GDT: Your New Jersey Devils (19-13-2, 40 Pts) @ Boston Bruins, (20-7-6, 40 Pts), 7 PM, MSGSN

[devilsblood]

I don't think the meter is that off tonight though. We were good in the 1st and mostly in the 3rd.

It was the stretch in the middle of the 2nd that cost them the game.

They most likely deserved an OTL in this but Vitek couldn't save an extra goal or two

Out corsi'd, out shot, out HD, out SC in the first. In the 2nd as well.

3rd period is Boston playing with a lead.

 

[Incharge1976]

You really think Fitz/Marty do not have input on the goalies? What do you think Lindy and Fitz discuss? What they bought their wives for Christmas?

During the regular season? Not so much.

With that said, it definitely came from the top to switch in Schmid during the Rangers series.

 

[Killing Joke]

If I’m Tom I’m talking to Florida about Spencer Knight inquiring if he’s available and offering Casey. Knight is a good talent, has been decent as a pro, and at worst will be average which is better than Vitek, and at best he becomes a franchise goalie he was drafted for. Casey is stuck with a logjam in front of him. He’s easily are most tradable piece for what ever goalie we look at.

 

[Bleedred]

So you would’ve thrown Daws out there tonight? Back to back road games in different cities for a guy who’s played 1 NHL game since a major surgery?

Noooooo

Definitely not saying that. In fact, I was saying DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THROWING DAWS OUT THERE IN RELIEF TONIGHT!

I just mean overall. Vitek can't be playing in random, non back to back games anymore. Unless we don't have a back to back for a week.

Vitek shouldn't be playing more than once a week anymore. We know that won't happen, but it needs to. Back to back? Yes. Once a week when we don't have a back to back? Fine. He shouldn't be on pace for 54 games and 49 starts, which is more than he had last year when he was actually decent.

 

[NjDevsRR]

In regards to the Meter. Devils also gave up a lot in the 3rd due to insane pinching in order to comeback. So Boston also got some high danger chances there. So it works both ways

 

[Japam]

Comparing Timo to Nolan Patrick is quite the take...the injuries ARE concerning but that's like comparing Marty after a couple of bad games to Vitek now.

Don't care about this board's hive mind. Timo's not going to make it to the end of that contract.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

During the regular season? Not so much.

With that said, it definitely came from the top to switch in Schmid during the Rangers series.

Ruff wanted to make the change in the Rangers series and ran it by Fitz and Marty. The GM is the one worried about Schmids waiver eligibiltiy, not the coach. Why would the GM send Schmid down if he wanted him playing more?

 

[Camille the Eel]

The game started well. They f***ing choked. Wanted this one so bad to end the year. f***ing hell.

I don’t think choke so much as they wore us down until we broke down in the last 5 minutes of the second period.

I am not that surprised because I looked at the schedule weeks ago and pretty much chalked this one up as a loss.

Our first period was an extension of last night’s play. But you could see by the end that we were unlikely to be able to sustain that pace. And when Boston bore down on us after that (gorgeous) Luke goal, we bent and then broke. There was a moment, before Vitek wet the bed, that we almost went up 3 goals in a scramble in front of their net.

Anyway I’m very happy with 3 out of the last 4. The upcoming Washington game next Wednesday will be important to us in the race.

 

[Bleedred]

oh, we got a wise guy in here huh

No, I literally mean I would be elated if we were able to ice a Daws/Schmid pairing before the end of the month of January.

Vitek is absolutely no count. He will be continue to be so until he's off this team.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

didnt get to watch, but you can't win consistently against good teams when your goalie gives up over 2 goals over expected

Vitek has gotta go. They have to do SOMETHING. When is the last time we heard from the GM?

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

Two things can be true at once.

The wording was funny; "this and this are caused by coaching.. so lets change goalies" lol

 

[My3Sons]

I don't think so. I think Fitz like everyone else here was very surprised with last year. I think it sped up everyone's expectations but we aren't really Cup ready. Who knows what other teams want for goalies? Maybe it's going to gut our team or hurt our cap situation. I'm willing to give Fitz until the NEXT trade deadline to figure it out.

I agree that last season threw the timeline into the spin cycle. They went from picking second in the draft to third overall and winning a playoff round in dramatic fashion against their biggest rival. The organization was understandably excited. This year’s team is much closer to what you would have expected last season. Not picking second overall but up and down and fighting for a playoff spot. The goaltending is struggling somewhat but so is the team defense on some level. Some of that is on Ruff but they overcame it last year. The team is still very young and is relying heavily on a 20 year old and a teenager on the blueline. The captain is what 24? That’s hardly a recipe for sustained short term NHL success.

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

didnt get to watch, but you can't win consistently against good teams when your goalie gives up over 2 goals over expected

Vitek has gotta go. They have to do SOMETHING. When is the last time we heard from the GM?

Hopefully tomorrow !

 

[ndkjr70]

Noooooo

Definitely not saying that. In fact, I was saying DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THROWING DAWS OUT THERE IN RELIEF TONIGHT!

I just mean overall. Vitek can't be playing in random, non back to back games anymore. Unless we don't have a back to back for a week.

Vitek shouldn't be playing more than once a week anymore. We know that won't happen, but it needs to. Back to back? Yes. Once a week when we don't have a back to back? Fine. He shouldn't be on pace for 54 games and 49 starts, which is more than he had last year when he was actually decent.

you’ve made the “vitek shouldn’t have played this much” point like six times in the PGT. Just feels like weird timing.

Like saying “Trump shouldn’t have fired Katie Hopkins from season 6 of the Apprentice” after January 6th.

 

[Bleedred]

Everybody is saying ''We need a goalie! We need a goalie!'', how about we just stop giving Vitek 2/3rds of the games and see how it goes?

What's gonna happen is they're gonna go to Daws and the first time he has a game nearly as bad as tonight, he's gonna be sitting unless it's a back to back, just like Schmid did.

It's Vitek that they need to give that treatment to.

 

[Devs3cups]

didnt get to watch, but you can't win consistently against good teams when your goalie gives up over 2 goals over expected

Vitek has gotta go. They have to do SOMETHING. When is the last time we heard from the GM?

Yeah, I wonder what Fitz is thinking right now. Would love to hear from him at almost the half way point here.

 

[Bleedred]

you’ve made the “vitek shouldn’t have played this much” point like six times in the PGT. Just feels like weird timing.

Like saying “Trump shouldn’t have fired Katie Hopkins from season 6 of the Apprentice” after January 6th.

He shouldn't have played this much this year. No, absolutely not.

That doesn't mean I think Daws should have played TONIGHT, two nights in a row. No.

Vitek has played too much this year, he's on pace for 54 games and 49 starts. He shouldn't play UNLESS it's a back to back like tonight was. That means no throwing him in a mid week game that isn't on a back to back.

That should have stopped happening a long time ago. Tonight's game really should show that he shouldn't be playing unless it's a back to back. Because pretty soon, he's gonna be turfing games to the point where we won't even be able to afford to play him one half of the back to back if they wanna stay in the playoff race. They'll be going to Daws two nights in a row like the did when he was 21 and Gillies was his backup.

 

[njdevils1982]

No, I literally mean I would be elated if we were able to ice a Daws/Schmid pairing before the end of the month of January.

Vitek is absolutely no count. He will be continue to be so until he's off this team.

end of january ...got you

 

[devilsblood]

In regards to the Meter. Devils also gave up a lot in the 3rd due to insane pinching in order to comeback. So Boston also got some high danger chances there. So it works both ways

Not according to NST. Devils dominated the stats in the 3rd.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Other than Edmonton sending Campbell down, has any other team with a struggling goalie really made any move to address it?

 

[Bleedred]

Is it possible that I just may be right, that Vitek isn't redeemable here, he's psychologically shot here, it's not gonna work here, but he may just very well be fine once he's somewhere else?

That's what I think it is.

The relationship is broken. I don't know if anyone's fault, but it needs to end.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Other than Edmonton sending Campbell down, has any other team with a struggling goalie really made any move to address it?

Just the Rannta waivers and Halak PTO thing

But @Bleedred probably knows more

 

[Devs3cups]

Goaltending is a major problem around the league. NHL goaltending is quite frankly, pathetic. It's absurdly bad. I'd say 90% of NHL goaltenders are consistently barely average to below average. Horrendous stuff. Most NHL goalies aren't consistent either year in year out.

 

[Bleedred]

Other than Edmonton sending Campbell down, has any other team with a struggling goalie really made any move to address it?

Nope. Other than Hynes coming in and saying ''Enough is enough, Fleury's only gonna play in back to back's and maybe otherwise once a week at most'' after Evason kept throwing him in there every other game or dropping him in there last year when Gustavsson was outplaying him.

Which is why I'm saying, I don't think we necessarily need to acquire another goalie as much as we need to try to keep Vitek out of the net as much as possible. Which means giving Daws or Schmid more of a look and more rope.

Raanta was waived, but recalled after about 10 or 12 days and Carolina didn't even give the guy they called up single second of ice time. They just kept playing Kochetkov.

 

[Camille the Eel]

didnt get to watch, but you can't win consistently against good teams when your goalie gives up over 2 goals over expected

Vitek has gotta go. They have to do SOMETHING. When is the last time we heard from the GM?

it was a team collapse and not just Vitek. Sounds like a broken record I know. I’m not excusing him either. But it was a shooting gallery around him before the dam broke and Vitek doesn’t function well under those conditions. He made a bunch of tough saves but eventually broke down. Our entire team eventually broke down under Boston’s onslaught. Give the Bruins credit too.

Take a look at Pasternak’s power play goal from the joint responsibility angle. We clear the puck but don’t get it deep. Terrible change by two of our PKer’s with the puck feet from them at the opposing blue line, and we gift Pasta a partial breakaway.

This was a team meltdown with 5 minutes left in the second. Vitek was responsible too but hardly the culprit in and of himself. I’ve often noticed that he doesn’t do well with sustained high danger shot volume. But he is what he is and is what we have and we can win with him when we play right. By 35 minutes in tonight against their attrition tactics we just had nothing left.