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GDT: Devils vs Failures 7PM MSG+


RunninWithTheDevil

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8 hours ago, hit the post said:

 Don't look up.....The sky she's falling.

 

C'mon...when we're all making our preseason predictions, we often say "If the Devils get every last break, well then maybe..." when discussing possible best-case scenarios.  Well, with the exception of Cammalleri getting hurt yet again and missing his obligatory 15 games or so, the Devils just about have gotten every last break, in all facets...heavily driven by Vezina-level goaltending of course.

To start the season, they had Henrique and Palmieri putting up fat shooting%s (Henrique's is still up there)...once those guys started to cool off and Cammalleri inevitably got injured, guys like Boucher and out-of-nowhere Blandisi picked up some of the slack.  A guy like Schlemko also comes out of nowhere to put up career-highs in GP, goals, and points.  Stempniak is having one of the best offensive seasons of his career.  The list goes on and on.   

It would be a lot different if so many numbers didn't point to the Devils having overachieved wildly to get to this point...but they do.  I've already brought up how badly they've been outshot on the season.  The most damning one as of late is that the Devils needed .950ish save% goaltending in their last 25 games (heading into last night) just to go 13-9-3 (not bad, but far from great, especially considering that they only allowed 47 goals in that stretch, with phantom shootout goals eliminated).  When your goalies are stopping shots at that rate, unless you're getting shut out every single night, you're going to win a decent number of games (and cover up a lot of flaws).  The fact is that a lot of other teams would've found a way to come away with considerably more points than the Devils did over that stretch.  The Devils just enjoyed a stretch where their goalies (mostly Schneider of course) carried them to the absolute best of their ability, and it only resulted in the equivalent of a 95-point pace...the team is currently on a 92-point pace after last night's loss.   

What makes this team so oddly compelling and easy to root for of course is the way they continually defy the odds and general logic...I'm sure many of their opponents who've lost at the Devils' expense leave the ice thinking "How in fvck did we lose to THEM?!"  In a lot of other seasons this team is the lottery team we all thought it would be...but these Devils has seen so many things go their way, and very much to their credit, they give it their all in most of their games (which makes it even easier to get behind them...hardworking will always have appeal) and when they manage to keep it close, they have a way of stealing a point or two.  I'd love to see them continue to do it for another 24 games, but barring even more unforeseen craziness (like Cam coming back on Friday and scoring 13-15 goals the rest of the way, or Schneider putting together yet another .950 save% kind of run to close out the season), it's just very difficult to think that a game like last night's isn't a sign of things to come.  I don't think it will be a total collapse because these guys do fight and claw, but I think if this team finishes the season with 90 points, they did a hell of a job...especially with the schedule about to turn bitchy. 

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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Maybe I am being too sensitive, but while Blandisi has so far been a good player for us, his attitude and the way he carries along is irritating me.  That dive was just the icing on the cake.  He just comes across as cocky and ego-driven.  I guess I am not used to this since under Lou's regime that sh!t didn't fly.  He needs to grow up a little and fall in line fast.  Gets benched for ho-hum effort the previous game and then this.

Not the first time the team has been in trouble for embellishment this year either.  I can't remember any year under Lou that this was a repeat thing.

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He's only 21 and has risen up very quickly through the hockey ranks...his maturity level is probably lagging behind.  I don't think it's fair to kill him too much on this stuff.  I get the feeling the last two games have been valuable learning experiences for him.

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1 minute ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

He's only 21 and has risen up very quickly through the hockey ranks...his maturity level is probably lagging behind.  I don't think it's fair to kill him too much on this stuff.  I get the feeling the last two games have been valuable learning experiences for him.

 

I am not going to call for him to be thrown off the team, but I just hope this isn't the start of going down a bad path with him.

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Just now, DevsMan84 said:

 

I am not going to call for him to be thrown off the team, but I just hope this isn't the start of going down a bad path with him.

This guy has gone from the OHL to the AHL to the NHL in less than a year.  Cut him some slack.  Like I said, he's seen that lack of effort/carelessness and bad acting has consequences.  Gotta give kids the chance to learn from their mistakes...and allow them to make some.   

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1 minute ago, DJ Eco said:

Just curious what other incidents you guys are talking about in reference to Blandisi's "bad attitude"?

I don't think he has a bad attitude myself.  He got benched in the Kings game (supposedly Hynes did that because he thought Blandisi was being too careless with the puck) and had the diving incident last night.  A young guy making a couple of rookie-type mistakes.  I'm not worried about him. 

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18 minutes ago, Zubie#8 said:

Wth? He dives so hes cocky and arrogant? To his credit he manned up and owned up to it last night and said the game shouldn't be treated like that.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe it is just me, just the way he talks in his interviews and such.  I will admit that I may be looking into it or thinking about it too hard, but he just irritates me.

As for the manning up, it was either that or he could go radio silent or continue to push that it wasn't a dive after a couple more camera angles came out showing it was a completely blatant dive.  I don't think he had much of a choice.

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47 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Maybe it is just me, just the way he talks in his interviews and such.  I will admit that I may be looking into it or thinking about it too hard, but he just irritates me.

As for the manning up, it was either that or he could go radio silent or continue to push that it wasn't a dive after a couple more camera angles came out showing it was a completely blatant dive.  I don't think he had much of a choice.

Deb does ask some pretty stupid questions which doesn't help anyone. 

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17 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

C'mon...when we're all making our preseason predictions, we often say "If the Devils get every last break, well then maybe..." when discussing possible best-case scenarios.  Well, with the exception of Cammalleri getting hurt yet again and missing his obligatory 15 games or so, the Devils just about have gotten every last break, in all facets...heavily driven by Vezina-level goaltending of course.

To start the season, they had Henrique and Palmieri putting up fat shooting%s (Henrique's is still up there)...once those guys started to cool off and Cammalleri inevitably got injured, guys like Boucher and out-of-nowhere Blandisi picked up some of the slack.  A guy like Schlemko also comes out of nowhere to put up career-highs in GP, goals, and points.  Stempniak is having one of the best offensive seasons of his career.  The list goes on and on.   

It would be a lot different if so many numbers didn't point to the Devils having overachieved wildly to get to this point...but they do.  I've already brought up how badly they've been outshot on the season.  The most damning one as of late is that the Devils needed .950ish save% goaltending in their last 25 games (heading into last night) just to go 13-9-3 (not bad, but far from great, especially considering that they only allowed 47 goals in that stretch, with phantom shootout goals eliminated).  When your goalies are stopping shots at that rate, unless you're getting shut out every single night, you're going to win a decent number of games (and cover up a lot of flaws).  The fact is that a lot of other teams would've found a way to come away with considerably more points than the Devils did over that stretch.  The Devils just enjoyed a stretch where their goalies (mostly Schneider of course) carried them to the absolute best of their ability, and it only resulted in the equivalent of a 95-point pace...the team is currently on a 92-point pace after last night's loss.   

What makes this team so oddly compelling and easy to root for of course is the way they continually defy the odds and general logic...I'm sure many of their opponents who've lost at the Devils' expense leave the ice thinking "How in fvck did we lose to THEM?!"  In a lot of other seasons this team is the lottery team we all thought it would be...but these Devils has seen so many things go their way, and very much to their credit, they give it their all in most of their games (which makes it even easier to get behind them...hardworking will always have appeal) and when they manage to keep it close, they have a way of stealing a point or two.  I'd love to see them continue to do it for another 24 games, but barring even more unforeseen craziness (like Cam coming back on Friday and scoring 13-15 goals the rest of the way, or Schneider putting together yet another .950 save% kind of run to close out the season), it's just very difficult to think that a game like last night's isn't a sign of things to come.  I don't think it will be a total collapse because these guys do fight and claw, but I think if this team finishes the season with 90 points, they did a hell of a job...especially with the schedule about to turn bitchy. 

I couldn't have stated this any better.

And for what it's worth, I'm not at all worried about Blandisi. I think this kid has loads of potential and he's added some much needed excitement this year. Last night's "incident" and Blandisi's potential "attitude" problems are laughably insignificant at this point. 

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21 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I don't think he has a bad attitude myself.  He got benched in the Kings game (supposedly Hynes did that because he thought Blandisi was being too careless with the puck) and had the diving incident last night.  A young guy making a couple of rookie-type mistakes.  I'm not worried about him. 

Agreed 100%.

 

20 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

As for the manning up, it was either that or he could go radio silent or continue to push that it wasn't a dive after a couple more camera angles came out showing it was a completely blatant dive.  I don't think he had much of a choice.

It's not as clear cut as that. Apologizing publicly is essentially admitting wrongdoing to NHL Ops Department, putting yourself on their map and proactively opening yourself up to a "warning" and possible future fine; which tells me, there's no way in hell that he'll do this again. Most players stay silent and just pray they don't get a call from NHL Ops.

Edited by DJ Eco
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1 hour ago, DJ Eco said:

Agreed 100%.

 

It's not as clear cut as that. Apologizing publicly is essentially admitting wrongdoing to NHL Ops Department, putting yourself on their map and proactively opening yourself up to a "warning" and possible future fine; which tells me, there's no way in hell that he'll do this again. Most players stay silent and just pray they don't get a call from NHL Ops.

For a dive as obvious as that it would take a miracle for him not to at least get a warning from NHL Ops.

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