up the ice. He often times will make slick little passes to himself off the boards or a nice skating maneuver to create space, but when he isn't playing well, those plays he is capable of making backfires and he looks terrible.

He just needs some confidence, in my opinion.

 

[Zippy316]

Yeah that probably would have been his best save all year if he got it.

It was a backdoor goal though, if I'm remembering right.

And Helgeson was a falling statue on it.

Helgeson just laid down in front of the net covering nobody and left Perry wide open at the backdoor. I have no idea what he was doing on that play. Looked like he stumbled and panicked and then tried to block the point shot. Then he dove across in no man's land.

It looked like a Gelinas defending job.

 

[Bleedred]

Kinkaid is still young, and I have high hopes for him. I think he can make it as a starter in this league, or at least a solid backup for Cory. I do think he gets rattled too easily though and to me his problems are all mental.

One scary thing to me was Tom Fitzgerald pumping up Wedgewood when they had that taped segment with him during the intermission's last game, where he talked about the team's prospects.

The part where he said ''Has a bright NHL future'' didn't scare me as much as the part where he said something about competing with Kinkaid for the backup spot.

Hopefully it was just a company pitch man hyping up the corporation's products, but I was a little skeeved with the competing for Kinkaid for Schneider's backup spot comment. I don't know if he meant next year or after next year when Kinkaid's contract expires.

All I know is that Wedgewood has been a BAD goaltender in the AHL for the two years before this. And he's only played 14 games this year with a .924 save percentage. He had a save percentage around 90% or maybe even sub 90% in the 77 games before that between 2012-2013 and 2014-2015.

 

[Bleedred]

Helgeson just laid down in front of the net covering nobody and left Perry wide open at the backdoor. I have no idea what he was doing on that play. Looked like he stumbled and panicked and then tried to block the point shot. Then he dove across in no man's land.

It looked like a Gelinas defending job.

I just don't think he's that good. I'm a little biased though, because even though I'm probably one of the older posters here, I'm really not that old fashioned enough that I like having a grenade handling, mediocre skating, Colin White/Bryce Salvador/Ken Daneyko type defensemen on the team. It's like the goons of a few years ago, now most of them have been phased out of the league in the last 5 years. I think those types of defensemen will slowly be phased out of the league over the years, just like the goon forwards.

I don't really see a need for the ''Clear dat crease, throw some hits, bang some bodies'' type of defensemen anymore. Those players were useful at one time. But the people that always said that Mark Fayne was the new defensive defensemen, I think they were right. Andy Greene and Adam Larsson are pretty much defensive defensemen today.

 

[Eggtimer]

We were winning games this year because of three main things :
Schneider
work ethic
Good system and positioning

Now other teams are ramping it up for playoffs and we are missing Camms and Stepniak and Corey ...
Working hard alone is not going to win many games when other teams just simply have more depth and skill .
With the roster we currently have we have to out work every team for entire 60 minutes and get good goaltending to have a chance to win .

 

[Bleedred]

Did someone light a cigar or two in the Devils locker room? Place is smokier than a 1920's speakeasy.

Maybe it's just close to the showers?

 

[Zippy316]

We we're winning games this year because of three main things :
Schneider
work ethic
Good system and positioning

Now other teams are ramping it up for playoffs and we are missing Camms and Stepniak and Corey ...
Working hard alone is not going to win many games when other teams just simply have more depth and skill .

Exactly.

However, I'm happy that this work ethic is being established right now. If we can carry this work ethic on when we have more skilled players, we can achieve sustainable success. We can only win games right now when we thoroughly dictate the play, we don't have the elite skill to win games when we're outplayed aside from Schneider and arguably Cammalleri. We need to work towards improving that.

Another thing this team needs is size at the forward position, especially bottom six. Kalinin is our only bottom-six forward over six foot, that can't be a thing in today's NHL. Every time they are out against top lines of other teams they just get manhandled, at the very least, size can allow them to be more effective when they are outmatched.

 

[Bleedred]

We we're winning games this year because of three main things :
Schneider
work ethic
Good system and positioning

Now other teams are ramping it up for playoffs and we are missing Camms and Stepniak and Corey ...
Working hard alone is not going to win many games when other teams just simply have more depth and skill .

We really just need to shut down Cory and Cammalleri for the remainder of the season. God forbid we did win 4 or 5 in a row, I could see them rushing Cory out there again by next week.

The only injured guy I'd want to see again is Elias, just as a send off. Because this is likely the last we'll see of him. I'm not convinced he's playing in the NHL next year and if he does, I think it's safe to say it won't be with us.

 

[MadDevil]

Helgeson's physicality is nice, but he does have Salvador/Volchenkov like hands. Chipping it out is fine sometimes, but you really do need defensemen who can make a good pass to not just get it out but to start the rush the other way. Too often with this team it's just chip it out and regroup, which is basically just like giving the puck away.

 

[Eggtimer]

We really just need to shut down Cory and Cammalleri for the remainder of the season. God forbid we did win 4 or 5 in a row, I could see them rushing Cory out there again by next week.

The only injured guy I'd want to see again is Elias, just as a send off. Because this is likely the last we'll see of him. I'm not convinced he's playing in the NHL next year and if he does, I think it's safe to say it won't be with us.

Agree 100%
I'm sure this will be the case unless Schneider wants to get some games in before World Cup crap?
People way smarter than me are making these decisions so I'm sure it will be handled appropriately

 

[Bleedred]

Helgeson's physicality is nice, but he does have Salvador/Volchenkov like hands. Chipping it out is fine sometimes, but you really do need defensemen who can make a good pass to not just get it out but to start the rush the other way. Too often with this team it's just chip it out and regroup, which is basically just like giving the puck away.

I understand the coaches like him because he's a warrior and can stay out for 4 minutes at one time (mostly because he and his even worse D partner can't get a puck out of their end before a goal is scored in those almost 4 minutes) and block shots and hit people and stuff. But he's just not an every night NHL player to me. For him to be in every night, I think your team needs to have at least one regular D man injured, or your defense really isn't very good at all.

So I don't think he's a player that necessarily doesn't have any business in the NHL like Mark Fraser, I think he's just a #7 NHL defenseman, much like our old friend Pete Harrold.

I know the advanced stats for our team suck, even for Greene and Larsson probably. But a lot of that is probably because our team SUCKS at offense, more so than those guys being bad at defense. I would be willing to bet that Helgeson and Warsofsky have some scary numbers.

I remember someone who follows advanced stats on here telling me last year that Urbom was probably better than Helgeson. That really wouldn't surprise me, I think I can maybe get behind that.

 

[Eggtimer]

Is Sarnia making the playoffs? Not sure how it works but is Zacha able to play either AHL or NHL games this year if his junior team done?
Would be nice to see him play a couple more pro games this year

Or I wonder how stacked his national team is for world championships , is he eligible to play in that ?

Sucks to say it but Zacha NEEDS to be a top 6 forward and draft another this year or might be a lot of Tootoo
Farnham type stop gaps in our line up and a couple more years of finishing in the bottom 7-12 range of the league
Schneider alone will make us at least not be a bottom 5 team , which is kinda a bad thing unless the lottery gods shine down on us

 

[Bleedred]

Is Sarnia making the playoffs? Not sure how it works but is Zacha able to play either AHL or NHL games this year if his junior team done?
Would be nice to see him play a couple more pro games this year

Or I wonder how stacked his national team is for world championships , is he eligible to play in that ?

Sucks to say it but Zacha NEEDS to be a top 6 forward and draft another this year or might be a lot of Tootoo
Farnham type stop gaps in our line up and a couple more years of finishing in the bottom 7-12 range of the league
Schneider alone will make us at least not be a bottom 5 team , which is kinda a bad thing unless the lottery gods shine down on us

I think next year we might need one of Quenneville or Zacha to make the team, or say hello to your once again 3rd line 15-20 point center! Jacob Josefson!

 

[Oneiro]

Helgeson is a relic. Defensemen have to be able to make plays at high speed in this era.

I could rant about Moore, but I won't. To think that I thought Hynes wouldn't have his own roster quirks...

 

[MadDevil]

Helgeson is a relic. Defensemen have to be able to make plays at high speed in this era.

I could rant about Moore, but I won't. To think that I thought Hynes wouldn't have his own roster quirks...

Every coach has them. It's just that they're easier to deal with when the team is winning. When they're not, you look at those quirks and go "What the hell is he thinking?".

 

[None Shall Pass]

Sit Helgeson and Moore

Play Severson and Merrill

Please


pls jon hiney pls

 

[Bleedred]

I understand keeping Moore in, since he's one of the only defensemen that's worth half a damn at offense on this team. Or at least one of the only one's that is bringing a little bit of it. He even had the only assist tonight.

But I don't think he's much better, if any better at offense than Severson right now. And he sure isn't better at defense than Severson either.

I think he might be better than Merrill at both though, absolutely better at offense.

Last game we got away with the AHL pairing of Helgeson-Warsofsky, but one of the only instances in which the Kings looked scary was when they were on the ice for 4 minutes because they couldn't get off.

I don't think they were both playing in San Jose.

After a 7 goals against game, you need to make some changes on D. Not sure who comes out though. No way they bench Moore, no way Larsson, Greene or Schlemko come out either, as they absolutely shouldn't.

 

[njdevils1982]

clown show idiots…add in the gionta faceoff violation penalty to the steaming pile they laid in the dots tonight



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