Devils 2021-22 team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part XII

[Triumph]

Yeah, I did, but you someow again miss the point- because you just count the numbers and ignore any other quality.

Show me the goals I detailed in my last post that 'are on goaltending'. Because literally almost zero of them are. I think I can count five to ten out of the 28 above that the goaltender had even a 50% chance on and that's including 1 -on -0 breakaways by Cam Atkinson.

If you are giving up that level of quality, you cannot just ignore the reality above, and pin it solely on goaltending.

No one is pinning it solely on goaltending. There's definitely defensive things that need to be cleaned up - this team would not have an above-average GA even with average goaltending, because there are too many breakdowns. But the goalie has to do his part, and he simply is not doing it. Other goalies do better.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Yeah, I did, but you someow again miss the point- because you just count the numbers and ignore any other quality.

Show me the goals I detailed in my last post that 'are on goaltending'. Because literally almost zero of them are. I think I can count five to ten out of the 28 above that the goaltender had even a 50% chance on and that's including 1 -on -0 breakaways by Cam Atkinson.

If you are giving up that level of quality, you cannot just ignore the reality above, and pin it solely on goaltending.

I will say, that without a doubt - the above 8 games and others knocked Blackwood off his game to a degree where it certainly BECAME a situation where it was mostly goaltending. So I guess I partially agree with you.

You could do that for any goalie in any league. There are defensive breakdowns…that’s literally the nature of the game. You could do the same exact exercise for Vasilesky if you want. Doesn’t change the fact the Blackwood is not stopping the puck at an acceptable rate.

Of goalies that have played 20 or more games, the only one with a worse save % is Grubauer. The only with a worse GAA is Grubauer. That’s it. And yes, this sample size includes goalies on bottom dwellers even below the Devils.

Hell, even opening it up to goalies with just 10+ games played, Blackwood has the 9th worst save % and 11th worst GAA. That puts him in the mix with a bunch of low level backups.

 

[JimEIV]

the all star jerseys actually look decent this year based on a leak

Looks very 80's.

 

[devilsblood]

Dude, Cory Schneider at his absolute peak was a grenade handler that gave away the puck. Even in his first year with the squad we seemingly bashed him once a week for turning it over and if not outright costing us a goal, at least making it very interesting.

The relevent point is Blackwood doesn't do that stuff on a regular basis.

As far as backdoors here is the game where our slide really began - the day Hughes signed the contract and his first game back. We got him back and we couldn't win a game.
11/30 Sharks 5 Devs 2

*1. gives up bad rebound
2. 4 of our guys in right corner, pass across crease to wide open guy, roofed
3. 4 of our guys in right corner, pass across slot to wide open guy
4. backdoor tap in on cross slot feed
5. empty net

12/2 Min5 Devs 2

1. Karill walks Graves and roofs it
2. All 5 devils in corner, Graves gets pick pocketed leaves puck behind, pitlick all alone has all day roofs it
3. Rebound off puck whipped from circle, Severson heads it into net. Weird play.
4. Bad rebound off shot from circles. wish he had this.
5. Hartmann walks Siegs - but in reality, I think this and the last goal were when his confidence issues began. He looked bad here.

Is two games of nuttiness enough to unsettle him? Maybe he's fragile. It was at this point we gave him a break, brought Bernier in because obviously he needed a break, and we gave up 8 to the Jets.

12/3 WPG8 Devs4

1. Schiefele parades down mainstreet and makes Bernier look silly Nice D. Backbreakingly bad.
2. Blueline turnover, bang bang passing as our D never resets Ehlers makes Bernier look silly
3. Severson mishandles it, gives it away under forecheck pressure, pass to wide open all alone in front.
< we make a 4-3 game of hit here, showing what I hope is some trademark resiliance, which is cool >
4. Blueline turnover by Kuokk, 2-on-1, Subban never cuts pass, Ehlers roofs it.
5. Tatar turns it over in our zone, back to the point, gets weird deflection pops up in the air and past Bernier. Weird.
< at this point, Bernier is clearly toast.>
6. 10 seconds left in period, Jets go end to end, no one slows down Scheifele and he walks in and rifles one that goes right under Bernier's arm. Terrible goal in a vacuum - but after seeing 5 nutty terrible goals before, it's not surprising.

Blackwood's rest turns into garbage time instead.

7. Conner 3-on-2 at full speed (no one slows anyone down) Johnsson is out of gas, defensemen back off too much and allow cross-ice royal road pass to wide open slapper into open net for Scheifele.
8. all puck watching, Jet sets up camp in front, Blackwood never sees shot from top of circle that goes top shelf.

I'm not saying ALL games were like this. But this is how it all started for him and how Bernier's chronic(?) hip thing got broke.

Bad defense, bad turnovers, bad decisions and bad bounces at least for these three games. And that's really enough to at least get a young goalie off his game.

So does it get better? Chance to practice? Recover? Nope. 2 days later:
12/6 Ott 3 Devs 2
Recap: OTT 3, NJD 2 - F/SO
1. Zacha gives puck away in corner. Goes corner to slot to opposite circle, top shelf. I wanted Blackwood to have this one. Maybe. Nice shot one on one with the goalie from close in, but here's where I go 'make a save'.
2. TERRIBLE transition pass from Bratt hits Zacha in the back skate and ends up on OTT stick. Puck sent to guy behind the net, puts on Tkachuks stick bang bang. Maybe coulda had this one too? But there was no defense being played and an egregious turnover.
3. Shootout. They get two, we get one.

12/8 Next game is 3-0 Blackwood shutout over Flyers, couple of big saves, esp on PK, and one on Sanheim walking in alone but mostly pedestrian - but kudos go to the defense here - limiting Flyers to 25 shots.

Still no practice time though.

12/10
Nsh3 Devs 2
Recap: NSH 3, NJD 2
1. Terrible Puckwatching. Feed from behind the net to Josi all alone in the slot.
2. PP Tovanen blast top of the circle. No chance.
3. Our Dmen back way off for some reason, giving all sorts of ice. Turns into a 3-on-2. Siegs bites, three Devils puckwatching, nice pass and deflection that Blackwood knocks back out onto a NSH stick for a wideopen net. I maybe would've liked to seen him make a better save on the deflection but it would've been nice for someone to tie up the stick of the 3rd guy in, or the second guy who made the deflection.

12/11 Second half of back2 back Schmid against the Isles. 4-2 loss
Recap: NYI 4, NJD 2
1. PP Dobson blast with Lee screen
2. Greene scores. Yuck. Bad goal.
3. Parise shorthanded breakaway
4. Hughes turned it over at our line, Ty Smith mishandles Wahlstrom walks in, finds Pageau with pass across to put it into wide open net as Subban doesn't cut pass.

12/14
Phil 6 Devs 1 Extended highlights for this one because they are so juicy. I'll include some of the ones that DIDN't go in on this one.
NJD @ PHI
SV Ty Smith gets outraced to puck behind net, Hamilton McLeod scramble to help and all run into each other, Bastian tries to help so 4 Devils are behind the net, lands on Flyers stick, pass out in front all alone to Provorov who walks in. Huge save.
1. Terrible goal. Sanheim jukes Subban and slips it under his arm
SV Giroux walks around Hughes - 4 Devils in front of the net puckwatching, Blackwood makes 3 huge saves on Atkinson all alone.
2. 4-on-4 Atkinson classic backdoor tap in far post.
SV Hamilton gets pocket picked 1-on-0 save on Laughton.
3. Braun fluttering deflection off of Zacha's stick. Blackwood never saw it. Not a great goal, but a weird one.
SV Big save off of Laughton alone in front.
Post Absolutely gross giveaway sends vanRiemsdyk in alone
SV Atkinson breakaway
4. Hamilton giveaway at blueline sends Atkinson in alone shorthanded
5. Boqvist hits Smith in the stick with the pass, but it goes weakly right to a Flyer who hits Lindblom who walks in and scores. Terrible play by Smith.
<Schmid now in net>
SV Hughes pass to no one in the neutral zone sends Flyers in
6. Atkinson backdoor pass tap in.

I can continue, but this was a gross enough exercise. At this point, of course he's fried.

That's eight really pretty bad confidence killing efforts in a row - so while 'yeah goaltending has been a problem' - it has been a problem manufactured by the play detailed above that sent us into a tailspin the day Hughes got back.

I agree with Hiscier's post right after this post in that, this is what goals against often look like. Without even watching I assume these are in tight around the goal. Yet on average the goals we allow are from further out then most of the league.

But I do give you credit for doing the leg work.

 

[devilsblood]

the all star jerseys actually look decent this year based on a leak

Lame, but befitting.

 

[JimEIV]

Lame, but befitting.

I kind of like it...Reminds me a little of this

NHL – 1987 – All Star Game – Mario Lemieux MVP – Most Points In All Star Game - ImaSportsphile

Watch the Introductions. Super fun

 

[devilsblood]

I will say, that without a doubt - the above 8 games and others knocked Blackwood off his game to a degree where it certainly BECAME a situation where it was mostly goaltending. So I guess I partially agree with you.

This is a good point, but it again circles around to goaltending be a big issue.

Coaches will pull a goalie in a game in which his team is getting shellacked, even if it's not really on the goalie. They do it to spark the team, but they also do it to preserve the goaltenders mindset. It's why Roy was so peeved when he was left in there for 8 goales or whatever it was.

We can't pull Blackwood, not unless we want to throw in a 21 year old AHL goalie. Or an AHL Journeyman.

We can't manage Blackwoods mindset, let alone his physical ailments, because we don't have another viable option.

It's why I do push back when guys get all over Blackwood. I think goaltending is a big issue, but he's being put in a very difficult spot.

 

[devilsblood]

I kind of like it...Reminds me of a little of this

NHL – 1987 – All Star Game – Mario Lemieux MVP – Most Points In All Star Game - ImaSportsphile

You are right it definitely has an 80's retro vibe going on. But I was never a big 80's guy to begin with, thought a lot of what was going on then was corny, but the 80's retro thing is already tired.

Now if the players quaff their hair, and grow out their mullets, I'd give some bonus point.

 

[NjDevsRR]

The last allstar game I watched was the one where Owen Nolan pointed at Hasek

 

[Billdo]

the all star jerseys actually look decent this year based on a leak

Would be cool if those sleeve stripes were team colored. Like that would work for us or Carolina, Toronto could go white and blue, Flyers orange and black, etc.

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[Hisch13r]

Nico haters aren’t exactly the brightest bunch. When you go through the replied they in fact prove to be the dumbest bunch.

Dom had him projected to play as a low 1C/high 2C coming in and so far his play has paced as a solid 1C

 

[billingtons ghost]

I agree with Hiscier's post right after this post in that, this is what goals against often look like. Without even watching I assume these are in tight around the goal. Yet on average the goals we allow are from further out then most of the league.

But I do give you credit for doing the leg work.

But do you see how this completely doesn't matter? The screens/defletions are what they are. It's not like guys are lobbing pucks from center ice that are going in - the High Danger metrics are so uniformly stupid it is mind boggling. It is like judging the effectiveness of NFL passing only on passes where the ball is in the air for over 40 yards.

 

[devilsblood]

But do you see how this completely doesn't matter? The screens/defletions are what they are. It's not like guys are lobbing pucks from center ice that are going in - the High Danger metrics are so uniformly stupid it is mind boggling. It is like judging the effectiveness of NFL passing only on passes where the ball is in the air for over 40 yards.

But I'm not only looking at High Danger. High Danger(which isn't even the metric I'm looking at here) is a worthwhile metric, but I'm looking at all sorts of stuff. Save%, shots, shot distance, HD, scoring chances, I'll throw in my eye test, I'l throw in Bleed's stoppable goal metric.

You're throwing in another eye test. This after saying it was all tap ins, but now it's deflections and screens. Am I seeing an abnormal amount of screens or deflections? It doesn't stand out.

As per your football analogy. Eli Manning was a guy who threw a really good deep ball. His other metrics weren't great, but his deep ball was good. It was a worthwhile metric when it came to Eli.

 

[NJDevs26]

 

[glenwo2]

For those who care:



The right call for our representative would of course be Bratt for doing it all season. Wouldn't surprise me if it's Hughes given his name factor.

Bratt deserves it. Hughes is a close second.

I can’t see the NHL passing up a chance to start pushing Hughes as one of their superstars for an entire weekend.

bratts and hughes are both deserving

Hughes will be the pick from a marketing standpoint and he's deserving anyway.

Which is a shame, imo, as Bratt is the Devils Points LEADER but as you said, it's all about Marketing.

Jack is the #1 pick in the Draft AND he's found success.

It sells itself and the NHL can easily work with that.

Would be tough to sell the casuals on Bratt despite how good he's been.


Personally, I'd rather Bratt get the nod as this team isn't playoff-bound this year anyway.

Maybe give the nod to Hughes next season or something but I don't make the decisions here.

 

[Devils731]

Personally, I'd rather Bratt get the nod as this team isn't playoff-bound this year anyway.

Selfishly, the less things Bratt’s agent can point to as evidence of Bratt’s success, the better.

Let Bratt make the next 4 or 5 all-star games after this one.

 

[glenwo2]

Selfishly, the less things Bratt’s agent can point to as evidence of Bratt’s success, the better.

Let Bratt make the next 4 or 5 all-star games after this one.

I'm sure Fitz is whispering in Bettman's ear at this very moment saying "PSST! Select Hughes...Select anyone except Bratt...."

 

[NJDevs26]

I mean you could argue Hughes may have been the points leader anyway if he was healthy the whole season since he's just over a PPG and Bratt's slightly under it. At the very least it would have been super close.

 

[Brodeur]

I looked up All-Star / skills comp tickets last week and the prices were a lot more reasonable than I expected. Debated doing a quick trip to Vegas for it, but it looks like I have family in town that weekend so that'll save me the temptation. I did chuckle when I got an email from the NHL about the All-Star Fan Fest with autograph sessions with NHL "legends." It reminded me of the one I attended before the 2011 Draft and one of the "legends" was Shjon Podein.

 

[SKNJD9]

i LOVE the blue ASG jersey. Gonna grab a Hughes ASAP ( assuming he makes it ) watch him only wear the white all weekend lol

 

[Emperoreddy]

Hughes was actually on the ballot. I think you had to write Bratt in

 

[Hisch13r]

Hughes was actually on the ballot. I think you had to write Bratt in

Yeah it was Jack, Nico, Dougie

 

[Captain3rdLine]

This is interesting

 

[Bleedred]

I looked up All-Star / skills comp tickets last week and the prices were a lot more reasonable than I expected. Debated doing a quick trip to Vegas for it, but it looks like I have family in town that weekend so that'll save me the temptation. I did chuckle when I got an email from the NHL about the All-Star Fan Fest with autograph sessions with NHL "legends." It reminded me of the one I attended before the 2011 Draft and one of the "legends" was Shjon Podein.

Holy shit! I haven't seen or heard that name in years, but I was always fascinated by the name Shjon and would always pronounce it ''Shhjohn'' in my head haha.