NJDevs4978 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Devils ran right over the Flyers, but a lot of their guys were really hurting. No one is making it as an excuse but it certainly did help. Bryzgalov sucked big time as well. Giroux - surgery on both wrists Simmonds - surgery repairing broken left index finger Carle - Surgery repairing torn stomach muscle Timonen - Surgey removing disc fragment from lower back van Riemsdyk - Surgery repairing torn labrum in right hip Kovy, Volch, Elias, etc weren't hurting? And for all we know we finish first in the division and conference instead of fourth if we have Zajac for even half the season. Did we get fortunate we didn't have to face Pittsburgh and Boston, or Philly in the first round? Sure but that's really demeaning what the Devils did. No playoff run where you have to beat your two biggest rivals should be dismissed as a fluke. Yes, both of these. It's not often you miss on playing the 2 best teams in the Conference, but the Devils managed to do it. I mean, in 2003, the Devils didn't have to play the Flyers, and they got a weak Stanley Cup Finals matchup. A lot of times, it's about the teams you don't play. 2003 they earned their breaks in the first two rounds by beating the Flyers out for the division and the #2 seed. And they still had to beat the best team in the league that year in the ECF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie McKraut Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 The New Jersey Devils are the best damn hockey team in the NHL's eastern conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxpower Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Ottawa in 2003 was a very good team. But otherwise the Devils had good match-ups BECAUSE they were a very good team themselves. To quote Chris Russo: "You gotta give 'em credit Mikey". Ottawa in 2003 was a championship level team. BUT, that draw was also very heavy to one side. The "tested" teams all ended up on one side of the bracket, other than the Devils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxpower Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Devils ran right over the Flyers, but a lot of their guys were really hurting. No one is making it as an excuse but it certainly did help. Bryzgalov sucked big time as well. Giroux - surgery on both wrists Simmonds - surgery repairing broken left index finger Carle - Surgery repairing torn stomach muscle Timonen - Surgey removing disc fragment from lower back van Riemsdyk - Surgery repairing torn labrum in right hip I think other than his brain damage moment in Game 5, Bryz played well in that series, it should have been worse. Probably outplayed Brodeur in net. But obviously there were other factors in Brodeur's game that were big in that series. Also everyone has injury problems. And these things didn't hamper the Flyers in game 1. Really what happened was the Flyers were weak and when they got pushed back at, they didn't want it, no matter what the goalie could do about it. It really was the flip side of the 2010 series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roomtemp Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 I think other than his brain damage moment in Game 5, Bryz played well in that series, it should have been worse. Probably outplayed Brodeur in net. But obviously there were other factors in Brodeur's game that were big in that series. Also everyone has injury problems. And these things didn't hamper the Flyers in game 1. Really what happened was the Flyers were weak and when they got pushed back at, they didn't want it, no matter what the goalie could do about it. It really was the flip side of the 2010 series. Hell the worse game Bryz had was game 1 and they won that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oconnellrules Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 MARTY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capo Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) We didn't have to beat the 6, 4, and 1 seeds. The Devils were the 6 seed, they had to beat the 3 seed, 5 seed, and 1 seed. Thing is, both the Panthers and the Rangers overachieved a lot to achieve those seeds. I did think the Flyers would be better than NJ - the Devils stuck it to their defense, and Brodeur was excellent during that series. As for Boston, Tim Thomas was mostly the difference there - no one thought they were going to keep scoring 4 goals a game, but Thomas faltered in the 2nd half. Still, it wasn't like they lost in 5 - they made it to Game 7 OT in the first round. That was one of the top teams in the East and NJ didn't have to face them. If the Rangers were the best the East had to offer, it was a weak conference. The Rangers were an average team with a goalie playing exceptionally well. I agree about the Boston aspect of this. I think the Bruins have strongest team in the conference and the most depth. The fact that they had a long season last year contributed to what they ended up being this year. If you think back to the asskicking they gave the Devils earlier in the season when they were running on all cylinders you see just how good of team they are. I disagree with the Florida aspect. I think they are a lot better than people give them credit for. Gudbranson is already very good and is going to be an awesome shutdown defenseman as he matures. Their top line was very good and Kevin Dineen is a great coach. I'm not crazy about their goaltending tandem we saw in the playoffs but I like Markstrom a lot moving forward. I don't think we've seen the last of the Panthers. Edited July 21, 2012 by capo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDPucks Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Florida was the weakest regular season team in the playoffs but they were a match-up nightmare for the Devils especially with the quickness of their top 2 lines and power play. The difference in the series was Marty in Game 7 and the 3rd and 4th lines. Philadelphia blew their wad emotionally against Pittsburgh where the Flyers totally mind-fvcked the Penguins with their cheap crap. That's on top of Fleury and the Pen's D out-sieving Bryz and the Flyer's D. The Devils simply didn't go for the Flyers BS and that frustrated the Flyers. The Rangers were a very solid team with a great goaltender but I would argue that their shot blocking, defensive, low margin for error style of play led to their demise (similar to the late 90's Devils). Devils took advantage of the Rags horrible starts and even in Games 5 & 6 where the Rags dominated play after the 1st they left themselves with no margin for error -> 1 mistake = Carter & Henrique GWG's. Boston and Pittsburgh would have been the match-up nightmares for the Devils (Boston due to physicallity and Chara, Pittsburgh due to quickness) but the Bruins demise was their lack of scoring with Horton out plus the cup hangover returned. Pittsburgh got mind-fvcked by Philly's goonery, a couple bad calls, and Fleury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin226 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 All I'm gonna say is I don't care why we made the finals.. Very few teams make it ever 9 years let alone 5 in 17 years.. Just loved soaking it in and I know as long as Lou is driving the ship, we will kick ass and take names Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masked Fan Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 The New Jersey Devils are the best damn hockey team in the NHL's eastern conference. THIS .... IS TEAM!! Up and down the lines, contributions from everyone. Bryce going into Beast Mode, the 4th line going goal crazy, the REAL Rookie of the Year kicking ass, Marty not burning out. I love this TEAM! Play it again boys! With 2 MORE Wins please!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revan Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 You were talking all about how much better the Flyers were going to be than New Jersey, and they just came fresh off an ass-whooping of Pissburgh. Boston played absolutely terribly towards the end of the season (and the Washington series included). I think that the Rangers, with a hot Lundqvist and scoring from their kids, were the best team in the Eastern Conference if it wasn't us. Saying "favorable matchups" even though we had to beat the 6, 4, and 1 seeds is pretty absurd. I agree, too. It's always easy speaking theoretically - I bet if we didn't have to play the Flyers in the 2nd round and got to the SCF, people would be saying "it's because you didn't face Philly, they would absolutely destroy you" (just like I thought the Flyers would destroy us before the series). And the Pens were goddamn awful with their defense and goaltending against Philly, I can't believe they are considered a tougher match up for us than what we got in the end. The Bruins - they might've been tough (there are always teams that underachieve and run out of luck in the 1st round). But, again, saying we could've gotten more difficult matchups is nitpicking. On the other hand, I'd say that... the Panthers were actually the worst matchup for us. Sometimes you are a strong team and there's just this one club that has your number and gives you trouble even though it's considered inferior. I bet a lot of teams have that someone. The Devils faced that team and didn't let it bring them down. You never know what can happen. We played who we played, beat the other best Eastern Conference playoff team in the ECF and made the Finals deservedly. We had a great playoff run because everything clicked at the right time, after all those years of running out of gas come April. Bryzgalov sucked big time as well. He was shaky at times but then there were times when he was like the only Flyer on the ice (remember the 2nd period of Game 2?). All in all, I'd say he had an average series, the team in front of him just played an awful series and he's no Roy to carry everyone on his back. The mistake in Game 5 that obviously cost them the series in the end makes him look worse than he actually did in that round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Bryzlagov played great, and he almost stole game 2 which could of changed everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) Bryzgalov played great for 2 out of the 5 games. He GAVE us game 5. Literally did everything except shoot the puck into his own net. I don't think so. Look at the 3 goals, the Clarkson goal was the biggest fluke ever, goalies get away with that 99 out of 100 times, Ilya just has terrible luck. The Salvador goal was a perfect deflection off of Simmonds stick going in under the bar. Then the Kovy blast through a screen off the inside of the pipe was unstoppable. Even game 4 he had no shot. The Sykora and Zidliky deflections are amazing plays and Zubrus was left all by himself on the third goal. I thought his only bad game was game 1. Bottom line he played great with having a god awful defense. Edited July 23, 2012 by Zubie#8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masked Fan Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Bryzgalov played great for 2 out of the 5 games. He GAVE us game 5. Literally did everything except shoot the puck into his own net. Oh? Now deflections don't count? ... I thought his only bad game was game 1. Haha! Yet they won that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Oh? Now deflections don't count? Haha! Yet they won that game. Cause we scored first in that game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirbutlust Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 i think since we are Devil fans, we dont appreciate how good they have been the last season and a half. Every loss pisses us off and makes us think its over. I think back to teh playoffs and i remember being bummed out many times and doubting they could come back but they did.Thats whats differnet about this years team, they came back. LIke Marty after a bad game, the whole team came back. Not like other years, like the playoffs agianst philly where they seemed to give up, they came back. they didnt let history tell them it wasnt possible to not beat the rangers, flyers and get out of the first round. Thats what made me proud this season even if they did loose in teh end (then i blame refs for allowing LA to shove Devils anytime they entered teh zone and many the bad call, even so i'll give LA credit). another big factor in my eyes is Pittsburgh got knocked out in the first round. I really dont see the Devils beating them but in fairness, i thougth they were done in Philly like i imagine so many others did. I like being wrong. Frankly i think the Devils are going to suck next year and players are getting older and wont put up numbers like last eyar , lots of injuries due to fatique from last year and age, Marty will loose it, and the 4th line will have blown its load but prove me wrong....please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 To me its more how the rangers made it to the conference finals... Everything went their way for the whole season i just cant believe they could do it again, they relied on their goalie, hard work and luck the whole time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roomtemp Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 (edited) To me its more how the rangers made it to the conference finals... Everything went their way for the whole season i just cant believe they could do it again, they relied on their goalie, hard work and luck the whole time. I saw that play out with the Devils since the lockout. You play 110 percent every game in the regular season and rely on the goalie to beat your opponents and there is no where to go in the playoffs. Yet the Rags made it barely past their first two opponents Edited July 24, 2012 by roomtemp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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