GDT: Wild @ Devils - 5 P.M. - MSGSN

[Nico Hischier]

It has to be? The last Schmid game was an absolute stinker, as were his other games. Vanacek hasn't been great, but he has been average at best, at least. Not a back to back, I'd start Vanacek.

Edit: This is not confirmed, just speculation.

Vanecek got the W. it wasn’t pretty but he didn’t lose so I think ruff will stick with him. He tends to ride the hot hand. But also just my speculation

 

[mdj12784]

Jack needs at least 4 tonight, to make up for last game’s disappointing performance.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I'd go with Vanecek, give Schmid a nice break to reset as the next games are Thursday/Friday.

 

[Bleedred]

I'd go with Vanecek, give Schmid a nice break to reset as the next games are Thursday/Friday.

Vanecek has been nothing worth praising in the slightest, but he's had two good games. I don't think Schmid has had a good game since the preseason.

His Coyotes game was okay, but he even gave up two weak ones in that game, as well as gave us no chance in the shootout with 2 goals on 2 shooters.

We won the Islanders game in no thanks to him and that Capitals period was a nightmare.

If Vitek didn't give up a couple of poor ones last game, as well as the weak game winner against Washington, I would almost think for sure he was starting this game. Schmid is also due for a good game.

Either of them should be able to outplay the old, broken down, has-been compiler that Minnesota will no doubt throw out there, because he held the Capitals to only 2 goals (must be nice!) and Gustavsson has been getting destroyed out there.

 

[Bleedred]

A conversation with my friend the other night, who loves hockey as much as I do and he's been watching as long as I have. So it's not like he's some casual that hasn't watched or followed the game enough. We talked about this during one of the intermission's of the other night's game. We get on the phone a lot during intermission's to talk about the games. Sometimes we have a group call with 3 of us.

Me: Think Fleury will catch Marty for the wins record?

Friend: Good one! Marty's gotta have, what, at least 200+ more wins than Fleury and Fleury has gotta be about 40?

Me: He's only about 140-some odd wins behind him and he's only about 6 wins behind Roy for second all time.

Friend: Wait, Fleury was really that good? He's got THAT many wins? Fleury is only a few wins behind Patrick Roy for 2nd all time? He wasn't anywhere near as good as Patrick Roy, and definitely had to have racked up A LOT of shootout wins to be able to get there. There wasn't a shootout in Roy's career. Fleury has more wins than Hasek, Belfour, Lundqvist, Luongo, etc?

Me: Yeah, he's really that close to Roy.

Friend: Well, I think Marty's safe, I don't think Fleury is gonna play until he's 45.

Me: I don't know man. The Wild brass placate him so much, they might actually give him a 4 year deal after this, just like the Foligno deal they just gave.

Friend: Fleury isn't good enough anymore to win 140 more games in his career. You're just busting balls with this, right? There's no way you actually believe Marty's record is in danger of MA Fleury?

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Vanecek has been nothing worth praising in the slightest, but he's had two good games. I don't think Schmid has had a good game since the preseason.

His Coyotes game was okay, but he even gave up two weak ones in that game, as well as gave us no chance in the shootout with 2 goals on 2 shooters.

We won the Islanders game in no thanks to him and that Capitals period was a nightmare.

If Vitek didn't give up a couple of poor ones last game, as well as the weak game winner against Washington, I would almost think for sure he was starting this game. Schmid is also due for a good game.

Either of them should be able to outplay the old, broken down, has-been compiler that Minnesota will no doubt throw out there, because he held the Capitals to only 2 goals (must be nice!) and Gustavsson has been getting destroyed out there.

I think Vanecek has been pretty good personally, don't want to just put the moneypuck saved above expectations number and be done with it but it's at -0.6. Not great but kind of confirming my suspicions that he's made some big saves too. This allows me to make a macro point about your goaltending project, that part of the reason you think goalies are all horrible is you judge them primarily on the goals they give up, scoring them mentally on a softness scale. You miss a lot of the saves they made that they maybe shouldn't have (which is what expected goals tries to do).

Not to say you haven't watched Vanecek this year, but I think you're forgetting a lot of the huge saves he made to keep the team in it and help them win games.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

We have to score the first goal eventually right? Right?

This is actually funny/sad but what is the record for most amount of games a team doesn't get the first goal?

 

[Bleedred]

I think Vanecek has been pretty good personally, don't want to just put the moneypuck saved above expectations number and be done with it but it's at -0.6. Not great but kind of confirming my suspicions that he's made some big saves too. This allows me to make a macro point about your goaltending project, that part of the reason you think goalies are all horrible is you judge them primarily on the goals they give up, scoring them mentally on a softness scale. You miss a lot of the saves they made that they maybe shouldn't have (which is what expected goals tries to do).

Not to say you haven't watched Vanecek this year, but I think you're forgetting a lot of the huge saves he made to keep the team in it and help them win games.

I don't watch every save every goalie makes because I don't have time to watch every save every goalie makes. That would involve sitting around all day and watching every second (just so I don't miss a shot and save) of every game played, and I'd have to get paid to do that, because I have a job. They do have stats that track that sort of thing though, as you said.

Conversely, evolving hockey has him at a -2.48 GSAx on their models.

Natural stat trick has Vanecek at a -1.84 on their model.

He's been okay. Schmid has just been horrific. He's actually had good games, Schmid has not.

I was surprised to see Schmid was only a -1.3 on moneypuck, but I do like how they have a breakdown of GSAx per 60 feature on their site, which Schmid is allowing a half a goal more per 60 than expected. The pull the other night probably keeps his actual GSAx number from being worse, unless you really think he was gonna stop every shot he faced the rest of the game if we left him in there. Vanecek is allowing a little over a tenth of a goal more per 60 than expected. -0,135 I believe it was. Schmis is at a -0.52 per 60.

Evolving hockey's model has Schmid at just a -1.07 GSAx.

Natural stat trick has Schmid at a -1.51 on their models.

2 out of 3 sites seem to think Schmid has been worse. I absolutely believe Schmid has been worse and I think most of us see eye to eye on that.

 

[Oneiro]

Time to dunk on the most mid sports franchise of all time.

 

[Bleedred]

This is actually funny/sad but what is the record for most amount of games a team doesn't get the first goal?

We only have about 75 more tries to score the first goal of the game without going an entire season without doing it!

 

[Mgd31]

Games against the Wild are always terrible. I think we have lost the last few or so against them. No Nico stinks but at least they don’t have Boldy either.

 

[Bleedred]

Time to dunk on the most mid sports franchise of all time.

I don't really hate them that much at least not anymore.

One of the only hostile (not that it was really that hostile) DM's I ever got on here was from a Wild fan in 2012. He quoted a post I had made a month or two before Parise signed there in UFA where I said ''No way Zach signs with Minnesota. They're a perennial loser''.

He DM'd me with that quote in his message and said something like HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA THANKS FOR THE LAUGH!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'' or something along those lines.

I just didn't respond, but what I said to myself in my head was ''Okay. Pardon me for believing Zach was better than to sign with a perennial loser team. My fault!''.

And they absolutely were a perennial loser at that point. They made the conference finals 9 years before that, but I can't even remember how many times they made the playoffs in the 12 years they were a team at that point. It couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 times. And they were definitely on a lengthy playoff making drought at that point, which was snapped the first year Zach was there. They haven't been a perennial loser anymore since signing Parise and Suter, but they still haven't been to the conference finals again and I think they only won 2 rounds the whole time they were there, and I don't think they've won a round since they've been gone either.

 

[Satans Hockey]

This is actually funny/sad but what is the record for most amount of games a team doesn't get the first goal?

I did a quick Google search and don't see anything so I'm not sure

 

[Bleedred]

I'm sure we're nowhere near the record, but I'd imagine the record for ''Most games to start a season a season without scoring the first goal of the game'' is less games than the record for ''Most games in a row without scoring the first goal of the game''.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

I did a quick Google search and don't see anything so I'm not sure

Quick someone send it in as a trivia question!

 

[Maine Fan]

5 PM perfect for me.

My Patriots game will end with a win against Miami by 5 PM.

I am a WTA fan and at 6 PM Jessica Pegula, the daughter of the owners of many sports team big name Buffalo Bills, will be playing her first of many matches, I hope, at the WTA Finals. I will have an hour of the Devils before switching back and forth, for me.

I am hoping for a fast offensive start for the Devils, it will make it easier for me.

all three wins will make my day.

Lets Go Devils.

 

[theking72]

LGD. Taking the kids today don't embarrass me.

View attachment 759858

 

[Richer's Ghost]

"Who wants to see me smash some fruit!?"

I fully expect Lindy to start him with some nonsense about getting both guys going to help the team.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Surely they can't start the year with 8 straight games not scoring first

 

[Barry Tallackson]

Kaprizov and Hartman were out partying in Hoboken last night

 

[The Wumpus]

Kaprizov and Hartman were out partying in Hoboken last night

 

[Mgd31]

Kaprizov and Hartman were out partying in Hoboken last night

With you?

 

[Bleedred]

If they are late getting to the game again because of traffic and they game has to be started an hour late, can we give them at least one delay of game penalty (literally a delay a game) for that?

I remember when they did that 2 years ago, because they got caught in traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel because I guess they were staying in Manhattan. They even claimed they left Manhattan at 4:00 PM, which is not enough time, because visiting teams are usually at the building about 2-2.5 hours before game time. I know from watching the busses pull in, if it's a 7:00 PM game, the visiting team usually gets there at 4:30-4:50. It's probably a little harder to get there by 4:30 with Newark/North Jersey traffic, especially since no one stays in Newark. They're all staying in Jersey City/Hoboken or Hilton Short Hills, and sometimes even in Manhattan, especially when they're playing the Rangers on the same trip.

If you're leaving Manhattan at 4:00 PM on a weekday, don't expect to be at Prudential Center any earlier than 5:00, if not even 5:30-6:00. Maybe on a weekend they can do that or in the late evening/overnight hours.

 

[glenwo2]

With you?

Tallackson sure has connections.

And here I thought he was a bad Hockey player.

 

[ThePrideofStockholm]

It would be really nice win a win tonight. LGD
And for Mercer to score a couple of points, a hat trick from Holtz and at least six points from Jack and a shut out.