GDT: Devils @ Oilers - 9:00 PM - MSG

[Guttersniped]

I was also lurking earlier and one of them said they went to a wedding in Jersey and it was “a pit” which of course makes me irrationally angry. I can’t stand when people who don’t live here besmirch our beautiful garden state

They live in Edmonton, players flee there. They don’t see the sun. That’s insecurity talking.

 

[glenwo2]

They're running Blackwood out there because he's better and he's the guy with the upside to be elite when he's healthy. You're not going to get him into a rhythm sitting him down every other game. It's really that simple.

They're running Blackwood out there because they're trying to make Blackwood happen.

Not even Marty ever got this much rope when he was struggling in his latter years.

 

[Rhodes 81]

I didn't really care about the outcome of this game until I read that one fan on the Oilers' board that seems to have the most irrational hate I've ever seen for a team with basically 0 rivalry and now I kind of hope we kick their shit in.

 

[Saugus]

We only have “Canadian token afterthoughts” lol.

That one threw me too. I didn't know we had a quota of Canadian players we needed to meet. Are Canadians considered a protected class in the NHL now?

I think I'm starting to see how Don Cherry lasted as long as he did on the HNIC broadcast team. Clearly there was an audience for that "good Canadian boy" shit.

 

[Guadana]

In addition to the stats, you could also watch them with your own eyes or look at their profiles as prospects. Mac has put up a .918 and .915 in the NHL, which Vanecek has never come close to.

Just from a pure athleticism standpoint they aren't on the same planet. If you want to get into production profiles, Blackwood is much more likely to have 1A upside than Vanecek.

View attachment 602638

Bader?

 

[Nocashstyle]

I was also lurking earlier and one of them said they went to a wedding in Jersey and it was “a pit” which of course makes me irrationally angry. I can’t stand when people who don’t live here besmirch our beautiful garden state

I’m sure they flew into Newark, took an Uber through a shitty part of JC to get to the venue or something, and then went home the next day as an “expert” on the state for all their friends.

 

[Clam Jensen]

They live in Edmonton, players flee there. They don’t see the sun. That’s insecurity talking.

Right?? Pot meet kettle.

 

[Cheddabombs]

I didn't really care about the outcome of this game until I read that one fan on the Oilers' board that seems to have the most irrational hate I've ever seen for a team with basically 0 rivalry and now I kind of hope we kick their shit in.

Lol I took a peak after that screenshot was posted here and yeesh. It was only a few of them I think, and a good number were also excited for the game. But from some posters you'd think this was some historical rivalry of sorts.

Oh well, maybe they were just cranky

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Jinxes don't exist. I'm going to say this until I'm blue in the face, aren't I?

It's less a jinx and more a schtick at this point. Clearly not as much of one as I thought.....

 

[Richer's Ghost]

The trade is one for one...

That's and how Jason Smith ended up in Edmonton and was an absolute rock forever are what I think of when I think of Edmonton.

 

[HBK27]

What if they're showcasing Blackwood sorta before Bernier gets back? Or better yet, trying to include Blackwood in a deal for a better goalie in the future? Just spitballing here, lol.

They're running Blackwood out there because they're trying to make Blackwood happen.

Not even Marty ever got this much rope when he was struggling in his latter years.

I think you're trying to make the phrase "make Blackwood happen" more than that actually being a thing.

 

[SJinNewJersey]

From the Oiler board

"They play in a swamp."

I guess we play the trap too and Marty is in net tonight.

 

[glenwo2]

I didn't really care about the outcome of this game until I read that one fan on the Oilers' board that seems to have the most irrational hate I've ever seen for a team with basically 0 rivalry and now I kind of hope we kick their shit in.

yeah I don't care for idiots who bash our city.

Bash our team all you want. That's what being an opposing fan is...


.. But don't sit there and bash a place you've never been to in your life.

 

[forceten]

From the Oiler board

"They play in a swamp."

I guess we play the trap too and Marty is in net tonight.

My god, we moved out of that arena and town YEARS ago. Like, get up to speed people.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

This should be a fun one. I want to see vintage Jack Hughes tonight.

Blackwood most definitely doesn’t have elite potential realistically, I don’t know how that’s being said still. We’re at the point where being above average would be a great outcome for his career.

 

[glenwo2]

I think you're trying to make the phrase "make Blackwood happen" more than that actually being a thing.

Well I can't take all the credit.

@Bleedred coined the phrase and I'm running with it.

 

[Clam Jensen]

From the Oiler board

"They play in a swamp."

I guess we play the trap too and Marty is in net tonight.

The comments their posters are making are so low-IQ I’m almost convinced it’s a bit.

 

[Rhodes 81]

yeah I don't care for idiots who bash our city.

Bash our team all you want. That's what being an opposing fan is...


.. But don't sit there and bash a place you've never been to in your life.

I've never actually been to Newark or NJ at all for that matter, but I've always found it weird that people bash the place and talk about how nobody wants to live there when it's literally a bridge away from the city everyone is gaga over.

Like you could travel the same distance in Atlanta and still be in Atlanta.

 

[glenwo2]

This should be a fun one. I want to see vintage Jack Hughes tonight.

Blackwood most definitely doesn’t have elite potential realistically, I don’t know how that’s being said still. We’re at the point where being above average would be a great outcome for his career.

More like we're at a point where being AVERAGE would be a great outcome.

 

[NJDevs26]

What if they're showcasing Blackwood sorta before Bernier gets back? Or better yet, trying to include Blackwood in a deal for a better goalie in the future? Just spitballing here, lol.

I half kiddingly alluded to this possibility in my initial post...because there's no other reason that makes sense as to why a presumed healthy Vanecek sits two games in a row on the back of a three-game winning streak, this isn't some machevallian plot from Lindy to have Blackwood 'take the beating' in Edmonton, coaches don't think like that anywhere, even in baseball where sending out a pitcher to take a beating has more merit over a 162-game season.

The main paranoia freakout possibility (besides the Bleedism of 'the organization wanting to make Blackwood a thing') is they're hiding some minor (?) injury to Vanecek.

 

[glenwo2]

Because Vanecek is decent but nothing special and you're playing arguably the most lethal offense in the NHL. Why wouldn't you put your best player out there?

damn...that must be some tasty kool-aid you're drinking.

Best player? yeah okay.

And Brendan Smith is Scott Stevens.

 

[Nocashstyle]

The comments their posters are making are so low-IQ I’m almost convinced it’s a bit.

I mean, that Avs reporter asked Rantanen about the Devils trapping after the game last week. Uninformed fans of other teams just cling to buzz words they love to associate to the Devils no matter how inaccurate or outdated they are.

 

[glenwo2]

I just peaked at Edmonton’s defense…

McDavid and Draisatl really are THAT good, because how any team can have a winning record with that defense is beyond me.

This game is going to be a shootout

oh? The game will end up in the gimmick(shootout)?

I'll take the Point.

 

[Saugus]

From the Oiler board

"They play in a swamp."

I guess we play the trap too and Marty is in net tonight.

It's especially ridiculous to rag on geographic location given where their team plays. The overwhelming (though erroneous) reputation for Edmonton is that they're way the hell out in the tundra.

 

[Bleedred]

They're running Blackwood out there because he's better and he's the guy with the upside to be elite when he's healthy. You're not going to get him into a rhythm sitting him down every other game. It's really that simple.

Normally, I feel like you and I see eye to eye on goalies, which makes this really weird.

The only thing I'm really interested in picking apart here is elite upside? When has Blackwood shown ELITE upside? You referenced goals saved above expected, but Blackwood has not ONCE been a positive in GSAx in the NHL. Not even in the .918% and .915% seasons. Although he was close. Just barely broke below even. I think it was roughly a -0.5 or so in each year.

When has he shown elite upside? I never really saw elite upside there. I saw GOOD upside, but not elite. And as Devils fans, we should know elite goalies, as we've had two of them over the last 30 years, though the last one just destroyed his hip and declined way too prematurely. I can't remember ever thinking Blackwood had the potential of elite. I mean, MAYBE potential, but I don't think he ever performed at an elite level. Of course this was when he was only 22-23 years old at that time, so to suggest he may one day be elite at that time would not have been fat fetched, but he's clearly not moved any closer to that potential in the last 2 years of play. Those .918% and .915% years were just about 3-4 years ago now. He's slightly improved this year from his death streak last December-onward, but not by a whole lot. Yes, he certainly showed more of a ceiling than Vanecek, but the last two years Vanecek has been MUCH better.

And as far as the athleticism goes, Ondrej Pavelec was one of the most impressively athletic goalies I've seen since Hasek/Brodeur, but he was not at all an effective goalie in the NHL, despite being able to really wow and dazzle with some of the saves he made.

Fitz really hitched his wagon to Vanecek giving him that deal this offseason, which sees him signed the next 2 years after this. Blackwood has to show A LOT if we're gonna bring him back, because I'm pretty sure we could get .900% goaltending or something close to it for just a million bucks next from Nico Daws (who we really didn't do any favors by having so much in the NHL last year) and that $2 million extra would be better allocated elsewhere if he doesn't really turn it around from the last two seasons.