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

[Azathoth]

Truly good teams don't play the worst teams in the league evenly. Instead of just pounding the Blackwood drum, why don't we ask why the Devils couldn't skate the Flyers into the ground at 5v5? A team that's ready to take the next step would have stepped on their throats from puck drop and not let up.

It's one game so let's see what happens moving forward, but that was a rough performance and it's not just on goaltending.

This is where I'm torn. Looking at the 5v5 stats, the Devils did get the better run of play: CF% of 67.8, SCF% of 66.7, HDF% of 83.3, xGF of 2.5 and xGA of 1.6. To me that does scream that the goalie is the one that did not do his job.

I do admit though, that they just looked a bit off and listless maybe? You are right, ideally they should have been skating circles around the Flyers. I think Ruff could be/should be better with his lineup choices even with Nico out. Ride that Bratt unicorn dammit!

 

[Bleedred]

Blackwood’s last 13 games are like the new Cory’s calendar year of no wins and allowing at least 3 goals in like 16 of 18 starts or something.

He’s allowed at least 3 goals in 12 of his last 13 starts since shutting out the Flyers on December 8th of 2021.

The only difference is that he actually has some wins in there, because the team has been able to score enough goals to win in a few games where he’s allowed 3 and even 5 goals one game. He’s 4-8-1 in those 13 games. .864% over that stretch.

I’m not saying he’ll never have a good game or good streak again, he almost definitely will, as that play is almost unsustainably bad for anything more than a non-pro goaltender. He’ll have a good string of play again at some point, like Cory did. And I’m sure it’ll be enough to fool a whole lot of people. Including the organization who still desperately grasps at everything to still make him happen.

He’ll have another good steak again, we just don’t know when. And we can’t afford to be patient and wait for it to happen.

He’ll have a good string of play at some point, but he’s toast. Done. Finished.

Only I’m not sure if he’s actually toast or finished, as much as he was just never going to really be any good or have a particularly great NHL career. I’m sure he had strings like this in the AHL around his .882% season there. Long before covid, long before his heel injury.

The guy just probably f***ing sucks. He’s merely a Frankenstein goalie project at this point.

 

[Devils090]

This is where I'm torn. Looking at the 5v5 stats, the Devils did get the better run of play: CF% of 67.8, SCF% of 66.7, HDF% of 83.3, xGF of 2.5 and xGA of 1.6. To me that does scream that the goalie is the one that did not do his job.

I do admit though, that they just looked a bit off and listless maybe? You are right, ideally they should have been skating circles around the Flyers. I think Ruff could be/should be better with his lineup choices even with Nico out. Ride that Bratt unicorn dammit!

Most of that was when the Flyers sat back in the end of the game. We had like 2 shots on goal in the first half of the 3rd period

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

This is where I'm torn. Looking at the 5v5 stats, the Devils did get the better run of play: CF% of 67.8, SCF% of 66.7, HDF% of 83.3, xGF of 2.5 and xGA of 1.6. To me that does scream that the goalie is the one that did not do his job.

I do admit though, that they just looked a bit off and listless maybe? You are right, ideally they should have been skating circles around the Flyers. I think Ruff could be/should be better with his lineup choices even with Nico out. Ride that Bratt unicorn dammit!

We're at the point where outplaying teams isn't going to mean anything anymore. We've done it for the course of a year and half with awful results in the standings. It also shows that Blackwood has to be sheltered in a Torts like system to be good which this roster wouldn't be good with anyway.

 

[Bleedred]

We're at the point where outplaying teams isn't going to mean anything anymore. We've done it for the course of a year and half with awful results in the standings. It also shows that Blackwood has to be sheltered in a Torts like system to be good which this roster wouldn't be good with anyway.

Blackwood is merely a Frankenstein goalie project at this point and nothing more.

He’s arguably the worst player on this team if he isn’t the worst player on the team, he’s the player of most consequences on this team, as he’ll cost you a lot more points than Mason Geertsen or Michael McLeod or whoever else we complain about.

 

[HBK27]

Blackwood’s last 13 games are like the new Cory’s calendar year of no wins and allowing at least 3 goals in like 16 of 18 starts or something.

He’s allowed at least 3 goals in 12 of his last 13 starts since shutting out the Flyers on December 8th of 2021.

The only difference is that he actually has some wins in there, because the team has been able to score enough goals to win in a few games where he’s allowed 3 and even 5 goals one game. He’s 4-8-1 in those 13 games. .864% over that stretch.

I’m not saying he’ll never have a good game or good streak again, he almost definitely will, as that play is almost unsustainably bad for anything more than a non-pro goaltender. He’ll have a good string of play again at some point, like Cory did. And I’m sure it’ll be enough to fool a whole lot of people. Including the organization who still desperately grasps at everything to still make him happen.

He’ll have another good steak again, we just don’t know when. And we can’t afford to be patient and wait for it to happen.

He’ll have a good string of play at some point, but he’s toast. Done. Finished.

Only I’m not sure if he’s actually toast or finished, as much as he was just never going to really be any good or have a particularly great NHL career. I’m sure he had strings like this in the AHL around his .882% season there. Long before covid, long before his heel injury.

The guy just probably f***ing sucks. He’s merely a Frankenstein goalie project at this point.

I'm beginning to think you're not a fan of MacKenzie Blackwood.

In all seriousness, I've probably been one of the few holdouts still supporting the guy, but after last night's performance I'm quickly running out of patience with him. He's got to show something soon otherwise you have to start considering what role Bernier plays on this team when he comes back from injury.

 

[Bleedred]

If the organization is going to lose and get the shit kicked out of them then it needs to lose and get the shit kicked out of it with Vanecek in nets and not Blackwood.

Blackwood has done nothing but that for a long time now.

This can’t be another 2013-2014 where we trade for a goalie in the off-season, only to continue to start the washed up guy and punt the season because of it. This isn’t even a HAS-BEEN that we’re trying so hard to make happen. This is a NEVER-WAS. At this point he’s done more bad than good as a Devil and almost all of the good was over THIRTY-ONE MONTHS AGO before the first ever covid pause/shutdown. That’s f***in insane. That’s a quarter of a f***ing decade ago now.

And the only other bit of good was seriously the first calendar month of 2021.

 

[Devs3cups]

This is where I'm torn. Looking at the 5v5 stats, the Devils did get the better run of play: CF% of 67.8, SCF% of 66.7, HDF% of 83.3, xGF of 2.5 and xGA of 1.6. To me that does scream that the goalie is the one that did not do his job.

I do admit though, that they just looked a bit off and listless maybe? You are right, ideally they should have been skating circles around the Flyers. I think Ruff could be/should be better with his lineup choices even with Nico out. Ride that Bratt unicorn dammit!

Great post. Reasonable and balanced!

 

[Captain Lou]

This season feels like a Sophie's Choice for the Devils.

Either this team stays in the hunt (whatever that means) in spite of the coach (thereby allowing said moron to keep his job); or they completely face plant again and Ruff is gone by Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas. The later the holiday, the greater the chance we're cooked.

I hope I'm wrong but I don't see any circumstance where this team stays in the playoff hunt and Ruff goes (which is the optimal outcome).

Why didn't Fitz fire this garbage can with the rest of the idiots?

 

[Bleedred]

I'm beginning to think you're not a fan of MacKenzie Blackwood.

In all seriousness, I've probably been one of the few holdouts still supporting the guy, but after last night's performance I'm quickly running out of patience with him. He's got to show something soon otherwise you have to start considering what role Bernier plays on this team when he comes back from injury.

I don’t even want him in the net again any time soon to be able to show something.

Let him play again on October 25th. That’s the first set of back to backs we have. The 24th is Washington and the 25th is @ Detroit. Let him play at Little Ceasars Arena.

Because I don’t think Ruff is gonna last much longer if he plays him much more than that.

Ruff might not last much longer anyway.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

All well and good that he had a couple nice passes, but it was not a strong game for him.

Man Ruff is an idiot.

 

[Unknown Caller]

This season feels like a Sophie's Choice for the Devils.

Either this teams stay in the hunt (whatever that means) in spite of the coach (thereby allowing said moron to keep his job); or they completely face plant again and Ruff is gone by Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas. The later the holiday, the greater the chance we're cooked.

I hope I'm wrong but I don't see any circumstance where this team stays in the playoff hunt and Ruff goes (which is the optimal outcome).

Why didn't Fitz fire this garbage can with the rest of the idiots?

Because Jack likes him (and the entire blame was placed on goaltending).

 

[severian]

I’m down with all the Blackwood and Ruff suck talk, but this is one game. We’ve had great starts to the season and ended up sucking, so maybe just maybe 1 loss isn’t the end of the world?

 

[Sasso09]

It was horrendous. The Flyers are complete dogshit and we think this team wants to take the next step? They were outplayed by a bunch of waiver fodder, and I’m usually patient with this stuff.

I truly don't understand Devils fans.

Roster for roster, when both teams are fully healthy, Flyers very clearly have the better roster.

 

[guitarguyvic]

This is where I'm torn. Looking at the 5v5 stats, the Devils did get the better run of play: CF% of 67.8, SCF% of 66.7, HDF% of 83.3, xGF of 2.5 and xGA of 1.6. To me that does scream that the goalie is the one that did not do his job.

I do admit though, that they just looked a bit off and listless maybe? You are right, ideally they should have been skating circles around the Flyers. I think Ruff could be/should be better with his lineup choices even with Nico out. Ride that Bratt unicorn dammit!

These stats are fool's gold. The Flyers basically stopped trying to score after 3-1.

We've got people here saying if the goalies were switched the Devils would have won. So we are just going to conveniently ignore that the two goals Hart gave up were just as "stoppable" as the ones Blackwood let in? The actual difference was that the Devils gave up more uncontested wide open looks from the circles than the Flyers did. And this is despite them being a team full of bottom line players who stopped pressuring after going up by two goals!

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Truly good teams don't play the worst teams in the league evenly. Instead of just pounding the Blackwood drum, why don't we ask why the Devils couldn't skate the Flyers into the ground at 5v5? A team that's ready to take the next step would have stepped on their throats from puck drop and not let up.

It's one game so let's see what happens moving forward, but that was a rough performance and it's not just on goaltending.

They didn’t play them evenly. They finished poorly and the goalie stinks. They played like shit, yet still carried play for the most part.

 

[Captain Lou]

Because Jack likes him (and the entire blame was placed on goaltending).

Well Jack isn't Mario or Crosby so Fitz cow-towing to a 21-year old and allowing him to have some say in who is the head coach is a fireable offense for the GM.

For reference (and as one example), Gomez HATED Burns. We won the Cup that year and Scott later admitted Pat was the best coach for him at the time.

 

[Devils090]

I’m down with all the Blackwood and Ruff suck talk, but this is one game. We’ve had great starts to the season and ended up sucking, so maybe just maybe 1 loss isn’t the end of the world?

A loss on opening night literally tanked our season in 18/19 lol

I mean yeah this wasn’t nearly as bad as that Winnipeg debacle but it was just a very stark reminder of what this team is under the moron who’s somehow still coaching it. Again it’s not “one game” it’s the same damn game we’ve watched for years.

 

[Bleedred]

Because Jack likes him (and the entire blame was placed on goaltending).

And then we actually go out and acquire a new goalie this off-season and Ruff still goes out and chooses to play Blackwood in the season opener, who was one of the biggest offenders last year when he was actually in the lineup and on the ice, and despite not being the best goalie currently on our roster the last two NHL seasons, NOR the preseason.

He definitely earned last night’s nail or several nails into his coffin for that move. Tired of the entire organization and their broadcasts trying to feed everybody all this bullshit propaganda about how it’s about him proving he’s a good goalie and he’s taking the ball and everybody still talking on the broadcast/Devils run media like he’s the starter. It’s f***ing brain rot.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

These stats are fool's gold. The Flyers basically stopped trying to score after 3-1.

We've got people here saying if the goalies were switched the Devils would have won. So we are just going to conveniently ignore that the two goals Hart gave up were just as "stoppable" as the ones Blackwood let in? The actual difference was that the Devils gave up more uncontested wide open looks from the circles than the Flyers did. And this is despite them being a team full of bottom line players who stopped pressuring after going up by two goals!

Simply didn’t happen. In fact their only sustained offense for any period of time was the PP to start the 3rd (which was the most embarrassing point of the game for the Devils — they had a chance if they killed that). They didn’t do very much all game, they didn’t “stop trying”.

 

[guitarguyvic]

And then we actually go out and acquire a new goalie this off-season and Ruff still goes out and chooses to play Blackwood in the season opener, who was one of the biggest offenders last year when he was actually in the lineup and on the ice, despite not being the best goalie currently on our roster the last two NHL seasons, NOR the preseason.

He definitely earned last night’s nail or several nails into his coffin for that move. Tired of the entire organization and their broadcasts trying to feed everybody all this bullshit propaganda about how it’s about him proving he’s a good goalie and he’s taking the ball and everybody still talking on the broadcast/Devils run media like he’s the starter. It’s f***ing brain rot.

You are right about this...but it applies to more than just Blackwood.

 

[Devils731]

If the Devils goalie could have posted a .958 save percentage yesterday then the Devils would have won.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Man Ruff is an idiot.

And his response to being checked in Bratt’s TOI was more than a little concerning. If he thinks 16 minutes is enough for Bratt, the guy should be checked for brain worms. Idiotic.

 

[Azathoth]

They didn’t play them evenly. They finished poorly and the goalie stinks. They played like shit, yet still carried play for the most part.

Agree with this, though it is concerning that this has been the trend going back to all of last season. IF it keeps up, somethings got to give in order for these guys to take the next step.

 

[Unknown Caller]

I truly don't understand Devils fans.

Roster for roster, when both teams are fully healthy, Flyers very clearly have the better roster.

Roster for roster, when both teams are fully healthy, the Coyotes very clearly have a better roster than the Penguins.