GDT: Your New Jersey Devils (45-18-7) vs. Minnesota Wild (40-22-8), 7 PM, MSGSN

[Devils731]

Minnesota played a very confident game last night, which isn’t what you’ll normally run into.

By that, I mean they were very aggressive in defending the Devils players, giving very little gap space. This worked because Minnesota executed but teams usually can’t maintain that all game because they get burned at some point and everyone starts to be a little “safer”

Despite that, the Devils still were able to get some really good looks and put a lot of rubber on net so that was a pretty positive result.

The Minnesota goalie was also playing with a lot of confidence. He had a few shots where he could defend the shot going to spot A or B and he confidently chose a spot and he kept picking correctly. That happens sometimes, no shame on the Devils for that.

 

[TF1970]

as much as i think he seems to be a lunatic, evason seems to be a pretty smart coach. minny plays that tight-checking style which is not always easy to execute & get guys to buy into. but they can still score too. i mean they lost 5-2 or whatever to boston over the weekend, but they did get two called back in the early stages of the game for offside.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

I’m extremely proud of this group, whatever happens in the playoffs. They’ve taken HUGE steps and it’s only the beginning.

Exactly. No matter what the playoffs only truly ends well for one team. Just hope they give us a long ride because it's been a while! 2 vs 3 is gonna be a tougher handicap over say 2 v.s 7 but, nothing is guaranteed but, just 5 months ago we wouldn't have been happy with "meaningful" hockey right now. The bar has been raised. For a legacy fan like me this is 1993-94 all over again but, hopefully a different playoff outcome this spring/summer.

 

[glenwo2]

Exactly. No matter what the playoffs only truly ends well for one team. Just hope they give us a long ride because it's been a while! 2 vs 3 is gonna be a tougher handicap over say 2 v.s 7 but, nothing is guaranteed but, just 5 months ago we wouldn't have been happy with "meaningful" hockey right now. The bar has been raised. For a legacy fan like me this is 1993-94 all over again but, hopefully a different playoff outcome this spring/summer.

Not if 7 turns out to be the Panthers.

 

[Devs3cups]

as much as i think he seems to be a lunatic, evason seems to be a pretty smart coach. minny plays that tight-checking style which is not always easy to execute & get guys to buy into. but they can still score too. i mean they lost 5-2 or whatever to boston over the weekend, but they did get two called back in the early stages of the game for offside.

Funnily enough, just looked it up, Boston had a 47.70% xGF% in their game against Minny. Ours was 57.05% last night. Our HDCF% and SCF% also were better than Boston’s against them.

Shows that the best team doesn’t always win night in and night out. Glad we fought adversity, clawed back and at least got a point last night.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

Not if 7 turns out to be the Panthers.

Yeah Florida seems to have our number. The Isles have a top goalie. No easy path so let's win the division regardless.

 

[Camille the Eel]

as much as i think he seems to be a lunatic, evason seems to be a pretty smart coach. minny plays that tight-checking style which is not always easy to execute & get guys to buy into. but they can still score too. i mean they lost 5-2 or whatever to boston over the weekend, but they did get two called back in the early stages of the game for offside

They have some foot speed too as a roster. Unlike some of the clubs who play a heavy game against us, they can keep up and also tried to exploit us by getting behind us or splitting us down the middle. Occasionally they succeeded especially in the first period when Vitek made some good saves in those situations. Hamilton particularly is vulnerable to being counterattacked that way.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

They have some foot speed too as a roster. Unlike some of the clubs who play a heavy game against us, they can keep up and also tried to exploit us by getting behind us or splitting us down the middle. Occasionally they succeeded especially in the first period when Vitek made some good saves in those situations. Hamilton particularly is vulnerable to being counterattacked that way.

Hamilton is going to be an absolute train wreck defensively by the end of his contract. Gonna make Sevo look like Scott Niedermeyer in his prime. With that said Douglas has made a big impact this season playing to his strengths.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Hamilton is going to be an absolute train wreck defensively by the end of his contract. Gonna make Sevo look like Scott Niedermeyer in his prime. With that said Douglas has made a big impact this season playing to his strengths.

I’m not sure. He already basically just glides around now and has respectable defensive metrics. His d impact will always be from just having the puck more than the other team when he’s out there. How much worse can his skating get?

 

[Devils731]

I’m not sure. He already basically just glides around now and has respectable defensive metrics. His d impact will always be from just having the puck more than the other team when he’s out there. How much worse can his skating get?

Ya, Hamilton can skate more than he does but his reading of the game is that he normally should cover his area with his wingspan rather than closing quickly.

This obviously leads to problems at times when aggressive pace and closing is needed but I think it does project that him losing some speed likely won’t affect his defending much.

Losing speed will hurt his transition game more but even that is more predicated more on choosing good moments rather than Hamilton skating hard.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

I’m not sure. He already basically just glides around now and has respectable defensive metrics. His d impact will always be from just having the puck more than the other team when he’s out there. How much worse can his skating get?

Let's hope so. He's also a big guy with a larger stride so their is the illusion of looking slower out there.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Hamilton should have just hacked the shit out of the guy and take a penalty.

They honestly might have called a penalty shot tbh

 

[Camille the Eel]

They honestly might have called a penalty shot tbh

Okay the penalty shot then is just a one shot shootout. In order to get to a shootout.

But honestly nobody thinks that fast. The option to hack him there is an artifact of slow motion replay. Once the forward has the bounce he’s gone.

Lindy said it. A 2 on 1 in OT where you misfire always has the potential to turn into an immediate 2 on 1 or breakaway in the opposite direction. That’s the nature of 3 on 3 play. At least 2 of your guys are caught when possession changes.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

this is cherrypicking a bit, since everything beyond regulation is kinda a coin flip - but i watched the replay of the OMR hughes led around the midpoint of OT, and he definitely could have dished across to severson. it was a forward back defending (hartman), who didnt really have his stick in a probable position to break up a pass. he made a pretty good shot that gustavsson got a shoulder on, but the pass was there for a possible slam dunk.

I agree. Goalies have Jack figured out. On odd man rushes he’ll shoot most times. Passing the puck sometimes is not a bad idea, especially when it’s 3 on 1, and the kid is ice cold when it comes to goals. If he stays this cold I wonder if he makes it to 40. He’s been stuck at 37 for awhile now. Seems like he lost some confidence and gumption. We really need him back to his old self.

 

[Call Me Al]

hamilton should have motioned to the bench and let a fresh guy jump on from the far end to catch him, but that would have required amazingly fast thinking

 

[TF1970]

Hamilton is going to be an absolute train wreck defensively by the end of his contract. Gonna make Sevo look like Scott Niedermeyer in his prime. With that said Douglas has made a big impact this season playing to his strengths.

maybe by then, he can be saddled to topias vilen to compensate as ES w/ less TOI, but still QB PP1 - being with siegenthaler, another guy who isnt exactly fleet footed can get dicey sometimes

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

If we went up 1 to 0 in the 3rd when we had those chances before the Wikd scored than we most likely win this game 1-0 or 2-0. We really took over the 3rd period and most of overtime. It was a weird game , both teams were having a hard time generating offense for stretches of the game but I really opened up big time in the 3rd and OT. I'm glad Meier scored , it was a big goal that helped us secure a point.

The powerplay was pretty bad last night. It gave us a big opportunity to go ahead late in the game but it was a momentum killer. I was actually very concerned that the Wild were gonna go the other way and score a shorty most of the time. The powerplay is going to need improve as we get closer to the playoffs. I'm sure Hughes will wake up but watching the replay on that 3 on 1 in OT is annoying me. He held on to the puck and took a decent shot but Severson was wiiiiiide open and he was on his off wing. Jack really should pf passed that as it would of been a slam dunk for Severson to bury. Net was gaping open and the passing lane was 100% there.

 

[New Jersey]

That was just a very tough result.

I ain’t worried about nothing, haaaaaaaaaaan.

 

[Rhodes 81]

hamilton should have motioned to the bench and let a fresh guy jump on from the far end to catch him, but that would have required amazingly fast thinking

Yeah that would have been supernatural understanding of the game state. He could have been aware enough to just go for a trip as even a penalty shot has better odds for Vanecek than an in-game breakaway, but the point of 3v3 is to end games and sometimes an unlucky bounce that generates a chance is how that happens. That's why you get a point for making it there, I'm not too worried about what better decisions could have been made in a scenario that is unlikely to occur in the playoffs.

 

[Camille the Eel]

I agree. Goalies have Jack figured out. On odd man rushes he’ll shoot most times. Passing the puck sometimes is not a bad idea, especially when it’s 3 on 1, and the kid is ice cold when it comes to goals. If he stays this cold I wonder if he makes it to 40. He’s been stuck at 37 for awhile now. Seems like he lost some confidence and gumption. We really need him back to his old self.

His hands haven’t been as strong since the all star break. He looks like he’s trying to overcompensate by shooting harder and it’s the accuracy that’s suffering. He’s also flubbing pucks during stick handling and I will not be surprised if it was a wrist or hand injury. But we may never know.

Yes he should have passed there. But didn’t he hit the outer post there? Or was that another rush?

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

I was at the game and just screaming for guys to take the body. Minny took every chance to send someone into the boards, it was maddening watching us avoid taking the chance to hammer someone when their opponent was leaning into that side of the game.

......Well said I agree

 

[glenwo2]

That was just a very tough result.

I ain’t worried about nothing, haaaaaaaaaaan.

There's a reference in there that I know I am missing.

The only "Han" I know is Han Solo.

 

[Guttersniped]

Yeah that would have been supernatural understanding of the game state. He could have been aware enough to just go for a trip as even a penalty shot has better odds for Vanecek than an in-game breakaway, but the point of 3v3 is to end games and sometimes an unlucky bounce that generates a chance is how that happens. That's why you get a point for making it there, I'm not too worried about what better decisions could have been made in a scenario that is unlikely to occur in the playoffs.

Vitek could have taken him out.

 

[Bleedred]

Vitek could have taken him out.

I can’t even tell who that is.

Looks like a bird cage mask, so it’s Hasek or Osgood. But I can’t pause it or get a good enough look. The only guy I can make out there is Lidstrom.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Vitek could have taken him out.

I'm trying to figure how the refs would call this in today's game.

Has to be a penalty shot?