GDT: Win and We're f***ING IN!: Maple Leafs @ Devils, 7 PM, MSG+

[Its a Trap]

Someone said last night Toronto loves the long pass and man they weren’t kidding. It felt like every other leaf breakout was a stretch pass from their zone to our blue line. Crazy strategy.

 

[mtnet]

IMO if we played Mueller during his 13 game stretch of scratches we'd definitely be locked in at #2 in the Metro right now.

He is the difference maker on the team

The PDB avatar makes this post unintentionally hilarious to me

But yeah he was no doubt logjammed over in San Jose, dying on the vine

 

[Bleedred]

I hate to get all DD over here, but last night was a real crucial win.

Imagine if we went 0-1-1 in the last 2 games (including last night) and Florida did win out the season? And we still missed the playoffs after that amazing run of 7-0-1 or whatever it was? And it must have been 9-2-1 before that? If we missed the playoffs after that because we went 0-1-1 in the last two games, while Florida went 5-0-0, tied us in points but won the tiebreaker? That would have been a really tough way to go out. Especially if we had 95 or 96 points, which is usually enough to get in the playoffs almost every year.

I'm still skeptical Florida wins out, but they're Philly's problem now. Their hardest remaining games on the schedule were the last two. I don't see Buffalo eliminating them (Philly game will be over before that) tomorrow night and while Boston on Sunday is on the road, they'll probably be resting players and they'll have Khudobin in there instead of Rask. Especially since they had a pretty bad Floridian trip, but they are still tied in points with Tampa and are both at 80 games, so maybe they do come out and destroy the Panthers at home again on Sunday?

Tampa has Buffalo tonight and the dead Canes tomorrow night, while Boston has the Sens tomorrow before playing the Panthers on Sunday.

 

[AfroThunder396]

It's not like Mueller is playing at 1.5 PPG or shooting at 30%. There's no fishy outliers or anything that suggests this play is unsustainable.

The only reason people are skeptical is because some dumbasses on the Sharks board told us he was supposed to suck.

 

[Khione]

trade severson
sign carlson
bench lovejoy
play santini

 

[BenedictGomez]

trade severson
sign carlson
bench lovejoy
play santini

Cosigned.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I hate to get all DD over here, but last night was a real crucial win.

Imagine if we went 0-1-1 in the last 2 games (including last night) and Florida did win out the season? And we still missed the playoffs after that amazing run of 7-0-1 or whatever it was? And it must have been 9-2-1 before that? If we missed the playoffs after that because we went 0-1-1 in the last two games, while Florida went 5-0-0, tied us in points but won the tiebreaker? That would have been a really tough way to go out. Especially if we had 95 or 96 points, which is usually enough to get in the playoffs almost every year.

I'm still skeptical Florida wins out, but they're Philly's problem now. Their hardest remaining games on the schedule were the last two. I don't see Buffalo eliminating them (Philly game will be over before that) tomorrow night and while Boston on Sunday is on the road, they'll probably be resting players and they'll have Khudobin in there instead of Rask. Especially since they had a pretty bad Floridian trip, but they are still tied in points with Tampa and are both at 80 games, so maybe they do come out and destroy the Panthers at home again on Sunday?

Tampa has Buffalo tonight and the dead Canes tomorrow night, while Boston has the Sens tomorrow before playing the Panthers on Sunday.

When we went down 1 and Florida took the lead, I started sweating. Did not want to have a must win in game 82 against the Caps regardless of if they're resting guys.

 

[Chessarmy]

Was at the game live, incredible experience. After NJD crushed the road trip that was supposed to be the end of them, I knew they'd make the playoffs. Kinkaid, Hall and the usual suspects all played amazing last night. He gets a lot of flack on here, but you have to give Coach Hynes and his staff credit for pulling the guys through when the wheels looked like they were falling off a few months ago, and of course - GM Shero for turning this franchise around in just a few years.

PLAYOFF HOCKEY IS BACK!

 

[Bleedred]

When we went down 1 and Florida took the lead, I started sweating. Did not want to have a must win in game 82 against the Caps regardless of if they're resting guys.

It seemed a lot was going wrong for us at that point last night. CBJ kept tying the game or taking a lead, the Flyers were tying the game and then taking a lead, we were down 1-0. I was breaking a sweat, but I didn't go off the deep end. I think the team earned the benefit of the doubt and we've played well from behind all year long.

 

[JimEIV]

It's not like Mueller is playing at 1.5 PPG or shooting at 30%. There's no fishy outliers or anything that suggests this play is unsustainable.

The only reason people are skeptical is because some dumbasses on the Sharks board told us he was supposed to suck.

There never are outliers with simple defensemen. The question mark is time and stability. Hell, from a simple stat line, you'd have a real hard time telling the difference between Helgeson and Mueller at the start of this season. So the stat line really tells us nothing.

A good defenseman can stay stable for longer periods of time. Longer periods of time usually mean they can play against any/more line(s)/competition. The more you play the more any deficiencies rear their ugly head.

And tons of guys can look great for short stints...hell, even Moore has had his moments

 

[NJDevs26]

It seemed a lot was going wrong for us at that point last night. CBJ kept tying the game or taking a lead, the Flyers were tying the game and then taking a lead, we were down 1-0. I was breaking a sweat, but I didn't go off the deep end. I think the team earned the benefit of the doubt and we've played well from behind all year long.

The team may have earned the benefit of the doubt but I was getting paranoid the league was back on its let’s screw the Devils roll from late December.

 

[njdevil26]

Who could we realistically trade Severson for? Do we still need a LHD upgrade after how well Mueller is playing?... but I don't think I've ever seen a trade like that... young promising D traded for another young promising LHD.

I agree on signing Carlson

 

[BenedictGomez]

Who could we realistically trade Severson for? Do we still need a LHD upgrade after how well Mueller is playing?... but I don't think I've ever seen a trade like that... young promising D traded for another young promising LHD. I agree on signing Carlson

I'd be all for keeping Severson on the logic that someone could, "knock the stupid" out of him.

There are 2 things necessary for Severson to become a perfectly serviceable, NHL defenseman.

1) Make him realize that he's not Paul Coffey or Bobby Orr, and that he is really nothing special offensively.
2) Make him stop taking INSANE high-risk chances 3 to 5 times per night like he's playing backyard pond hockey.


At the end of the day, however, I just dont think Severson will amount to anything special, so if you could package him for a solid asset, I'm all for it. Especially given I think Santini's NHL upside is greater than Severson.

 

[Bleedred]

The team may have earned the benefit of the doubt but I was getting paranoid the league was back on its let’s screw the Devils roll from late December.

Between that stupid whatever bullshit call in the 1st, the overturned Nashville goal the other night and a bunch of other suspect calls throughout this game, from an icing that shouldn't have been an icing and a couple non-interference calls, this really did reek of a league concocted screwjob. I'm surprised they called the penalty in the last 30 seconds on them.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Mueller has 2 more assists than Keith Kinkaid and the same amount of goals. Yes, points aren't everything for defensemen, but Mueller's solid play lately shouldn't suggest that Severson is now somehow expendable. A few games on the pine for Severson doesn't mean management has completely fallen out of favor with him. The same people suggesting that are also eagerly awaiting the return of Santini who has spent his season in the minors. He's 23, it's a process. He played really well for months and has played like crap for a few weeks. Severson's good is orders of magnitude better than Mueller or Santini's good. He just needs to find consistency.

 

[AfroThunder396]

There never are outliers with simple defensemen. The question mark is time and stability. Hell, from a simple stat line, you'd have a real hard time telling the difference between Helgeson and Mueller at the start of this season. So the stat line really tells us nothing.

A good defenseman can stay stable for longer periods of time. Longer periods of time usually mean they can play against any/more line(s)/competition. The more you play the more any deficiencies rear their ugly head.

And tons of guys can look great for short stints...hell, even Moore has had his moments

That's definitely true. I think the one thing that sets Mueller apart from the other guys in his mold is his skating ability. The fact he can keep up with the play is a huge plus. Skating is usually the limiting factor when it comes to guys like that.

I think it's very premature to label him as a top-4 or whatever at this point in his career. But I'm pretty encouraged.

 

[Bleedred]

Mueller has 2 more assists than Keith Kinkaid and the same amount of goals. Yes, points aren't everything for defensemen, but Mueller's solid play lately shouldn't suggest that Severson is now somehow expendable. A few games on the pine for Severson doesn't mean management has completely fallen out of favor with him. The same people suggesting that are also eagerly awaiting the return of Santini who has spent his season in the minors. He's 23, it's a process. He played really well for months and has played like crap for a few weeks. Severson's good is orders of magnitude better than Mueller or Santini's good. He just needs to find consistency.

If we do trade Severson it's gonna be for Erik Karlsson or someone like that. I don't think we're getting rid of him because he fell out of favor with management, which some seem to think.

I could see him being traded, but only because it's for a huge upgrade and he's part of the package.

 

[JimEIV]

If we do trade Severson it's gonna be for Erik Karlsson or someone like that. I don't think we're getting rid of him because he fell out of favor with management, which some seem to think.

I could see him being traded, but only because it's for a huge upgrade and he's part of the package.

I don't think he fell out of favor, I think he's going to want out.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

If we do trade Severson it's gonna be for Erik Karlsson or someone like that. I don't think we're getting rid of him because he fell out of favor with management, which some seem to think.

I could see him being traded, but only because it's for a huge upgrade and he's part of the package.

Getting Carlson or receiving an even better RHD back in a trade would be the only way he becomes at all expendable. As it stands, he's very important to the future of this team. I've said it before, but people that dislike Severson will really dislike Carlson at the price he'll cost, especially if they're expecting him to be near 70 points like he was this year.

 

[BenedictGomez]

If we do trade Severson it's gonna be for Erik Karlsson or someone like that. I don't think we're getting rid of him because he fell out of favor with management, which some seem to think.

I could see him being traded, but only because it's for a huge upgrade and he's part of the package.

That would be awesome. History has shown that whoever lands the best player in a trade, usually wins said trade.

 

[Its a Trap]

I can’t wait to see “Stanley Cup Playoffs” on our ice again. It’s been far too long.

 

[Bleedred]

I don't think he fell out of favor, I think he's going to want out.

I hope not, because I think we need him. My ideal scenario is that both Moore and Lovejoy aren’t here next year.

The thing with Severson is that he’s already quite a bit better than Adam Larsson. Larsson fools you into thinking he’s better because he plays a very safe game, he doesn’t really find the offensive zone very often and he’ll usually block some shots or keep his positioning in the D-zone (which is something Severson is bad at), and that’s a big reason why Larsson barely scores any points at all. The guys who score a lot of points (let’s use Vatanen as an example) often times look worse than Larsson in their own end or on “Defense” because that’s their game, that’s the skill set they have and one that a guy like Larsson doesn’t possess.

Didn’t mean to bring up a former player, but thought it was a good example to use here.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

It's overall a crappy stat and doesn't say much (but the people that hate Severson seem to care about it a lot): giveaways. John Carlson has 95 giveaways, 7th in the NHL. Giveaway machine Severson has 49.

 

[Bleedred]

That would be awesome. History has shown that whoever lands the best player in a trade, usually wins said trade.

Just to put it bluntly, if we get rid of Severson it’s gonna be for a very good player. And it will probably take more than Severson, but it will be for a very good player. An exceptionally good talent.

 

[Bleedred]

It's overall a crappy stat and doesn't say much (but the people that hate Severson seem to care about it a lot): giveaways. John Carlson has 95 giveaways, 7th in the NHL. Giveaway machine Severson has 49.

The guys that have the puck more will also lead in giveaways.

I don’t think you’re gonna find Mark Fraser near the bottom of that list because he’d have to have to touch the puck more than once a game to accumulate the giveaways.