GDT: We're Here: Your New Jersey Devils @ Philadelphia Flyers, 7 PM, ESPN+/Hulu

[Devils090]

If Ruff gets fired quickly, Fitzgerald should be going with him.

There was just no reason to not give the new coach the entire off-season.

Exactly

Why even keep this guy if his leash is so short. Fitz doing exactly what Shero did two separate times to cost him his job. Of course Fitz will probably just wait until December when the season is already lost and hopefully he gets fired too.

Tatar got 20 minutes and all I remember of it was him crashing into the boards.

Parlayed a few meaningless preseason goals into PP1 and 20 minutes of ice, such a joke

 

[Devils090]

My only issue, the Panthers weren’t exactly a defensive stalwart. Brunette was let go for similar performances in the playoffs. They outplayed the Lightning and got swept.

Anything is better than ruff

 

[JK3]

Looks like the same old crap that's been tanking us, I really don't like Ruffs system at all and it's made me nuts since he's been here. Thought we'd clean/change some things up with these new coaches, I need to see some more games though of course.

Congrats on making it an 83 page and counting GDT you f***ing lunatics lmao.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Need Vanecek and Nico on Saturday for the vibes

 

[MWagg72]

I'm highly annoyed that after successful trialling Holtz with Hughes over the preseason. The chemistry they started to develop together, that it was abandoned a few days before season opener.

That's bullshit. A reporter should of asked that question of Ruff.

Who knows if Holtz was on that line he could of buried one or both of Mercer chances provided by Hughes.

Before the Bratt minutes question, there was a question on if Ruff thought the line up changes had something to do with the lack of chemistry and Lindy said that he doesn't think so at all and said that he's been shuffling line ups every game due to Nico being in and out. I do wish there was a follow up asking why the Hughes, Palat, Holtz line didn't get a look in the opener.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Looks like the same old crap that's been tanking us, I really don't like Ruffs system at all and it's made me nuts since he's been here. Thought we'd clean/change some things up with these new coaches, I need to see some more games though of course.

Congrats on making it an 83 page and counting GDT you f***ing lunatics lmao.

Proof this fanbase is dying for a winner, lol. And we all knew Ruff is a placeholder head coach but at the same time, how does this constantly keep happening to us? It's like the definition of insanity I guess, we have no one but ourselves to blame.

 

[Devils090]

Before the Bratt minutes question, there was a question on if Ruff thought the line up changes had something to do with the lack of chemistry and Lindy said that he doesn't think so at all and said that he's been shuffling line ups every game due to Nico being in and out. I do wish there was a follow up asking why the Hughes, Palat, Holtz line didn't get a look in the opener.

Beyond mind numbing

Hughes/Holtz/Palat looked awesome and played all press on and he puts Mercer up there instead lol. Again this was the absolute worst hire we could have made and the fact it’s still a thing is such a joke. Of course he got the built in excuse last year even though Blackwood was getting lit up before he got hurt.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Yes. And a breakdown like the 2nd goal is routine, and a good goalie stops it and nobody remembers that breakdown.

Oh it's that simple huh? I took a look at the extended highlights and screenshot the chances.

First goal of the game. Holtz wide open with no Flyers D near him gets the shot off from the slot. Is this one of those saves a good goalie is supposed to make? Cuz Hart didn't do it.

Opposing player right in front of the net, not a single Devil within 6 feet of him. Goal scored.

Devils chance in the slot. Notice the Flyers defensemen is close enough to get his stick on the shooter. Save made.

Here’s a flyers chance where again there’s not a Devil within 6 feet of him at the top of the circle. Shooter takes the shot because why the hell not? Blackwood makes the save.

Here’s the next highlighted Devils chance. Once again a Flyer d-man is close enough to at least get his stick in the way. Save made.

Here’s one where the Flyers allowed a Devils shooter (Haula) way too much time and space. But it’s from pretty far out. Save made.

Here’s the second goal. Another one where the Devils are not covering the man close enough. It’s about from the same place as the previous Devils chance that was saved...except it’s not Eric Haula taking the shot it is Travis Konecny. Does xGF account for the talent of the person doing the shooting?

Here’s the third Flyers goal. Two Devils along the boards can’t stop a Flyer from executing a pass. Goal scorer has no Devils defender within several feet of him. He gets a clean wide open one timer off from the circle.

Here’s the next good chance the Devils had. Tatar alone in front of the net in close but the defender is able to dive in front. Can’t recall if Hart made the save or the defender. No goal.

Here’s another uncontested Flyers shot. Blackwood made the save.

Next Devils chance…Hughes uses his skill to get around a couple of defenders but they are still in good enough position to contest the chance. with their sticks Save made.

Another uncontested Flyers shot from the circle. Blackwood makes the save.

This Flyers goal is a one timer from pretty far out on the PP. Don't think it makes sense to put any major blame on the defenders for this one.

Here’s the next Devils chance. Shara has some room to get the shot off and the Flyers certainly got caught, but not nearly the most egregious time and space given. Save made.

Uncontested shot from the circle by Severson. Hey what do you know, Hart let that one in.

Next Devils chance. Bratt literally has a defender on his back with his stick harassing him. Save is made.

Another Devils chance where the player is open in the slot but there’s at least a Flyer close enough to get a stick on him. Mercer half flubs the one time attempt, save made.

So by my count...Flyers had six uncontested 5v5 chances where there was no Devils defender close enough to make stick or physical contact with the shooter...Blackwood gave up the goal in half of them.

Devils had four such chances, and Hart gave up the goal in half of them. It's almost as if goalies do actually tend to give up goals on shots like these when the shooter has lots of time and space.

Note that the Flyers, a supposedly less talented team on paper, gave up less of these kinds of chances than the Devils did. Each goalie saved half of them.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Oh it's that simple huh? I took a look at the extended highlights and screenshot the chances.

View attachment 593821
First goal of the game. Holtz wide open with no Flyers D near him gets the shot off from the slot. Is this one of those saves a good goalie is supposed to make? Cuz Hart didn't do it.

View attachment 593823
Opposing player right in front of the net, not a single Devil within 6 feet of him. Goal scored.

View attachment 593824
Devils chance in the slot. Notice the Flyers defensemen is close enough to get his stick on the shooter. Save made.

View attachment 593825
Here’s a flyers chance where again there’s not a Devil within 6 feet of him at the top of the circle. Shooter takes the shot because why the hell not? Blackwood makes the save.

View attachment 593826
Here’s the next highlighted Devils chance. Once again a Flyer d-man is close enough to at least get his stick in the way. Save made.

View attachment 593829
Here’s one where the Flyers allowed a Devils shooter (Haula) way too much time and space. But it’s from pretty far out. Save made.

View attachment 593830
Here’s the second goal. Another one where the Devils are not covering the man close enough. It’s about from the same place as the previous Devils chance that was saved...except it’s not Eric Haula taking the shot it is Travis Konecny. Does xGF account for the talent of the person doing the shooting?

View attachment 593831
Here’s the third Flyers goal. Two Devils along the boards can’t stop a Flyer from executing a pass. Goal scorer has no Devils defender within several feet of him. He gets a clean wide open one timer off from the circle.

View attachment 593832
Here’s the next good chance the Devils had. Tatar alone in front of the net in close but the defender is able to dive in front. Can’t recall if Hart made the save or the defender. No goal.

View attachment 593833
Here’s another uncontested Flyers shot. Blackwood made the save.

View attachment 593834
Next Devils chance…Hughes uses his skill to get around a couple of defenders but they are still in good enough position to contest the chance. with their sticks Save made.

View attachment 593835
Another uncontested Flyers shot from the circle. Blackwood makes the save.

View attachment 593840
This Flyers goal is a one timer from pretty far out on the PP. Don't think it makes sense to put any major blame on the defenders for this one.

View attachment 593838
Here’s the next Devils chance. Shara has some room to get the shot off and the Flyers certainly got caught, but not nearly the most egregious time and space given. Save made.

View attachment 593841
Uncontested shot from the circle by Severson. Hey what do you know, Hart let that one in.

View attachment 593842
Next Devils chance. Bratt literally has a defender on his back with his stick harassing him. Save is made.

View attachment 593843
Another Devils chance where the player is open in the slot but there’s at least a Flyer close enough to get a stick on him. Mercer half flubs the one time attempt, save made.

So by my count...Flyers had six uncontested 5v5 chances where there was no Devils defender close enough to make stick or physical contact with the shooter...Blackwood gave up the goal in half of them.

Devils had four such chances, and Hart gave up the goal in half of them.

It's almost as if goalies do actually tend to give up goals on shots like these when the shooter has lots of time and space.

Notice that the Flyers, a supposedly less talented team on paper, gave up less of these kinds of chances than the Devils did. Each goalie saved half of them.

He was f***ing ass tonight, please stop. First goal was literally a rebound he couldn't corral, second goal was a shot from around the top of the circles on a rush, and the PP goal was 5 hole. Only goal he didn't have a chance on was the third goal. Vanecek needs to play on Saturday.

 

[Bone Density]

lol

 

[Devils090]

Novo <333

 

[guitarguyvic]

He was f***ing ass tonight, please stop. First goal was literally a rebound he couldn't corral, second goal was a shot from around the top of the circles on a rush, and the PP goal was 5 hole. Only goal he didn't have a chance on was the third goal. Vanecek needs to play on Saturday.

I didn't say the goaltending was good.

Holy shit why can't there be multiple problems here?
What's wrong with you folks, seriously??

You're OK with this kind play in our own end? Having a shit goalie means we can just ignore it and pretend that a better goalie is going to mask it effectively?

I don't understand this mentality at all.

 

[New Jersey Devils]

lol

What a clown response by Ruff. If Bratt doesn’t re-sign here it’s cause he’s still coach by the end of the season.

Between TF and Ruff I’m sure they’ve had it with Ryan’s “tough” questions LOL

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I didn't say the goaltending was good.

Holy shit why can't there be multiple problems here?
What's wrong with you folks, seriously??

You're OK with this kind play in our own end? Having a shit goalie means we can just ignore it and pretend that a better goalie is going to mask it effectively?

I don't understand this mentality at all.

Except we were on under the assumption that Blackwood could be a game changer with his heel issue resolved. No one's asking him to make every save like the third goal, I'm pretty sure if we lost 2-1 or 3-2 and the Devils were giving a lot of shots against that were similar that no one would blame him. He literally gave up 3 goals that were horrendous. You're in the NHL as a goalie, make the f***ing saves.

 

[Devs3cups]

lol

He’s getting squashed in the comments. Good on Novo.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Keeping in mind those screen shots can only really capture coverage issues. How about our forwards constantly blowing the zone early leaving the puck carrier under siege with few options? The poor decisions at the bluelines that result in turnovers and flat footed defenders? The inability to win puck battles consistently? The constant odd man rushes against?

It boggles the mind that one can watch these kinds of games and come away thinking "well if we just get a goalie who had a .910 save percentage on another team, we will be golden!"

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

This universe. Two points plus this:

How this guy isn't running an NHL franchise is a mystery.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Keeping in mind those screen shots can only really capture coverage issues. How about our forwards constantly blowing the zone early leaving the puck carrier under siege with few options? The poor decisions at the bluelines that result in turnovers and flat footed defenders? The inability to win puck battles consistently? The constant odd man rushes against?

It boggles the mind that one can watch these kinds of games and come away thinking "well if we just get a goalie who had a .910 save percentage on another team, we will be golden!"

Everyone thinks Ruff is terrible, Blackwood is also terrible. I know this board hates bringing up the Rangers and how they played all of last year but that first period was literally what the 2021/2022 Rangers did. Survive after getting caved, Ruff should've told his team to turn it up except they sat back and decide it was cool to let the Flyers to take over that game. Also the powerplay is still garbage for the most part. Guys stopped moving for no reason tonight and they got no momentum off of it.

 

[JK3]

Oh shit that was Novo, can’t believe we had someone ask a question that wasn’t a complete softball. It’s only the first game, they’re going to lock this dude out of the arena within a week lol.

 

[Triumph]

Oh it's that simple huh? I took a look at the extended highlights and screenshot the chances.

View attachment 593821
First goal of the game. Holtz wide open with no Flyers D near him gets the shot off from the slot. Is this one of those saves a good goalie is supposed to make? Cuz Hart didn't do it.

Yes, this is a terrible goal given up by Hart, no question about it. Holtz didn't even put in that great a location.

View attachment 593823
Opposing player right in front of the net, not a single Devil within 6 feet of him. Goal scored.

An atrocious rebound given up on a muffin shot. Yeah, Graves should've played it better, Blackwood's rebound control is awful here.

View attachment 593825
Here’s a flyers chance where again there’s not a Devil within 6 feet of him at the top of the circle. Shooter takes the shot because why the hell not? Blackwood makes the save.

Players will not score on this shot very often.

View attachment 593830
Here’s the second goal. Another one where the Devils are not covering the man close enough. It’s about from the same place as the previous Devils chance that was saved...except it’s not Eric Haula taking the shot it is Travis Konecny. Does xGF account for the talent of the person doing the shooting?

No, xGF doesn't, but this is one you have to have, Konecny isn't some brilliant sniper. NHL goalies stop this shot.

View attachment 593831
Here’s the third Flyers goal. Two Devils along the boards can’t stop a Flyer from executing a pass. Goal scorer has no Devils defender within several feet of him. He gets a clean wide open one timer off from the circle.

This one's on the defense for sure, Marino has to be more aware there.

View attachment 593832
Here’s the next good chance the Devils had. Tatar alone in front of the net in close but the defender is able to dive in front. Can’t recall if Hart made the save or the defender. No goal.

Defender did, just barely, very lucky for it to stay out.

View attachment 593840
This Flyers goal is a one timer from pretty far out on the PP. Don't think it makes sense to put any major blame on the defenders for this one.

View attachment 593838
Here’s the next Devils chance. Shara has some room to get the shot off and the Flyers certainly got caught, but not nearly the most egregious time and space given. Save made.

View attachment 593841
Uncontested shot from the circle by Severson. Hey what do you know, Hart let that one in.

He's also being screened, obviously if he weren't being screened this one should be stopped.

So by my count...Flyers had six uncontested 5v5 chances where there was no Devils defender close enough to make stick or physical contact with the shooter...Blackwood gave up the goal in half of them.

Devils had four such chances, and Hart gave up the goal in half of them. It's almost as if goalies do actually tend to give up goals on shots like these when the shooter has lots of time and space.

Note that the Flyers, a supposedly less talented team on paper, gave up less of these kinds of chances than the Devils did. Each goalie saved half of them.

The Flyers are a less talented team on paper. I'd also question your claim that Konecny goal is 'uncontested' - there's a defender right there, no there's no body contact but he's being forced into a low-percentage shot that he scores on.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Except we were on under the assumption that Blackwood could be a game changer with his heel issue resolved. No one's asking him to make every save like the third goal, I'm pretty sure if we lost 2-1 or 3-2 and the Devils were giving a lot of shots against that were similar that no one would blame him. He literally gave up 3 goals that were horrendous. You're in the NHL as a goalie, make the f***ing saves.

Why would anyone be under the impression that Blackwood was a game change? Sounds like...baseless optimism. (Bat signal activated, I'm sure I'll hear shit).

Blackwood sucks and management should have recognized that no later than I and several others did last year. Perhaps we should learn to stop using injuries as an excuse for extended periods of shit play.

My only point is that Blackwood being bad doesn't account for our skaters also being bad. And this team will not win many games by just fixing only one of those things.

 

[Maine Fan]

Goaltending is the answer. Thats the entire point of what I am saying.

Bingo, surprise, surprise. Bleedred and I have debated this for year's, since Blackwood was thought to be a #1 goalie. This is not Fitz's fault. Try the owners and the Devils' fans, the fans let the owners get away with the product they put on the ice.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Ruff is a loser

 

[I Hate Tie DOMI]

I’m sure this has been talked about in the previous 60 pages but it really boggles my mind how other teams can make tape to tape passes look so easy and the Devils make passes look like they are blindfolded, drunk and never held a stick in their hands before.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I can't stand it when people in positions of authority get pissed off about getting asked tough, but legit, questions. Displays a real lack of accountability and leadership. Gross.