GDT: Your New Jersey Devils vs. Calgary Flames, 7 PM, MSGSN

[njdevils1982]

Vitek showed he's physically capable of being at least a slightly above average goalie last season. It doesn't seem like you can say he doesn't care either. The problem is that he's like Shane Falco. Stuck in quicksand.



Maybe an ayahuasca retreat or something would do him some good. Maybe he just needs a trade to a team with a hibachi restaurants near the arena. Until he gets his head right or we trade for an upgrade in net, this is going to keep happening.

 

[Killing Joke]

But they already showed they can. That 20 gm stretch after Vancouver 1 where they had a healthy forward lineup with the same goalie issues…

Im not saying it will happen. But thats the stretch of the season where they will live on or die

This was a game they should've won but couldnt because the goaltending. They have no won more than 3-4 games in a row this season. In fact I don't think it's gone above 3.

And as of late, they lose more than they win and a lot of that is on the goalie you think they can out score bad play from.

Their goal differential shows they cant.

 

[Bleedred]

And his last game against Colorado was OVERRATED. I was KILLING him in that GDT too. So I didn't just jump fence on that one.

Even moneypuck only had him at a +0.20 (I think?) GSAx for that game. The Colorado goalie Annunen had a very similar GSAx number, despite allowing one more goal on 8 fewer shots faced.

He fell asleep on the second goal in that game and gave up a goal from the bench (as Lindy said in another game earlier this year lol) that tied the game.

 

[glenwo2]

Punting on the season is a lot easier to swallow when there are also so many things outside of our control going wrong. Injuries, both number of games lost and quality of player lost. The rookie defensemen were going to have to take their medicine eventually. The other thing.

But that does not excuse the things we can control going wrong. Fitz isn’t an idiot, he sees the same things we see. Ruff will not be back, they built an out into his first deal because they didn’t trust him, and they built an out into his second deal because they STILL didn’t trust him after the best season in franchise history. We will get another goalie, that’s not even a discussion. Our top-end talent is good but our depth really got exposed this year, especially on the backend.

The long term outlook is still great, even if the short term really sucks.

The problem is that we had Andrew Brunette RIGHT HERE.

RIGHT HERE!!

And we let him go.

 

[NjDevsRR]

This was a game they should've won but couldnt because the goaltending. They have no won more than 3-4 games in a row this season. In fact I don't think it's gone above 3.

And as of late, they lose more than they win and a lot of that is on the goalie you think they can out score bad play from.

Their goal differential shows they cant.

Trust me, I get it. But there is a little piece of hope left in the stretch after Carolina. And looking a little further, it’s actual a favorable 13 game stretch

This is their last chance

 

[Devs3cups]

Why da Funk are there two forwards with almost -20+/- and the rest of the team is in single digits (Mercer and Timo)?!

 

[glenwo2]

This is probably the loudest I've ever heard the push back on him this year.

Alex said flat out to waive him during the game lol

Holtz said this?

 

[Bleedred]

this was the first time in a while where I heard ruff say vitek had a rough game.

I can't remember the last time he said that.. usually said something about the defense when questioned about the goalie

I remember him saying that our goalie had a rough game earlier this year when Schmid played. I think it was the game we won in OT against the Islanders, where Schmid gave up 2 or 3 weak goals.

The hardest I've ever heard him on a goalie here was on Blackwood after that game against Boston right before Christmas last year. He gave up 4 goals on like 16 shots in 2 periods. I can't remember if he was pulled in the middle of the 2nd or if they just came out for the 3rd with Vitek, but we almost came back and lost like 4-3.

He said we need more saves, chances happen every game and the goalie needs to stop some, and that they really need to come up with a solution to our goaltending schedule or something.

And that game came right after one of Blackwood's better games of the season against Florida, which was his first start back from almost a 2 month injury.

I think that was the last time Blackwood ever started two games in a row here.

 

[Maine Fan]

No, he wasn't. You don't pay 3.4M for a backup. Blackwood was here before Fitz.

Stupid remark

 

[Bcap88]

Wonder how it is that Carolina is chugging along with a worse team save percentage than nj…….

 

[guitarguyvic]

The problem is that we had Andrew Brunette RIGHT HERE.

RIGHT HERE!!

And we let him go.

Fitz wimped out. It's as simple as that. He was faced with making the right long-term decision that would have put him at risk for short-term criticism, or making the wrong long-term decision that would shield him from short-term criticism. He chose the latter.

It's either that, or he actually believes Lindy is good enough to take this team to the next level.

Both scenarios are really really troubling.

 

[Bleedred]

I don't care if he's got a hundred kids in the ICU with arrows in their heads

He's a complete liability in net since last April

YOU KNOW it and I KNOW it.

 

[JrFischer54]

Team needs to go 20-10-4 to get to 96 points which seems like a pipe dream considering the facts:

first goal allowed in roughly 70 percent of the games
Below 900 goal tending
18 and a 19 year old eating tough minutes
Missing Hamilton and Siegs
Haven’t won 4 games in a row all year.

How many of those first goals against are soft goals by Vitek or schmid

 

[BurntToast]

Timo is a blackhole, more than anything else besides goaltending. Hindsight, this trade may sink the Devils chance at a Stanley Cup. The assets given up for the trade and his play vrs contract are killing this team.

Bad Toffoli is doing what we hoped Timo would do. Timo was a minus -3 again. Guy is almost - 25 and nobody is really close.

 

[Maine Fan]

The problem is that we had Andrew Brunette RIGHT HERE.

RIGHT HERE!!

And we let him go.

Could you say that again and would Devils fans please listen. Thanks

 

[Bleedred]

Wonder how it is that Carolina is chugging along with a worse team save percentage than nj…….

Do their actual goalies have a worse combined save percentage at this point?

As bad as our goaltending save percentage is, our team save percentage is somehow even lower because of how many empty net goals we've allowed this season. Which only got lower tonight.

This team rarely pulls the goalie this year without giving up an empty net goal.

It's not even like they pull the goalie and just can't tie it. We give up an empty net goal more times than not when we pull the goalie.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

Starting Saturday, 5 games in the next 8 days. Buckle up.

I'm not gonna buckle up. Instead I'm gonna unbuckle and jump the f*** out!

 

[NjDevsRR]

Wonder how it is that Carolina is chugging along with a worse team save percentage than nj…….

Their goaltending has been solid since early December

Kochetkov

Raanta

Martin

 

[Bleedred]

Buckle up.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Timo is a blackhole, more than anything else besides goaltending. Hindsight, this trade may sink the Devils chance at a Stanley Cup. The assets given up for the trade and his play vrs contract are killing this team.

Bad Toffoli is doing what we hoped Timo would do. Timo was a minus -3 again. Guy is almost - 25 and nobody is really close.

This has been the most shocking, and worrying thing about Timo. His defense is absolutely atrocious.

But.

How much of that could be mitigated with a better defensive structure than this pee-wee shit Lindy employs?

Given the still relatively small sample size and circumstantial issues of this team in the time he's been here, it's just way premature to jump to anything conclusive about him yet.

 

[Blender]

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Wonder how it is that Carolina is chugging along with a worse team save percentage than nj…….

It's almost like other parts of the game matter.

 

[Bcap88]

Do their actual goalies have a worse combined save percentage at this point?

As bad as our goaltending save percentage is, our team save percentage is somehow even lower because of how many empty net goals we've allowed this season. Which only got lower tonight.

This team rarely pulls the goalie this year without giving up an empty net goal.

It's not even like they pull the goalie and just can't tie it. We give up an empty net goal more times than not when we pull the goalie.

Natural stat trick has it at

90.03 nj to 90.34 Carolina

I assumed it’s cause they stopped playing their version of vanecek (raanta)

 

[Bleedred]

Vitek was never going to work out here again after the playoffs last year

Do I blame Fitz for not knowing that and recognizing it back then? No. It wasn't nearly for certain, but I do think he was doomed after that joke of a playoffs he had, where this collapse began.

He's probably been an .880% his last almost 40 games.

 

[Louskoolaid89]

The problem is that we had Andrew Brunette RIGHT HERE.

RIGHT HERE!!

And we let him go.

Andrew Bruenette isn't exactly the second coming of Jacques Lemaire or Pat Burns. He's no Larry Robinson either. Yeah I'd rather have him calling the shots over Rufftard. Give ya that. Shitty goalies make any coach look bad. Shittier coaches keep playing the shittier goalies. Our shit just gets shittier and shittier by the minute and I'm sick and tired of it. Enough of this shit!