GDT: Pens @ Devils, 1:30 PM, MSG+, The Devil of Oz

[Saugus]

This was a frustrating game to watch. Strange decisions with the puck have been killing us all season and this game was no exception.

We got decent goaltending for once and it still wasn't enough to win, unfortunately.

If this game was supposed to be a showcase for Zacha's trade value it may have dropped it.

 

[TBF1972]

What specific poor defensive plays by Hughes led to a PIT goal?

with jack it's not the defensive plays. it's the turnovers, when he goes one on one, two or three. he needs to learn to be more patient against so well structured oponents. but experiences like this will help him.

 

[TBF1972]

We kind of got outgoaltended again, it was a fairly evenly played game. At some point Gillies needs to allow maybe 1 goal to a team that's not the Canadiens or not allow 3 goals. I mean, the first goal SUCKED.

It was MUCH worse than either of the goals Jarry allowed and I nailed him Jarry for the Hughes goal because it went through him, but a much more forgivable goal than a point shot to Mike f***ing Matheson.

middle of the second period i was pretty sure the devils would lose the game. at that time it was unlikely they would score 7 goals.

 

[glenwo2]

nevermind.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Yeah. I’m surprised (but not really) but the amount of venom in here. At least the team actually looked like NHLers and put forth an effort…the same cannot he said for a lot of their losses.

And as far as Gillies, I don’t know how you can complain. Sure, the Matheson goal, but he made other saves he maybe shouldn’t have. He kept the Devils in it for the whole game.

Think the "venom" comes from the losing and the constant pom pom waving and blind support for certain players in spite of the obvious. New Jersey is 25 points behind the Rangers despite the recent additions.

And according to nycsportsnation.com

"In the 29 games that Jack’s been in the lineup for, the Devils are 8-20-1. However, in the 19 games Hughes has missed this season because of a dislocated shoulder and testing positive for Covid, the Devils were above NHL .500 and went 8-7-4"

Just a coincidence?

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

Ask an Edmonton fan what happens when you blame a team’s best players for losing.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

with jack it's not the defensive plays. it's the turnovers, when he goes one on one, two or three. he needs to learn to be more patient against so well structured oponents. but experiences like this will help him.

On the go ahead goal, it was his lack of support after Zacha fell that allowed the Penguins to keep the puck in the zone.

On the empty net goal it was his errant pass that turned the puck over (followed by Severson's lack of urgency to win a 50/50 puck) that set up the easy empty net goal.

 

[Derps]

Think the "venom" comes from the losing and the constant pom pom waving and blind support for certain players in spite of the obvious. New Jersey is 25 points behind the Rangers despite the recent additions.

And according to nycsportsnation.com

"In the 29 games that Jack’s been in the lineup for, the Devils are 8-20-1. However, in the 19 games Hughes has missed this season because of a dislocated shoulder and testing positive for Covid, the Devils were above NHL .500 and went 8-7-4"

Just a coincidence?

Considering there are far bigger aspects at play, like having no Hamilton and being down to 3rd and 4th string goalies, I would say the record disparity has 0 to do with the best player on the team.

What in the hell is going on around here

 

[AfroThunder396]

Of course it's just a coincidence, the only time Bernier and Blackwood played well was the first ~15 games of the season, which Jack almost entirely missed.

Jack Hughes was injured in the 1st period on October 19th. From that game until his return (November 30th), our cumulative all situations SV% was .9111%, which is below average (19th in the league) but not horrendous. We were 20th in GF/60 and 19th in GA/60 during that time which is bubble team territory.

Since December 1st our cumulative all situations SV% has been .8719%, worst in the league. We're 17th best in GF/60 (slight improvement) but 30th in GA/60.

This is despite our shots against/60 not really changing since then, we allowed 30.9 SA/60 with Jack out compared to 30.7 SA/60 since he came back.

I'll also point out that the rest of the team remained relatively healthy while Jack was injured - Hamilton missed three games, Sharangovich and Smith were healthy scratched a few times, but pretty much all of our regulars had perfect attendance.

Since Jack has been back, Siegenthaler and Mercer are the only ones with perfect attendance. Hamilton has missed 16, Hischier has missed 6, Graves has missed 5, Bratt has missed 3. And obviously the goalie injuries too.

 

[Derps]

Some of the conclusions we draw here are horrific. We have like 3 players on the team that can score a goal and we're sitting here blaming one of them for our record.

Just goofy shit.

 

[My3Sons]

Think the "venom" comes from the losing and the constant pom pom waving and blind support for certain players in spite of the obvious. New Jersey is 25 points behind the Rangers despite the recent additions.

And according to nycsportsnation.com

"In the 29 games that Jack’s been in the lineup for, the Devils are 8-20-1. However, in the 19 games Hughes has missed this season because of a dislocated shoulder and testing positive for Covid, the Devils were above NHL .500 and went 8-7-4"

Just a coincidence?

At one point I recall that PIT had a better record without Mario than with him. Given there are roughly 360 minutes of player time in a single game and a forward is maybe 22-23 of them I’m not sure that any one player’s impact explains the team’s record the way you want to imply here.

 

[My3Sons]

On the go ahead goal, it was his lack of support after Zacha fell that allowed the Penguins to keep the puck in the zone.

On the empty net goal it was his errant pass that turned the puck over (followed by Severson's lack of urgency to win a 50/50 puck) that set up the easy empty net goal.

I’ll disagree on the go ahead goal. Hughes cuts off the pass but he’s reacting to the play. Not the right decision but he’s essentially killing a penalty in that moment which isn’t his role. I’m sure you can find good examples of Hughes not defending but that one is a stretch to my eyes. There’s a difference between flubbing defense and your narrative of he’s not trying or unwilling to play any defense. Just my thoughts. You obviously see it differently which is your prerogative

 

[TBF1972]

On the go ahead goal, it was his lack of support after Zacha fell that allowed the Penguins to keep the puck in the zone.

On the empty net goal it was his errant pass that turned the puck over (followed by Severson's lack of urgency to win a 50/50 puck) that set up the easy empty net goal.

after zacha fell down hughes had to cover both defender on the blueline. he definetely should have created an ice clone in this situation, but maybe his chakra level was too low.

for the interecepted pass before the empty net goal he wasn't patient enough. but definiely the pp and 6:5 setup expects hughes to deliver the passes through the box for one-timers. with the time running out, there isn't endless opportunities to move the puck around the perimeter to find the opening. it might would help, if the setup has a different end game from a different angle, which would make it tougher to defend.

 

[TBF1972]

Think the "venom" comes from the losing and the constant pom pom waving and blind support for certain players in spite of the obvious. New Jersey is 25 points behind the Rangers despite the recent additions.

And according to nycsportsnation.com

"In the 29 games that Jack’s been in the lineup for, the Devils are 8-20-1. However, in the 19 games Hughes has missed this season because of a dislocated shoulder and testing positive for Covid, the Devils were above NHL .500 and went 8-7-4"

Just a coincidence?

Hilarious Graphs Prove That Correlation Isn’t Causation

 

[NJDevs26]

Considering there are far bigger aspects at play, like having no Hamilton and being down to 3rd and 4th string goalies, I would say the record disparity has 0 to do with the best player on the team.

What in the hell is going on around here

In that vein...Blackwood and Bernier were a combined 13-13-4, despite their subpar numbers. All the other third and fourth-tier guys that have played at an even worse level are 4-14-1. There's your record cause-and-effect, or at least the closest thing you're going to have to an actual cause and effect. How many games has Pittsburgh won without Crosby and Malkin over the years?

 

[My3Sons]

Hilarious Graphs Prove That Correlation Isn’t Causation

In today's world, that concept it too sophisticated to be understood by many people, or they choose to not care. You see this at times in mass tort cases where no proof links the defective product to the injury but someone shows up with a statistical model showing correlation and the judge lets the jury make that call, implying that they can find causation in correlation. It's not surprising you see that in other contexts.

 

[Mgd31]

I will say the Penguins are a very very good team. If Jarry doesn't turn into a pumpkin in the playoffs like he did last year, I could see them winning the Cup this year.

 

[OtherThingsILike]

How many games has Pittsburgh won without Crosby and Malkin over the years?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 121-63-28 without Sidney Crosby.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have a record of 151-77-25 without Evgeni Malkin.
The Penguins are 35-18-10 without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin since 2006.
For the 2021-22 season, the Penguins went 5-3-4 without both Crosby and Malkin.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 121-63-28 without Sidney Crosby.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have a record of 151-77-25 without Evgeni Malkin.
The Penguins are 35-18-10 without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin since 2006.
For the 2021-22 season, the Penguins went 5-3-4 without both Crosby and Malkin.

That is insanely impressive. How did you find those statistics?