Post-Game Talk: We need a New Goaltender(and Coach); Devils lose 4-1 (Poll)

[Unknown Caller]

You can't fix goaltending when the play in front of them is atrocious...It is a ying and yang thing...Can't have one without the other. It's impossible.

This isn't true at all. There are teams with more expected goals against per 60 and more/similar high danger chances against per 60 with significantly better goaltending. So clearly you can have one without the other. Look at Montreal with Price last year as a prime example.

Carolina has almost the same exact expected goals against per 60 as the Devils, yet Freddie Anderson has been lights out and Carolina has the lowest GA in the entire league.

It's on Blackwood.

 

[NJDfan86]

What you say is true - but it's also all rationalization - "if you're historically bad on the PP" . Yeah, bad is f'ing bad.

How is that a rationalization? I am not saying that there is no fault to the Devils players for having a terrible power play, I am merely pointing out that they aren't in the bottom of the league in scoring with a terrible power play, but they are in the bottom of the league in goals against despite having a strong penally kill.

Which one is the bigger problem with this years team, the goal scoring or the goals against? Seems fairly obvious to me.

 

[guitarguyvic]

So go ahead - tell me how a goalie stops the shots that Blackwood saw last night. All of them.

What kind of question is this? It’s like asking someone to describe how a skater could have scored a goal on any of the shots he attempted.

You mentioned someone else rationalizing but that is clearly what you’re doing with Mack.

 

[AfroThunder396]

We're 16th in the league in 5v5 goals for with 72. Those 72 goals are as many as NYR have, and we have done it in two fewer games.

Interesting that we've allowed 123 fewer shots, 178 fewer scoring chances, and 135 HD scoring chances against than NYR (they are worst in scoring chances against and 4th worst in high danger chances against!).

Yet NYR is 1st in the division, has the 5th highest points percentage in the league, and is on pace for 115 points this year. And somehow we're better offensively and defensively than they are.

Maybe, just maybe, it's because they have a .923 team SV% (#1) whereas we have a .880 team SV% (#31)?

 

[Azathoth]

You can't fix goaltending when the play in front of them is atrocious...It is a ying and yang thing...Can't have one without the other. It's impossible.

How much of the play in front of the goalies is really the problem though? Look at 5on5 numbers, the team has an xGA of 80 (leave avg is 79.6) but an actual GA of 93(!) vs a leave average actual GA of 75!. They've given up 805 scoring changes which is better than league average (813). Again they've given up 228 HD chances against vs a league average 246. However they've given up 46 HD goals against vs a league average of 32. That to me screams the overall team at least does a good job at limiting the opposing teams chances but just aren't getting the saves.

We can talk about broken plays until the cows come home but unless its contextualized against all of the other teams and how many broken plays they give up in a game that end up in net or get saved its pretty meaningless to understand the play of our goalies.

 

[billingtons ghost]

How is that a rationalization? I am not saying that there is no fault to the Devils players for having a terrible power play, I am merely pointing out that they aren't in the bottom of the league in scoring with a terrible power play, but they are in the bottom of the league in goals against despite having a strong penally kill.

Which one is the bigger problem with this years team, the goal scoring or the goals against? Seems fairly obvious to me.

I think it is really tough to pick a 'bigger' problem because this team is rife with problems. Everything has to go absolutely right for this team to win or we need an amazing effort from Bratt or Hughes. There is absolutely no basic solid workmanlike gameplay from game to game that we can count on to generate any offense. Our defensive breakdowns are terrible, and we aren't getting any goaltending to bail it out.

I'm not saying goaltending isn't a problem - I'm just finding it hard after watching last night's game to say that the vomit-like goaltending numbers are the sole cause of this team's demise - and we'd suddenly be a playoff team with great or even good goaltending.

We are frigging miles away right now from being a good team at really anything except having one generational player who is still finding his game and has alot of rough edges and some weightlifting to do - and maybe a few really good second-liners who are growing into their roles.

 

[JimEIV]

This isn't true at all. There are teams with more expected goals against per 60 and more/similar high danger chances against per 60 with significantly better goaltending. So clearly you can have one without the other. Look at Montreal with Price last year as a prime example.

Carolina has almost the same exact expected goals against per 60 as the Devils, yet Freddie Anderson has been lights out and Carolina has the lowest GA in the entire league.

It's on Blackwood.

Expected Goals? Yeah ok...Carolina is 4th in the League in Goals For per game....Carolina has scored 18 more goals than us in 2 fewer games...It would seem the Expectation part in the Expected Goals For is way off... Do you really not see how that makes a goalies life easier?

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Tell me how the saves on those goals would be made last night from a technical goaltending perspective. Explain in detail please.

No thanks. The goaltender has an .894 save percentage on the season. Not acceptable, can’t and won’t win with it.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I think it is really tough to pick a 'bigger' problem because this team is rife with problems. Everything has to go absolutely right for this team to win or we need an amazing effort from Bratt or Hughes. There is absolutely no basic solid workmanlike gameplay from game to game that we can count on to generate any offense. Our defensive breakdowns are terrible, and we aren't getting any goaltending to bail it out.

I'm not saying goaltending isn't a problem - I'm just finding it hard after watching last night's game to say that the vomit-like goaltending numbers are the sole cause of this team's demise - and we'd suddenly be a playoff team with great or even good goaltending.

We are frigging miles away right now from being a good team at really anything except having one generational player who is still finding his game and has alot of rough edges and some weightlifting to do - and maybe a few really good second-liners who are growing into their roles.

Now this overall I can agree with. The only thing I’ll add is that to me this is an organizational problem. Look no further than Lindy refusing to pull Mack when he’s embarrassing himself, or the PR campaign to anoint him our great goaltending hope as recently as a few weeks ago. You can extend this to several other players and facets of our game. They seem more interested in convincing the public that this team is better than it really is, rather than actually making it better.

 

[My3Sons]

It's not even about giving anyone a "pass"...From my perspective, it just seems like a fake focus to distract from the larger issues...And that is the lack of progress and refinement from guys that are supposed to be leading the team...

We keep saying "they're young it'll come"....But most of the play from key players still looks like unrefined and amateurish. These guys have been in the league 3, 4 and 5 years now and we still see the same lack of polish, lack of high level play, just an overall lack poise and refinement as when they were rookies.

Which plenty of folks are disappointed with. A few folks are saying it's all on MBW but I think the vast majority see the team's problems as multi-faceted. As an aside, I think your chart from last night was wrong. It didn't have Jack's assist registered in last night's game.

 

[NJDfan86]

I think it is really tough to pick a 'bigger' problem because this team is rife with problems. Everything has to go absolutely right for this team to win or we need an amazing effort from Bratt or Hughes. There is absolutely no basic solid workmanlike gameplay from game to game that we can count on to generate any offense. Our defensive breakdowns are terrible, and we aren't getting any goaltending to bail it out.

I'm not saying goaltending isn't a problem - I'm just finding it hard after watching last night's game to say that the vomit-like goaltending numbers are the sole cause of this team's demise - and we'd suddenly be a playoff team with great or even good goaltending.

We are frigging miles away right now from being a good team at really anything except having one generational player who is still finding his game and has alot of rough edges and some weightlifting to do - and maybe a few really good second-liners who are growing into their roles.

Goal tending is our #1 problem, and while we would not be a playoff team with good (though we would be closer with great) we would probably feel better about our future as a team with a few more wins and a Blackwood that looks like a legitimate starting goalie.

 

[Lou is God]

Jack Hughes is literally playing at a point per game pace…

LOL, don't even bother talking to him about Jack, he's f***ing ridiculous the way he hates on him. Not worth your time.

 

[Unknown Caller]

So go ahead - tell me how a goalie stops the shots that Blackwood saw last night. All of them.

He could have had a number of them. On the Mayo goal he needs to fight to track the puck and get bigger in the net. Part of the issue on that goal is he doesn't track the puck well, gets small in the net and puts himself in poor position where the screen in front is effective.

On the Crouse goal he has horrendous rebound control and again doesn't fight to track the rebound and get in position on the second chance.

The Boyd goal is a deflection, but Blackwood is still small in the crease and leaving about 50% of the bottom of the net open.

Part of the issue is that you're looking at the moment the puck enters the net rather than the entire lead up in terms of how he's tracking the puck, whether he's properly reading the play, and how hard he fights to be in position and get through screens.

Go iso goalies on bad teams like Nedeljkovic or Forsberg. They find a way.

 

[Bleedred]

Blackwood relays to much on his athleticism. He can’t play the puck well, he struggles tracking shots from a distance and his glove is MEH. Unfortunately he got Covid twice and has been constantly injured, which hampers his best attribute.

Regardless, can the dude battle for a puck once. It’s sitting in front of him and he put’s no effort into covering it up. He’s what 6”4? Guy gets pushed around too easily. Did Krapo rattle his brain too hard?!

Come on now. He had covid a year ago now, as has I think 70%-80% of the league since then? I think I seen a stat the other day that either 70%-80% have tested positive over the last year? And did he even really have symptoms this time? We don't know for sure, but I'm getting not many, if any at all.

Covid should not factor into it, at least not this year and last year's covid should have nothing to do with his play this year. He just sucks for whatever reason, but that's got f*** all to do with it this year.

Injuries? Could be.

I think he can still put these last two years behind him starting next year and at the very least be an average goalie next year. He's barely been a serviceable one this year. I think he could possibly snap out of this, I give it a better chance than the hope that Schneider was gonna bounce back which was a BAD gamble by Ray Shero. I wouldn't bet a whole lot on it, but I wouldn't rule it out like I did with Schneider.

Tom and the front office should not gamble on it either. They should assume his best days are over and that 2019-2020 was his peak when assessing next year's goalie situation this offseason. Coming back with him as our number 1 goalie or expecting him to play a significant number of games might be a very costly mistake for him and could spell the end of him as general manager sooner than it otherwise would have.

It would be completely embarrassing after what we've seen this year to expect him to be the starter next year or even a 1b. He would have to have the best stretch of his NHL career to date over 25-30 games just to finish this season respectably.

 

[billingtons ghost]

What kind of question is this? It’s like asking someone to describe how a skater could have scored a goal on any of the shots he attempted.

You mentioned someone else rationalizing but that is clearly what you’re doing with Mack.

It's a perfectly valid question - goaltending is a purely reactive position - the only one in sports, really. And when you see Kevin Weekes or Chico or someone breakdown what happens in front of the goaltender, you can discuss whether or not he did somethinig wrong.

It's easy to spot when Blackwood whiffs on a pass and gives it away. Or a puck goes through him.

I looked at all of those plays from my own experience goaltending - and it's tough to find fault with his approach - he pretty much does what any goaltender would do in those situations. I mean, sometimes you just get beat because of deflections or shots that are in the top corners.

He's not coming up with any sort of great stops when we need them - but it's not like he's being a fundamentally crappy goaltender like we've had in the past. These aren't mistakes - and that's kinda my point - and what's troubling for the team as a whole. The Coyotes generated offense and goals against us because they took the puck away from us, went to the net, set up screens, deflected shots and outmuscled us on rebounds.

That's pretty much been the story of the season. Do we need better goaltending, yeah, absolutely - we actually need elite goaltending to win.

 

[Cheddabombs]

I don't get how some people can call out one specific thing as being the only, or biggest, reason we're still shit. When this team has as many holes as it does, one single thing isn't sinking this ship.

Offense needs to be better. We need actual top 6 wingers plain and simple in that regard.

Defense needs to be better, from the players we're actually using to the defensive zone structure. We have a more veteran defense and younger forward group, so the fact that our structure more so relies on the forwards reading and reacting to the play because we chose to send both defensemen below the goal line makes no sense to me.

Goaltending needs to be better. Not asking for Vezina caliber play here but just better than what we've currently got. Doesn't help that we essentially have no backup again.

Fixing one isn't doing anything for the others. Maybe it masks the problem for a bit but the problem will still be there.

 

[NJDevs26]

Come on now. He had covid a year ago now, as has I think 70%-80% of the league since then? I think I seen a stat the other day that either 70%-80% have tested positive over the last year? And did he even really have symptoms this time? We don't know for sure, but I'm getting not many, if any at all.

Covid should not factor into it, at least not this year and last year's covid should have nothing to do with his play this year. He just sucks for whatever reason, but that's got f*** all to do with it this year.

Injuries? Could be.

I think he can still put these last two years behind him starting next year and at the very least be an average goalie next year. He's barely been a serviceable one this year. I think he could possibly snap out of this, I give it a better chance than the hope that Schneider was gonna bounce back which was a BAD gamble by Ray Shero. I wouldn't bet a whole lot on it, but I wouldn't rule it out like I did with Schneider.

Tom and the front office should not gamble on it either. They should assume his best days are over and that 2019-2020 was his peak when assessing next year's goalie situation this offseason. Coming back with him as our number 1 goalie or expecting him to play a significant number of games might be a very costly mistake for him and could spell the end of him as general manager sooner than it otherwise would have.

It would be completely embarrassing after what we've seen this year to expect him to be the starter next year or even a 1b. He would have to have the best stretch of his NHL career to date over 25-30 games just to finish this season respectably.

Blackwood was just on the COVID list a couple weeks ago, granted it’s hard to remember given we only had one game in the last ten days but multiple trips to the COVID list is factual. Of course, this stay wasn’t as long or as debilitating as his stay last year for one or two obvious reasons.

 

[JimEIV]

Which plenty of folks are disappointed with. A few folks are saying it's all on MBW but I think the vast majority see the team's problems as multi-faceted. As an aside, I think your chart from last night was wrong. It didn't have Jack's assist registered in last night's game.

Yes it it did. The columns got shifted over 2 from the Header. Somehow It saw the NJD@ARI as multiple rows instead of just one.

 

[Lou is God]

He could have had a number of them. On the Mayo goal he needs to fight to track the puck and get bigger in the net. Part of the issue on that goal is he doesn't track the puck well, gets small in the net and puts himself in poor position where the screen in front is effective.

On the Crouse goal he has horrendous rebound control and again doesn't fight to track the rebound and get in position on the second chance.

The Boyd goal is a deflection, but Blackwood is still small in the crease and leaving about 50% of the bottom of the net open.

Part of the issue is that you're looking at the moment the puck enters the net rather than the entire lead up in terms of how he's tracking the puck, whether he's properly reading the play, and how hard he fights to be in position and get through screens.

Go iso goalies on bad teams like Nedeljkovic or Forsberg. They find a way.

This is something I started noticing on Mac last year, he doesn't seem to have the knack to finding the puck in traffic, and that's something that you can't teach, some goalies have a sixth sense so to speak and you can see that in how they move when they're screened,, but whenever you see Mac in these situations his instinct seems to be to go to his knees and just freeze up and hope the puck hits him.

 

[Unknown Caller]

Expected Goals? Yeah ok...Carolina is 4th in the League in Goals For per game....Carolina has scored 18 more goals than us in 2 fewer games...It would seem the Expectation part in the Expected Goals For is way off... Do you really not see how that makes a goalies life easier?

This argument doesn't even make sense. Actual goals scored has absolutely nothing to do with expected goals against.

Carolina is 3rd in the league in expected goals for, so I have no idea how "the expectation part is way off" when they're a top 7 team in the league in goals scored per game?

And the Devils are about top 10 in the league in expected goals for and middle of the pack in actual goals for, so again I'm struggling to track your argument here.

 

[JimEIV]

We're 16th in the league in 5v5 goals for with 72. Those 72 goals are as many as NYR have, and we have done it in two fewer games.

Interesting that we've allowed 123 fewer shots, 178 fewer scoring chances, and 135 HD scoring chances against than NYR (they are worst in scoring chances against and 4th worst in high danger chances against!).

Yet NYR is 1st in the division, has the 5th highest points percentage in the league, and is on pace for 115 points this year. And somehow we're better offensively and defensively than they are.

Maybe, just maybe, it's because they have a .923 team SV% (#1) whereas we have a .880 team SV% (#31)?

16th in the league is not good for the type of team we are....If we were a defense first team with the ability to lock it down we could go to the Finals being 16th in 5v5 GF....But we are not...We play a quasi-freewheeling wanna-be up-Tempo that gives up tons of chances....Mid of the pack offense won't get it done playing firewagon hockey.

 

[Bleedred]

He could have had a number of them. On the Mayo goal he needs to fight to track the puck and get bigger in the net. Part of the issue on that goal is he doesn't track the puck well, gets small in the net and puts himself in poor position where the screen in front is effective.

On the Crouse goal he has horrendous rebound control and again doesn't fight to track the rebound and get in position on the second chance.

The Boyd goal is a deflection, but Blackwood is still small in the crease and leaving about 50% of the bottom of the net open.

Part of the issue is that you're looking at the moment the puck enters the net rather than the entire lead up in terms of how he's tracking the puck, whether he's properly reading the play, and how hard he fights to be in position and get through screens.

Go iso goalies on bad teams like Nedeljkovic or Forsberg. They find a way.

The really bad goal was the Crouse one. He has enough time to get back into position before the puck slides through the post before he does. It was a really BAD goal, that just doesn't look like a stinker because it was a bit of a scramble in front. He looked so bad on that one. Looked like his batteries were giving out on his way to the post. He just coasts to it. If you watch that from the behind the net cam it's pathetic. It's gonna be my softy of the night by default, just because there's really not much to choose from.

 

[guitarguyvic]

It's a perfectly valid question - goaltending is a purely reactive position - the only one in sports, really. And when you see Kevin Weekes or Chico or someone breakdown what happens in front of the goaltender, you can discuss whether or not he did somethinig wrong.

It's easy to spot when Blackwood whiffs on a pass and gives it away. Or a puck goes through him.

I looked at all of those plays from my own experience goaltending - and it's tough to find fault with his approach - he pretty much does what any goaltender would do in those situations. I mean, sometimes you just get beat because of deflections or shots that are in the top corners.

He's not coming up with any sort of great stops when we need them - but it's not like he's being a fundamentally crappy goaltender like we've had in the past. These aren't mistakes - and that's kinda my point - and what's troubling for the team as a whole. The Coyotes generated offense and goals against us because they took the puck away from us, went to the net, set up screens, deflected shots and outmuscled us on rebounds.

That's pretty much been the story of the season. Do we need better goaltending, yeah, absolutely - we actually need elite goaltending to win.

The bolded is absolutely not true. Like I said, he routinely coughs up rebounds that he shouldn’t, rarely attempts to make an effort to poke check or cover up the puck, moves slow, and now generally looks disinterested and unfocused.

I’m not gonna waste my time breaking down every goal he gives up because it serves no purpose other than to rationalize a perspective one way or the other. It’s no different than demanding someone analyze how a skater who’s not producing could have converted on the shots he took.

 

[My3Sons]

Yes it it did. The columns got shifted over 2 from the Header. Somehow It saw the NJD@ARI as multiple rows instead of just one.

OK, now I see it. As another poster noted, Hughes is playing to a PPG pace. I don't think you will find too many posters laying the blame for the recent stretch of games at Hughes' feet.

 

[Bleedred]

No thanks. The goaltender has an .894 save percentage on the season. Not acceptable, can’t and won’t win with it.

At this point he's pretty much the ghosts of Brodeur, Schneider and Hedberg (sprinkle in some of Kinkaid's last little bit here) out there. Or maybe he's more like if they all reproduced to make one goalie together.

Outside of Hedberg's death stretch while Brodeur was injured in 2013 (and who was like just about 40 years old) this is arguably at least tied for the worst stretch of goaltending we've seen in the last decade and we've had some terrible goalies here and some dying, declining goalies with nothing left here, but here's the biggest difference.

Cory probably had a 15-20 game stretch like this, but he wasn't on us. Hynes didn't shove him down our throats and down the teams throats. Hynes knew he sucked and was no count and would play him as little as he could (until he had a hot streak that fooled people) without actually completely benching him.

That's the biggest difference here. When Kinkaid was BOMBING out at the end of his time here, he wasn't thrown in every game. That's how Blackwood started playing in the NHL.