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

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

26 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

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

 

20 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

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

If it had been 4-1 at the end of the second, I would've stayed well into the third.  If they were still down by that many with a couple of minutes left, I'd probably just call it a night...I have a trek to Clinton, and I wouldn't have wanted to deal with the extra 20-30 mins of traffic to stay until the very last minute, even for the last game of the year.  I have so many great memories built up this season that I can live with not being there until the final horn for this one.

55 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

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 

 

Re:  the above, given how badly Schmid and VV have fared in this series in particular, I get @Jimmy Leeds being flustered by what he's seen in this series...who isn't?

But my issue with Blackwood is twofold:

1) Lindy and/or Fitz have given this guy an AWFUL lot of "Go get 'em kid!" votes of confidence this year...and never seem to get rewarded for them.  The friggin' last game of the regular season (which DID of course have potential playoff implications and was played against a dead-team-walking Caps squad) was given to Blackwood, both to see if he could put together a decent performance, AND to get VV and Schmid (who was the backup) a well-deserved night off.  Well of course Blackwood sucks the place up so badly that Schmid has to come in early in the second period (imagine if he'd gotten hurt), and the Devils in the end do manage to win...but how many chances should Blackwood get?!  From Opening Night when he was given the inside track on nailing down the 1A to failed opportunity after failed opportunity...I just can't with him anymore.

2) I can't tie my season's fading hopes to Mac.  Look, Schmid could absolutely not get it done in Game 5.  But with him I at least feel like there's a chance that he MIGHT.  With Mac, you have a good idea what will happen...a morale-killing softie allowed sometime in the first five minutes, then a big potential save opportunity that he'll find a way not to make...does anyone believe that he's not giving up at least two goals in the first frame, in deflating fashion?

Like you said, Schmid's overall playoff performance (and VV's big-time playoff struggles) really means that he should get first dibs for Game 5.  I just can't give MB29 one last chance to fail in such an important game.  If the Devils lose with Schmid, so be it.  I won't second-guess that move.

[RunninWithTheDevil]

No matter what happens, this team gave us one of the most memorable seasons of our lives and we finally got to see more playoff wins this year than we have in the last almost 2 decades. Not to mention: this isn't even their final form.  I can't wait for all the kids to join up with this squad and really see what the team is capable of next year. The East should be terrified of us. Hopefully for seasons to come. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

31 minutes ago, RunninWithTheDevil said:

No matter what happens, this team gave us one of the most memorable seasons of our lives and we finally got to see more playoff wins this year than we have in the last almost 2 decades. Not to mention: this isn't even their final form.  I can't wait for all the kids to join up with this squad and really see what the team is capable of next year. The East should be terrified of us. Hopefully for seasons to come. 

I think 2024-25 is likely the real target "Let's try to win a Cup now!" season...I won't be surprised if that's when Fitz makes his first rental deal(s).  Obviously if the Devils ever happened to win it all next year, friggin' great, but there will be growing pains to deal with for both Luke and Nemec I'm sure.  I like that Luke's getting a few games here, in these playoffs.  

[Puckbuster]

Yeah, there is some blame on the coach or the goalies for this series, but overall, I don’t believe those are the issues.  IMO, it’s the players and mostly on the stars.  They have been whiny, undisciplined, and I have to agree with Ruff, going rogue.  I think this team has issues dealing with adversity on the ice.  Every loss since the beginning of the playoffs have been routs.  It was evident during the season at stretches (December) and some games when they were winning and give up a late period goal.  I think their is a lack of maturity.

Regarding, the late period goals, again it’s the players.  They take their foot off the gas and try to just get through the last couple minutes doing the bare minimum.

Yeah, maybe the coach should bench more players, but he can’t bench the entire team.

Edited May 10 by Puckbuster

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

12 minutes ago, Puckbuster said:

Yeah, there is some blame on the coach or the goalies for this series, but overall, I don’t believe those are the issues.  IMO, it’s the players and mostly on the stars.  They have been whiny, undisciplined, and I have to agree with Ruff, going rogue.  I think this team has issues dealing with adversity on the ice.  Every loss since the beginning of the playoffs have been routs.  It was evident during the season at stretches (December) and some games when they were winning and give up a late period goal.  I think their is a lack of maturity.

Regarding, the late period goals, again it’s the players.  They take their foot off the gas and try to just get through the last couple minutes doing the bare minimum.

Yeah, maybe the coach should bench more players, but he can’t bench the entire team.

The team that led the NHL in comebacks and that we were all often praising as never quitting or giving up now has issues with adversity?  Not sure I'm buying that.

They had one rough month (December) but were pretty much light's out for much of the rest of the season.  Not many real slumps at all.  

Maybe they're learning how to deal with PLAYOFF adversity, which I can understand given their youth and the fact that they've faced two teams in a row that have playoff experience, where several Devils players have had little.  But I'm not going to look for reasons to discount what they did in the regular season.  When you win 52 games and rack up 112 points, even if you're not a finished product, you're doing a lot of things right.  

[MadDog2020]

https://thehockeynews.com/news/new-jersey-devils-must-upgrade-their-defense-this-off-season?fbclid=IwAR0dQyZQx9hNGzy88iPBYMdq-whUEVOO4ZRU2vfwYeW0cu_ehr0GfIWRr90

[Bonginator11]

 

What a rollercoaster of a playoff for our young squad 

[Lateralous]

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

https://thehockeynews.com/news/new-jersey-devils-must-upgrade-their-defense-this-off-season?fbclid=IwAR0dQyZQx9hNGzy88iPBYMdq-whUEVOO4ZRU2vfwYeW0cu_ehr0GfIWRr90

If the point is that the Canes have had much better defensive play, I agree but don’t claim Severson was playing top 4, not mention Nemec as part of the solution, and suggest signing Matt Dumba as a UFA is the cure to our woes.   

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

31 minutes ago, Lateralous said:

If the point is that the Canes have had much better defensive play, I agree but don’t claim Severson was playing top 4, not mention Nemec as part of the solution, and suggest signing Matt Dumba as a UFA is the cure to our woes.   

That article was a joke.

Luke and Nemec figure to get a full season or close to it next year.  Bahl could be an in-house solution as well.  There’s no reason to spend considerable coin on outside help on D.

Edited May 10 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[MadDog2020]

51 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

That article was a joke.

Luke and Nemec figure to get a full season or close to it next year.  Bahl could be an in-house solution as well.  There’s no reason to spend considerable coin on outside help on D.

Yeah. Dumba? Orlov? Not terrible options, but, like Severson and Graves, they will be overpaid. 

[capo]

2 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

https://thehockeynews.com/news/new-jersey-devils-must-upgrade-their-defense-this-off-season?fbclid=IwAR0dQyZQx9hNGzy88iPBYMdq-whUEVOO4ZRU2vfwYeW0cu_ehr0GfIWRr90

No Timo? This article lost all sense of legitimacy there. Honestly? Dougie Hamilton is a stud defender? I mean he's great offensively but he's otherwise a big teddy bear.  I know Dumba throws big hits and Devils could definitely use some of that but I'm not sure what else he has to offer.  The off-season is going to be interesting. The Devils have a lot to work with to make moves. They're heading in the right direction. Fitz has pushed the right buttons so far. Let's hope he keeps it up.

[capo]

6 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

Yeah. Dumba? Orlov? Not terrible options, but, like Severson and Graves, they will be overpaid. 

I'd rather see what we could get via trade. Overpaying for FAs doesn't need to be the approach anymore. Especially, with the raises they're going to have to dish out.  I trust Fitz.

[Nicomo]

6 hours ago, capo said:

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?

I’d have to go with Jack. 6 goals and 4 assists in 11 games. He’s basically been the entire offense. All while being target #1 throughout both series and has taken quite a beating. Not only has it not slowed him down he’s actually matched a lot of the physical play. Which is not something we’ve ever really seen from him. 

Haula was also very good in round 1 as well. 

Timo has indeed been a force despite the scoring woes, but there’s no way I can say a guy with 2 points and 22 PIM (only Bahl has more) has been their best player. 

[capo]

17 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

I’d have to go with Jack. 6 goals and 4 assists in 11 games. He’s basically been the entire offense. All while being target #1 throughout both series and has taken quite a beating. Not only has it not slowed him down he’s actually matched a lot of the physical play. Which is not something we’ve ever really seen from him. 

Haula was also very good in round 1 as well. 

Timo has indeed been a force despite the scoring woes, but there’s no way I can say a guy with 2 points and 22 PIM (only Bahl has more) has been their best player. 

I can see reading those numbers and taking that approach.  But, the guy has given 120% every shift. Put limbs on the line and had bulldogged his way through. He got in Shesterkin's head like I've never seen before. I would have loved to have had the points but them not being there could be a blessing in disguise for us having to re-sign him. He's a monster and the thing we've lacked the most.  We need another one.

[Nicomo]

2 hours ago, capo said:

I can see reading those numbers and taking that approach.  But, the guy has given 120% every shift. Put limbs on the line and had bulldogged his way through. He got in Shesterkin's head like I've never seen before. I would have loved to have had the points but them not being there could be a blessing in disguise for us having to re-sign him. He's a monster and the thing we've lacked the most.  We need another one.

I’ve been very happy with him. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

3 hours ago, capo said:

No Timo? This article lost all sense of legitimacy there. Honestly? Dougie Hamilton is a stud defender? I mean he's great offensively but he's otherwise a big teddy bear.  I know Dumba throws big hits and Devils could definitely use some of that but I'm not sure what else he has to offer.  The off-season is going to be interesting. The Devils have a lot to work with to make moves. They're heading in the right direction. Fitz has pushed the right buttons so far. Let's hope he keeps it up.

I think if there’s a higher profile forward that could go for help on D, it would be Bratt before Timo.

That being said, I don’t think Proteau realizes that much of the D is already locked in for next season:

Hamilton, Marino and Siegs are locked up long-term.

Luke is already here…hard to imagine Nemec won’t soon be following.

Bahl has size and is starting to learn how to use it.  He’s young and he’ll be cheap.  Why not give him a full season to see what he can do?

Do the Devils really need to go outside the organization for another D-man this offseason?  I’m just not seeing it.

[capo]

24 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I think if there’s a higher profile forward that could go for help on D, it would be Bratt before Timo.

That being said, I don’t think Proteau realizes that much of the D is already locked in for next season:

Hamilton, Marino and Siegs are locked up long-term.

Luke is already here…hard to imagine Nemec won’t soon be following.

Bahl has size and is starting to learn how to use it.  He’s young and he’ll be cheap.  Why not give him a full season to see what he can do?

Do the Devils really need to go outside the organization for another D-man this offseason?  I’m just not seeing it.

I don't see a move for a D either.  I agree with Bahl. I thought he made some positive strides. I originally preferred Okhotiuk to Bahl, but that ship sailed. I could definitely see a Bratt for a bulkier player deal.  There is going to be a lot of turnover.  It'll be interesting to see what he does. The core is firmly in tact. It's those complimentary pieces that can be so hard to find at times.