GDT: Devils @ Canes Game 1: Back to the Future

[StorminSnvechnAho]

Chatfield with 1 minor (1 misconduct) in 7 games while playing some tough minutes as Ghost isn't the strongest in his own zone is very impressive.

He looked great in this game making exactly the kind of plays under pressure that other teams bottom pairs struggle to.

Hes developed very nicely this season, He was always a great skater but now he's getting better at positioning.... He's good enough to cover for Ghost and let him freelance a bit and that's a huge plus.

 

[hockeynjune]

I mean I will reiterate. The NJ defense was straight up bad last night. Our speed was an issue for them, and if they don't adjust, we're going to light them up every night. At the end of the day, with the high danger chances we did have with the looks we had, that's a game we realistically could have won 8-3 if both teams cashed in when they had their chances.

Hey Jersey, this is what fast looks like…

 

[AD Skinner]

I appreciate what biz is trying to do being goofy and lightening up the broadcasts but something about it just doesn’t work for me. Like somehow it reads like he’s actually kind of a dick who thinks this is what a goofy dude would act like

 

[tarheelhockey]

Hes developed very nicely this season, He was always a great skater but now he's getting better at positioning.... He's good enough to cover for Ghost and let him freelance a bit and that's a huge plus.

A couple of times last night he really turned on the jets to get back in position ahead of the opposing forward. Those are little possession-altering plays that have a huge impact on the game, not least because they avoid bottom-line guys getting stuck out there for too long.

It will be tougher in NJ when they can choose their matchups, but for now it’s a blessing to have a quality player on that bottom pair. And we just kind of stumbled into it via roster turnover.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

And we just kind of stumbled into it via roster turnover.

And being really good at identifying talent to bring into the system.

 

[StorminSnvechnAho]

A couple of times last night he really turned on the jets to get back in position ahead of the opposing forward. Those are little possession-altering plays that have a huge impact on the game, not least because they avoid bottom-line guys getting stuck out there for too long.

It will be tougher in NJ when they can choose their matchups, but for now it’s a blessing to have a quality player on that bottom pair. And we just kind of stumbled into it via roster turnover.

I counted at least three times were he just flat out turned on the Jets and came from behind to not only pass them but also get in front of the play without interference.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I counted at least three times were he just flat out turned on the Jets and came from behind to not only pass them but also get in front of the play without interference.

Coming back to the original comment, that last bit about avoiding a penalty is so important. An early-season version of Chatfield would have been reckless enough to take a minor in those situations. He's gotten a lot better about playing his style without giving up his poise and control.

 

[Stubu]

The bottom line is the way our PK is playing the Canes are very very hard to beat at home, Since we have home ice in any series we play the rest of the SCP it's even more essential not to allow a team to steal a home game from us in one or two, the PK is 21/22 (1 second from being perfect) In my opinion there are no elite goalies left and it's wide open.

What happens if I agree. I've done that once and they invented Canada!

[Clarification: I'm not Kaiser Wilhelm nor affiliated. ]

 

[To Be Determined]

Nice work by Burnsy, Jesper, Marty & KK.
KK punches it in for the goal.

somebody help me out - in this clip the announcers keep saying that after the helmet was knocked off, the player is allowed to stay on as long as he's engaged in the play. i thought the rule was that you have to leave immediately no matter what (or get your helmet and put in back on immediately)? i have a not too vague memory of a cane earlier this year (i think it was martinook, ironically) getting called for not heading to the bench even though he was engaged in the play.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

A couple of times last night he really turned on the jets to get back in position ahead of the opposing forward. Those are little possession-altering plays that have a huge impact on the game, not least because they avoid bottom-line guys getting stuck out there for too long.

It will be tougher in NJ when they can choose their matchups, but for now it’s a blessing to have a quality player on that bottom pair. And we just kind of stumbled into it via roster turnover.

Makes up for letting Forsling become a solid top 4 guy for Florida

 

[Discipline Daddy]

No joke, Chatfield is a f***ing revelation for our defense. He's quick, has the ability to contribute offensively at any given moment, but is solid enough defensively to be put in some tough situations and still be ok. He's every bit the perfect 3rd liner that we've been searching for the last 3 or 4 years. It'll be interesting to see where we go from here going forward.

Most definitely. We've seen Chat on the 1st with Burns and he looked great in the few games Slavin was out this year. It's not proven at this point, but I think Chatfield is a top 4 guy that we just happen to have playing on our bottom pair. On an average NHL team, Chatfield is one of their best four defenders. You might say the same for Ghost. It makes a huge difference. Last year's bottom pair was Cole and Smith, and those guys were board warriors but had zero speed, zero transition game, and were good for at least 1 minor per game between them. There's a reason Smith isn't seeing ice time on Jersey this playoff.

As an aside, Kotkaniemi has very quietly become the player we hoped he would be, and I don't think enough people are talking about it. He's handling some solid minutes every night and his lines are beginning to dominate play when they're out there. I mean hell, he centered Martinook and Fast last night and those 3 guys took the game over.

I think we're finally seeing it. It was an experiment 1.5 or 2 years in the making, but we finally have our Staal replacement in Jesperi Kotkaniemi. While we have both of them we can play matchup central. And with our bottom pair, we have a pretty stringent elite defense. This is the game Kotka needs to embrace. He'll add some hands and pretty moves maybe a bit later, but his bread and butter needs to be the 2-way power game that Staal plays so well. As his fast-twitch offense fades into his 30s, we would hope Kotka will hit the weight room and become a total ox, like Jordan.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

As an aside, Kotkaniemi has very quietly become the player we hoped he would be, and I don't think enough people are talking about it. He's handling some solid minutes every night and his lines are beginning to dominate play when they're out there. I mean hell, he centered Martinook and Fast last night and those 3 guys took the game over.

Let's not get too carried away. He had a good game last night, which we need from him, but he, and his line, wasn't good at all in the NYI series. Hopefully this is a turning point. I like how he was physical and made smart plays last night. We need that from him.

 

[The Faulker 27]

I don't mind being a cheerleader when it adds an element to the broadcasts. David Ortiz during the MLB playoffs when he's cheering for the Red Sox or against the Yankees is a great example. You darn well know he has a preference and he doesn't shy about playing it up, but he's also capable of having good breakdown conversations and take an honest look at how things are going in games.

PK is just a salty fanboy who is incapable of allowing any other opinions to be shared that aren't his own. He constantly talks over the rest of the studio crew to make sure his viewpoint is front and center. You can tell the rest of the studio can't stand it, and it actively takes away from the segments.

Biz, on the other hand. He's definitely a Toronto or Arizona homer, but he makes a joke out of it. It makes the non-ESPN broadcasts legitimately fun to watch.

Biz does what PK wishes he could do and that's to be the loud and obnoxious guy, while also being harmlessly funny but knowledgeable at the same time.

PK is just a not funny try hard.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I think a few people mentioned it last night, and let me just say I think Ray Ferraro is the best in the business, but the amount of times he called us the Devils last night was bizarre and concerning. Like just completely randomly “and that’s what the Devils do, they swarm on the forecheck”, and you’d be like “really?” and the longer he talked you realized he was talking about the Canes all along. And then he called us the Devils again. And then again. And then like the 4th time I started thinking “what is wrong with this guy?” Almost felt like he was making good on a dare or something.

 

[MinJaBen]

Counterpoint: Biz is a f***ing clown and he is painful to watch.

U wrong bro.

 

[Porvari]

That Nečas goal v Flyers with .3 seconds left, fresh on the heels of losing Svech, keeps on getting more crucial in hindsight. Lose that game and you lose home ice advantage and end up with a brutal series against the Rangers – and if you survive that, you start round 2 away, with (a probably well-rested) NJ able to set the matchups and skate in circles around you.

 

[Lempo]

That Nečas goal v Flyers with .3 seconds left, fresh on the heels of losing Svech, keeps on getting more crucial in hindsight. Lose that game and you lose home ice advantage and end up with a brutal series against the Rangers – and if you survive that, you start round 2 away, with (a probably well-rested) NJ able to set the matchups and skate in circles around you.

We would've gotten aggravated of the loss and beaten the whatstheirname guys so the points would be the same.

 

[Porvari]

We would've gotten aggravated of the loss and beaten the whatstheirname guys so the points would be the same.

In that case, carry on!

 

[chaz4hockey]

That Nečas goal v Flyers with .3 seconds left, fresh on the heels of losing Svech, keeps on getting more crucial in hindsight. Lose that game and you lose home ice advantage and end up with a brutal series against the Rangers – and if you survive that, you start round 2 away, with (a probably well-rested) NJ able to set the matchups and skate in circles around you.

agreed but the Isles were no walk in the park either due to their physical (cough, dirty) play.

 

[Sigurd]

Biz does what PK wishes he could do and that's to be the loud and obnoxious guy, while also being harmlessly funny but knowledgeable at the same time.

PK is just a not funny try hard.

Yeah, I have to agree that Biz can actually be funny.

Subban was only funny IMO when he was talking about hockey player fashion the first few times.

Biz always finds new material.

Even after saying all this, Subban still has more personality than most of his peers on national hockey broadcasts. Maybe with some more experience, he can find a good balance with being entertaining, but also providing fair and insightful commentary (I'm thinking about his NJ bias last night).

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Biz is highly critical of everything Toronto. i laugh at that. But he can be over the top in everything else.

 

[The Faulker 27]

They both have the over-the-top role. That's why they're there. Biz does it well IMO. I'm just not a fan of PK. Never have been.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

PK’s schtick feels… forced? Idk. Just something off about it. Kind of late-stage Roenick.

Biz’s personality at least isn’t performative or make it seem like he’s putting on an act, love him or hate him it does just seem like he’s being himself.

 

[DaveG]

And at other points in the season, Subban has been pretty complimentary of the Canes. Said he almost ended up here and was talking the Canes up pretty good. He's rooting for the Devils which is natural. A lot of guys he's probably friends with are still on that team.

Checks out with what I had been told earlier in the year. We offered him an invite to camp but injuries caused him to pass and retire instead. He's usually one of the more complimentary guys out there of the team, just apparently not as much when our opponent in a series in one that he just played for, lol.

 

[Sigurd]

That Nečas goal v Flyers with .3 seconds left, fresh on the heels of losing Svech, keeps on getting more crucial in hindsight. Lose that game and you lose home ice advantage and end up with a brutal series against the Rangers – and if you survive that, you start round 2 away, with (a probably well-rested) NJ able to set the matchups and skate in circles around you.

Great point. It really is a big deal they had that unlikely, and dramatic comeback win.

On the flip side, if they hadn't let Detroit score and win with less than 5 seconds in the 3rd period after Svech's injury, they could've had more wiggle room in the standings, and thus in hindsight could've survived losing to Philly.

Analytically, sports has a lot to review like that and so many other things. The analytical side makes things more interesting IMO.