51 replies to this topic

[Triumph]

Really. Why are they so much crappier than they were last year? You know when they made the playoffs and almost participated in the ritual elimination of the Sharks? Yes, I know they got dominated and it was somewhat fluky, but it's the west and they were in the playoffs. and the other day they outplayed the Wings, they just didn't get the goaltending from Budaj to win the game in regulation.

please stop using one game to make a point, this isn't the NFL or NBA. they were not good last year and got bailed out by great shooting and great goaltending. it's reasonable to expect both of these things to regress this year, leaving them as one of the worst teams in the league. if it doesn't, well, either people like mueller and duchene are better than i thought, or anderson really is one of the top 5 goalies in the league.

Edited by Triumph, 14 October 2010 - 02:01 PM.

[maxpower]

they got 95 points in the West last season. the Rangers, if they made the playoffs, were not good last year. you're underselling them. they've played 3 games and beat Chicago and Detriot.

[AaronInPK]

How much does the chorus of boos on Monday after the Pittsburgh loss weigh into MacLean's decision to go with Marty Friday night? Obviously Marty gives us a better chance to win on any given night. There is something to building momentum amongst the fan base. Especially in your own building. Even more so with 2 losses in 2 tries at home so far.

[hystyk28]

We signed Hedberg, a Jay Grossman client(among all the other newbies), for slightly over fair market value. Kovalchuk had mentioned that he thought Hedberg was a great goalie last year. Signing Hedberg provided the Devs with a solid backup and potentially a decent starter if needed.(give him a chance; he's good) It gave Ilya someone on the team that he knew and appears to regard highly. It also shows that management listens to the players, especially the star ones. No matter what your profession, it is nice to be heard.

As far as MB goes, I'll never understand the tired part. He has a poor work ethic off the ice. At his age and stage of career, maybe not right, but understandable. In his mind though, he is what he is; done what he's done and you'll get what you get in the playoffs. The games he "looks" tired is him just not being "good enough" plain and simple. His feet have been slow for awhile now and both his arms are right behind them. You simply have a goaltender at the end of his HOF career. It is what it is. Hopefully the team in front of him plays great team hockey this season in front of him, because we all know it won't be in front of the Moose. A big mistake in my opinion.

[Triumph]

they got 95 points in the West last season. the Rangers, if they made the playoffs, were not good last year. you're underselling them. they've played 3 games and beat Chicago and Detriot.

they shot 10.4% as a team and they got crushed territorially with the score tied. the rangers, on the other hand, got unlucky in shootouts (not just the last one) - the rangers were probably a better team.

[CarpathianForest]

How can you say Colorado is not a very good team this year? They've almost got their whole lineup from last year. Plus they still have something to prove by not showing the league that last season was some flash in the pan. New York is not better than Colorado. The Rags are full of has beens, never wases, Marion Gaborik and a gigantic monster made from spare parts with shark eyes.

[devlman]

Because Colorado IS pretty good. I dont give a crap what their collective shooting percentage was last year. Try taking a look at the stat that matters most - their point total.

and Marty is coming off a shutout.

That was easy!

Edited by devlman, 14 October 2010 - 02:32 PM.

[CarpathianForest]

I'm concerned the team is going to be suffering from a win hangover. We've seen it in the past where the Devils paly their asses off for a big win then take a sh%t the next game.

[HellOnICE]

I think Tri is underrating Colorado - but at the same time - I don't get why Marty is playing Friday. Makes zero sense. I don't get it.

...but this is the Devils.

[maxpower]

they shot 10.4% as a team and they got crushed territorially with the score tied. the rangers, on the other hand, got unlucky in shootouts (not just the last one) - the rangers were probably a better team.

no way in hell. what would be the adjusted point total if the Rangers played in the West? they'd probably be in the 70's. there were three teams that had no business being in the Eastern playoffs (counting the Rangers, and the Bruins tried as hard as they could to join them in the end).... of course, two of them ended up playing in the Conference Final.

a bad (not awful) Western team is better than a mediocre Eastern team.

Edited by maxpower, 14 October 2010 - 02:41 PM.

[Triumph]

no way in hell. what would be the adjusted point total if the Rangers played in the West? they'd probably be in the 70's. there were three teams that had no business being in the Eastern playoffs (counting the Rangers, and the Bruins tried as hard as they could to join them in the end).... of course, two of them ended up playing in the Conference Final.

a bad (not awful) Western team is better than a mediocre Eastern team.

we are talking about two different things. you are talking about adjusting the rangers' points because they played an eastern conference schedule, which is easier. i am talking about playing out the season 10,000 times and seeing how often the avs make the playoffs; i don't think it's that often, and i don't think it's more often than the rangers make the playoffs if they play the same schedule as the avs.

look the avs could surprise me, i don't know that much about their young players, and sometimes young players become really good overnight. i still don't think they are very good, and i didn't think so last year either.

Edited by Triumph, 14 October 2010 - 03:25 PM.

[SatansDevils]

The reason I believe the Devils are starting Brodeur probably both games (even though there is a hint that Hedberg may play on saturday vs. Boston)is because the Devils need and want to get on a winning streak here and win some games. The Devils and Brodeur had 5 months off so Brodeur is well rested to play at least the first 10 games of the season. If i was to start Hedberg for a game though it would be Friday vs. Colorado and not an EC team rival in Boston. Would not suprise me to see Brodeur play back to back games on home ice this weekend.

['7']

Nobody has ever crossed Brodeur and layed down the law regarding games played...nobody ever will.

Not sure how much it matters anymore. In 09 he was well rested and outplayed by Cam Ward, in 06 he played a ton and was outplayed by...Cam Ward. Last year he played a ton and was outplayed by Brian Boucher. Granted as players get older, reflexes dull, stamina decreases...so you'd like to limit him to around 65 games or so at 38, but Broduer could play 40 games this year and it wouldn't shock me if he was outplayed by some scrub again in the 1st round. There is no real pattern with him...it's not like with a pitcher who has a proven track record of starting to break down after a certain amount of innings.

Edited by '7', 14 October 2010 - 06:35 PM.

[Triumph]

i love the idea that even though the devils got annihilated shots-wise in 06 that cam ward outplayed brodeur - likewise in 09, they lost by 1 goal in game 7 (after brodeur single-handedly kept them in the series in game 5 and tried to do so again in game 6), cam ward 'outplayed' brodeur there too.

Edited by Triumph, 14 October 2010 - 07:27 PM.

[jkrdevil]

is there ANY question why hedberg was signed as the backup goalie?

i thought many of you were smarter than that. for those that aren't, well lets just say that if hedberg's # was 71 in honor of someone else, i'd totally understand.

In retrospect we would have signed Kovalchuk, Hedberg or no Hedberg. The Devils pretty much gave Kovalchuk what he wanted in a new deal and outbid the next team by about 20 million. The team knew their offer going in, they should have known that they weren't going to need the extras.

[manbearpig]

How does a goaltender "look tired" in the first two games of an eighty-two game regular season, like a lot of you guys are saying?

It's not like Marty played a crap load of periods, let alone full games in the preseason...

[AlienDev]

I thought Brodeur looked real sharp up in Buffalo, and seemed to have his mojo back afer a so-so first couple of games. I would like to keep that rolling for a couple more games and build some momentum. Don't forget that the communication between goalie and D-man is also important to sort out, so keeping Brodeur in for a while IMHO is just sensible.

[NJDevs4978]

We signed Hedberg, a Jay Grossman client(among all the other newbies), for slightly over fair market value. Kovalchuk had mentioned that he thought Hedberg was a great goalie last year. Signing Hedberg provided the Devs with a solid backup and potentially a decent starter if needed.(give him a chance; he's good) It gave Ilya someone on the team that he knew and appears to regard highly. It also shows that management listens to the players, especially the star ones. No matter what your profession, it is nice to be heard.

As far as MB goes, I'll never understand the tired part. He has a poor work ethic off the ice. At his age and stage of career, maybe not right, but understandable. In his mind though, he is what he is; done what he's done and you'll get what you get in the playoffs. The games he "looks" tired is him just not being "good enough" plain and simple. His feet have been slow for awhile now and both his arms are right behind them. You simply have a goaltender at the end of his HOF career. It is what it is. Hopefully the team in front of him plays great team hockey this season in front of him, because we all know it won't be in front of the Moose. A big mistake in my opinion.

I agree we didn't sign Hedberg as a totally package deal although it looks that way, given we've made Grossman a very rich man this offseason. What seems obvious now is Hedberg's here far more to be an expensive insurance policy for an aging Brodeur than to actually give him rest. And as usual I think it's a mistake.

devilsrule's research post from last year should be required reading for anyone who thinks Marty playing 65+ isn't a big deal, let alone the 75+ he usually clocks in at. And since he made that post, the final four goalies last year were...Leighton, Niemi, Halak and Nabokov. Only one of whom was in the 65+ range and he got smoked in four games and is now out of the league.

Yes Marty's played 70+ in two of the years he won Cups but that was several years ago when he was younger, in a different style NHL with a much better defensive core. Our continual overplaying is a reason Marty always peters out in March and April.

Edited by NJDevs4978, 14 October 2010 - 07:46 PM.

[Devilsfan118]

Honestly, I'm quite alright with Marty playing this one. He started off playing pretty poorly, and has looked a lot better in the last two games. No sense potentially throwing him off his game now.


Granted, I see your point though. There'll always be an excuse to play marty. Let's just cross our fingers I guess

Edited by Devilsfan118, 15 October 2010 - 09:37 AM.

[maxpower]

I do think if they win this one, they've done what they had to do (get 2 out of these 3), and Hedberg should go on Saturday. but with 4 days off between games, who are we kidding.