GDT: Carolina @ Devils- Game 4 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals 7:00 PM ESPN

[Lateralous]

IMO people are a little too down on Schmid right now and I don’t think his “struggles” are even remotely comparible to Vanacek.   It’s almost like ESPN has run the “he’s been pulled in 3 out of 4” too many times. He’s also a week and a half removed from 2 total goals in 3 games and in 4 out of 5 which is exactly what we need right now.   There were circumstances to that game 6 vs NYR and at the time, everyone seemed to agree he was fine in Game 1 of this series.  Game 2 was rough but that’s kind of the state of the game in 2023.   Every night someone is getting torched.   Look at Oettinger.  

Schmid is an extremely young and raw goalie so there will be hiccups, just like Luke but i don’t see how you don’t ride him at this point.   He’s already shown the ability to drag us back into the series with his play.  

Also, fvck Blackwood.  That dude has already received about 10 more chances than he’s deserved.  I wouldn’t even dress him as the backup because if we have to turn to VV again, we’re probably already cooked.   

Edited May 10, 2023 by Lateralous

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

@Lateralous yeah I think it’s Schmid or bust as far as the goaltending situation goes right now.  VV's just too off his game to expect him to suddenly turn it on.  Schmid’s hardly a lock himself at this point (and the Devils gotta score more than one goal or it won’t matter much who’s in net), but I’ll take my chances with him.

Blackwood can’t be an option under any circumstances.  Exactly, guy’s been given more than enough chances.  He’s a dry well.

[NJDevs4978]

1 hour ago, Lateralous said:

IMO people are a little too down on Schmid right now and I don’t think his “struggles” are even remotely comparible to Vanacek.   It’s almost like ESPN has run the “he’s been pulled in 3 out of 4” too many times. He’s also a week and a half removed from 2 total goals in 3 games and in 4 out of 5 which is exactly what we need right now.   There were circumstances to that game 6 vs NYR and at the time, everyone seemed to agree he was fine in Game 1 of this series.  Game 2 was rough but that’s kind of the state of the game in 2023.   Every night someone is getting torched.   Look at Oettinger.  

Schmid is an extremely young and raw goalie so there will be hiccups, just like Luke but i don’t see how you don’t ride him at this point.   He’s already shown the ability to drag us back into the series with his play.  

Also, fvck Blackwood.  That dude has already received about 10 more chances than he’s deserved.  I wouldn’t even dress him as the backup because if we have to turn to VV again, we’re probably already cooked.   

Who gives a fig about ESPN? I see people only making excuses for Schmid, overlooking the golden boys sucking and pinning it all on Vitek and the lame duck coach.

Look Schmid isn’t stopping a puck either this series but these games aren’t his fault any more than they’re Vitek’s. Not when you score seven goals in your six postseason losses and get walked in all of them. With good goaltending they’d be losing 4-1 instead of 6-1, or 5-1 with an empty netter big whoop. People are acting like we’re losing all these games 4-3

Edited May 10, 2023 by NJDevs4978

[Lateralous]

9 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

I see people only making excuses for Schmid, overlooking the golden boys sucking and pinning it all on Vitek and the lame duck coach.

Look Schmid isn’t stopping a puck either this series but these games aren’t his fault any more than they’re Vitek’s. Not when you score seven goals in your six postseason losses and get walked in all of them. With good goaltending they’d be losing 4-1 instead of 6-1, or 5-1 with an empty netter big whoop.

If you think their play has even been remotely the same, I'm not sure what to say.   I understand the team is not exactly setting these guys up for success this round with the mistakes happening in front of them but one guy has had maybe 3 acceptable periods of play in this entire playoff while the other guy has had 2 shutout wins and two more wins where he surrendered a single goal.  Its not excuses, its about playing the guy who gives us the best chance to extend our season.   This isn't a hard decision.       

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

13 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

I see people only making excuses for Schmid, overlooking the golden boys sucking and pinning it all on Vitek and the lame duck coach.

Look Schmid isn’t stopping a puck either this series but these games aren’t his fault any more than they’re Vitek’s. Not when you score seven goals in your six postseason losses and get walked in all of them. With good goaltending they’d be losing 4-1 instead of 6-1, or 5-1 with an empty netter big whoop.

In fairness I think most fans do realize that there's blame to go around.  VV has had a very tough playoff but I don't look only at him and say "Dammit if not for friggin' VV..."  The 2022-23 playoff Devils have been very feast-or-famine as a TEAM, really.  

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 minute ago, Lateralous said:

If you think their play has even been remotely the same, I'm not sure what to say.   I understand the team is not exactly setting these guys up for success this round with the mistakes happening in front of them but one guy has had maybe 3 acceptable periods of play in this entire playoff while the other guy has had 2 shutout wins and two more wins where he surrendered a single goal.  Its not excuses, its about playing the guy who gives us the best chance to extend our season.   This isn't a hard decision.       

That's where I'm at.  If Schmid were to have a tough Game 5, so be it...but with my choices right now being Schmid, VV, and Blackwood, I take my chances with Schmid.  And I fully get that he's not a sure thing, but based on the balance of the playoffs, he's simply the guy who's earned the shot to keep this thing going.  I've defended VV plenty but right now I can't make a case for him getting another playoff start anytime soon.  

[Devilsfan118]

So many positives from this season, once the dust settles from this series I think this year's team should be commended for vastly exceeding expectations.  So many positives.

....except for Bratt.  He looked awful last night from what I watched (bailed at the end of the 2nd), and generally speaking has not stepped his game up like almost every other one of our star players.  Meier, despite the points not being there, is playing playoff hockey.  I really, really hope we keep him around.

I'm not sure what I'd do with Bratt if I'm Fitz.  You need regular season players to get you into the playoffs, but you can't commit 8m+ to him.  As someone else on here said, he's like a poor man's Marner.. I would not be against shopping him one bit if his demands are ludicrious.

Frankly, if I'm Fitz I focus on getting Meier done to set the benchmark for Bratt.  If Meier gets 7-8.5M x 8, I say to Bratt's agent - "he gets 6-7.5 x 8, take it or leave it".  And if he leaves it - see ya.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

So many positives from this season, once the dust settles from this series I think this year's team should be commended for vastly exceeding expectations.  So many positives.

....except for Bratt.  He looked awful last night from what I watched (bailed at the end of the 2nd), and generally speaking has not stepped his game up like almost every other one of our star players.  Meier, despite the points not being there, is playing playoff hockey.  I really, really hope we keep him around.

I'm not sure what I'd do with Bratt if I'm Fitz.  You need regular season players to get you into the playoffs, but you can't commit 8m+ to him.  As someone else on here said, he's like a poor man's Marner.. I would not be against shopping him one bit if his demands are ludicrious.

Frankly, if I'm Fitz I focus on getting Meier done to set the benchmark for Bratt.  If Meier gets 7-8.5M x 8, I say to Bratt's agent - "he gets 6-7.5 x 8, take it or leave it".  And if he leaves it - see ya.

Yeah I know the production among the stars has been largely meh-ish (definitely inconsistent), but Bratt has been incredibly frustrating to watch...he just seems very disengaged.  He's the one guy whose effort I find myself questioning...and can the guy ever put some zip on his passes?  His passing just feels so nonchalant...these soft wounded ducks that are constantly getting picked off.  

I have no idea what Fitz's plan is but I wouldn't be surprised if it's now Timo OR Bratt instead of Timo AND Bratt...with Timo being Fitz's first choice (Fitz did give up some nice pieces to get him).  Maybe now you see Mercer get extended with some of the money that was earmarked for Bratt.

I won't be surprised if Timo puts up less points than Bratt going forward, but I suspect he'll bring more all-around.  If Bratt played in the 80s-90s, he'd be that classic "West Coast Player". 

 

Re:  the bolded, two points of view that I'm glad we no longer have to read about, because it would have led to a lot of squabbling and would've been a crappy way to wrap up a fun season indeed:

Everyone sucks, team is overrated, Hischier showed why he never should have been a #1OA, c'mon man what are you talking about, hey you're the idiots who paid up to watch those losers, cue the insult parade

AND

Devils would've been better off sucking one more year, because they didn't win the Cup, and since they didn't win the Cup, finishing with a team record 52 wins and 112 points and beating the Rangers in the first round and all of the progress made was pointless.  Having a shot to add Bedard or Fantilli or some other Top-5 pick would've been better.  

[StarDew]

1 hour ago, Devilsfan118 said:

Frankly, if I'm Fitz I focus on getting Meier done to set the benchmark for Bratt.  If Meier gets 7-8.5M x 8, I say to Bratt's agent - "he gets 6-7.5 x 8, take it or leave it".  And if he leaves it - see ya.

Yes to Meier and too much for Bratt and his sketchy performance compounded with his contract/agent BS. 

[Chuck the Duck]

Have to go back to Schmid for game 5.  VV is cooked and is exactly what I was afraid of when we got him from Washington ... a descent regular season goalie the won't make the big stop or put the team on his back for a playoff run.  Schmid is young and talented, so I'm hoping he is the answer in the future.  It's a major question mark and could be something that is an achilles heel for this franchise the next few years.  This team, like all other teams, will only go as far as it's goaltending will take it.  You don't need Brodeur, Roy or Hasek in net to win a cup, but you need better than what we have seen in this series.  We were spoiled with the consistency Marty largely provided during his time here.  He was the cornerstone of those championship teams.  Hopefully Schmid can become that for this version of the squad.

[Satans Hockey]

Might have been posted already but absolutely unreal... 

"first series in nhl playoff history where a starting goalie was pulled in each of the first 4 games"

[Jimmy Leeds]

Start Blackwood

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, Chuck the Duck said:

Have to go back to Schmid for game 5.  VV is cooked and is exactly what I was afraid of when we got him from Washington ... a descent regular season goalie the won't make the big stop or put the team on his back for a playoff run.  Schmid is young and talented, so I'm hoping he is the answer in the future.  It's a major question mark and could be something that is an achilles heel for this franchise the next few years.  This team, like all other teams, will only go as far as it's goaltending will take it.  You don't need Brodeur, Roy or Hasek in net to win a cup, but you need better than what we have seen in this series.  We were spoiled with the consistency Marty largely provided during his time here.  He was the cornerstone of those championship teams.  Hopefully Schmid can become that for this version of the squad.

VV wasn't necessarily brought in to be THE guy going forward...the Devils desperately needed "decent" at the time (see 2021-22), and VV didn't cost much in assets to acquire nor much to re-sign.  He's a stopgap, and a good one, all things considered...he was able to beat out Blackwood and he was fine in the regular season, often putting together .925+ save% bursts.  He was a big reason the Devils even got to the playoffs in the first place.

What he does is buy the Devils time to develop some kids...such as Schmid, who may be able to become the Devils' 1A to VV's 1B as soon as next season...if that happens, that's a solid regular season tandem.  Then we see if Daws or Brennan can follow suit...and depending on how that goes, would it be so hard to move VV before the 2024-25 season, with only one year at a $3.4 million cap hit?  Probably not.  They're not locked into VV long-term...he only has two years left. 

[Nicomo]

8 minutes ago, Jimmy Leeds said:

Start Blackwood

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 minute ago, Nicomo said:

If anyone thinks Lindy would even dream of starting Blackwood for Game 5, they must really be jumping to conclusions 

 

...at least I hope Lindy's not really considering that...

[Jimmy Leeds]

2 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

If anyone thinks Lindy would even dream of starting Blackwood for Game 5, they must really be jumping to conclusions 

 

...at least I hope Lindy's not really considering that...

Well that would be me.  Sorry, I've seen enough of VV and though I do believe Akira is the future, but I'd be good with it

Sorry if that offends anyone senses

[NJDevs4978]

3 hours ago, Lateralous said:

If you think their play has even been remotely the same, I'm not sure what to say.   I understand the team is not exactly setting these guys up for success this round with the mistakes happening in front of them but one guy has had maybe 3 acceptable periods of play in this entire playoff while the other guy has had 2 shutout wins and two more wins where he surrendered a single goal.  Its not excuses, its about playing the guy who gives us the best chance to extend our season.   This isn't a hard decision.       

Again this series and the playoffs are not the same thing. Obviously Schmid needs to start Game 5, but after the way the first two games went Lindy was caught between a rock and a hard place with the goaltending decisions, there was no right answer the last two games. There’s only one answer for Game 5 but that might be the wrong answer too.

Edited May 10, 2023 by NJDevs4978

[devlman]

Start Schmid. Gives us the best chance and if anything else he gains more valuable experience. He’s our goaltender for the future (as of now) so let him learn as much as he can on our way out.

[NJDevs4978]

35 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

If anyone thinks Lindy would even dream of starting Blackwood for Game 5, they must really be jumping to conclusions 

 

...at least I hope Lindy's not really considering that...

There’s no point to it…Schmid’s regular season and Ranger series combined with VV’s regular season leaves no room to even entertain bringing back the third best goalie on the roster. People are sh!tting on VV for four bad starts, Blackwood has had three bad YEARS

And the point of playing our third best goalie who hasn’t played in a month and who isn’t in our long term plans is what exactly? He’s clearly not a better option than Schmid and goaltending really doesn’t matter anyway if the Devils are going to give the same ‘effort’ they gave in three games this series 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by NJDevs4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

36 minutes ago, Jimmy Leeds said:

Well that would be me.  Sorry, I've seen enough of VV and though I do believe Akira is the future, but I'd be good with it

Sorry if that offends anyone senses

Nah the “jumping to conclusions” thing was a joke based directly on the gif that Nicomo posted.  If you know the scene you’ll get the reference.

I wish Blackwood was a viable alternative, but at this point I’d probably give Daws a look over him.  Blackwood’s just been too bad for too long to roll the dice on.

[Satans Hockey]

Saw a graphic that said that tied our largest playoff loss at home ever. I knew it was the worst playoff loss score wise I've been too. 7-2 loss at home vs Washington in game 6 of the conference semi finals in 1988 is the other one.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Satans Hockey

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

1 minute ago, Satans Hockey said:

Saw a graphic that said that tied our largest playoff loss at home ever. I knew it was the worst playoff loss score wise I've been too. 7-2 loss at home vs Washington in the conference semi finals in 1988 is the other one. 

Was the earliest that I ever left a game strictly due to the Devils getting caved in (when my daughter was little and simply unable to stay up, I’d leave early here and there prior).

I was walking to my car, and I overheard a fellow fan talking to his wife or girlfriend on the phone…his significant wanted to know why he was leaving so early.  All he said was “BECAUSE WE’RE NOT SCORING SIX fvckING GOALS IN THE THIRD!”

[Satans Hockey]

5 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Was the earliest that I ever left a game strictly due to the Devils getting caved in (when my daughter was little and simply unable to stay up, I’d leave early here and there prior).

I was walking to my car, and I overheard a fellow fan talking to his wife or girlfriend on the phone…his significant wanted to know why he was leaving so early.  All he said was “BECAUSE WE’RE NOT SCORING SIX fvckING GOALS IN THE THIRD!”

I've never left early, even during the regular season, I just can't do it because of the you really never know factor, especially for the playoffs. Unless it was an absolute emergency or I got sick during the game is the only way I'd ever leave early. 

We only needed 5 to tie! It was possible! Hahaha

Edited May 10, 2023 by Satans Hockey

[NJDevs4978]

12 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Was the earliest that I ever left a game strictly due to the Devils getting caved in (when my daughter was little and simply unable to stay up, I’d leave early here and there prior).

I was walking to my car, and I overheard a fellow fan talking to his wife or girlfriend on the phone…his significant wanted to know why he was leaving so early.  All he said was “BECAUSE WE’RE NOT SCORING SIX fvckING GOALS IN THE THIRD!”

I would have absolutely left any other game in the second intermission that didn’t have the potential ‘last (home) game of the year’ factor

Edited May 10, 2023 by NJDevs4978

[capo]

Outside of Schmid,who literally won round by himself, I would argue that Timo has unequivocally been their best player. He's given exactly what you'd want from him with exception to a lack of puck luck. Can you imagine what his next contract would look like if he peppered the scoreboard?