Hopefully you caught the game tonight. What a win in OT.
Wraps up a 6 game road trip that was/is part of a brutal March schedule. They manage to go 4-2 @ Nashville, @ Vegas, @ LA, @ Anaheim, @ San Jose and @ Pitt.
No rest for the weary as they are right back on the ice at home tomorrow against TB. I was beginning to lose hope for a playoff appearance before this trip, Columbus and Florida still playing good hockey but this one feels good.
We are 3 points up, they have 2 games in hand. Boston plays a huge factor as they matchup with Panthers 3x down the stretch. They also get Nashville once more.
Jay I agree its The blockade or bust from here on out, but the guy has seems to gain confidence with every start. He was superb tonight till the 2 bad ones in the 3rd but he recovered and made some huge saves the last 9 minutes of the game.
Tampa tommorrow will be a tough quick turnaround and there's always that first game back from the long trip hangover but maybe the home crowd can carry them. It would be depressing to be in playoff position all season only to lose out at the end
This offseason I really hope the Devils can find a taker for Schneider to get his contract off the books. The goalie I would target is Grubauer from Washington.
They should focus on extending Hall long term and try to sign Zacha cheap now in the event that he breaks out next season. A 5 year $12 million deal seems fair to me.
Oh well we can't look back now. We got 8 left and 6 of them are at the Rock with 1 of the road games in Montreal. Some are tough- Tampa/Pitt/Toronto but we have to find a way at this point
I still have a sneaking suspicion that Florida has a 3 game losing streak in them somewhere after such a prolonged stretch of great hockey.
as for going forward not sure I agree with you on Schneider. He's not been great since the injury this year, but I'm not ready to give up on him. he's been very solid here and you don't just find a #1 goalie so easy. Ask the Flyers. They've been searching for a consistent #1 since Hextall retired from hacking guys in the ankles. If you do go the route of moving on from him, I'd look at Khudobin or Carter Hutton as interesting UFA's to fill the gap till maybe Mackenzie Blackwood or Cormier is ready.
I don't share your love for Zacha. I'll wait and see sometimes young euro's take some more time but 6 goals in 60 games spending a lot of time as a top 6 fwd? eeesh.
I agree Hall needs o be locked up long term pronto.
2 UFA's I'd love them to look at are James Van Riemsdyk and Evander Kane. Grabner I could take or leave, I'd rather replace him with one of those 2- they are younger and have better all around games. I know Maroon may want to go back to Edmonton but I'd explore bringing him back. I love his hands beow the goaline. He's slow as shit but you can't have a whole team of speedsters- you need some big bodies.
Either way this team needs to upgrade their D. we spend far too much time pinned in our own zone.
Next year will be a huge year for Blackwood to prove that he is a legit option to be the franchise goaltender. It wouldn't surprise me if the Devils don't even sign Cormier to an entry level deal. He has continued to be extremely inconsistent this year.
I just don't see Schneider improving to what he was two years ago and if he continues to play like this then that contract will be a real hindrance as they won't be able to trade him.
JVR is a guy I have wanted to sign here as he would be a perfect fit at RW with Hischier and Hall. That would allow Palmieri to move to the 2nd line where he is a great fit.
I haven't given up on Blackwood. I came into this year with unfair expectations. I expected him to have a great season and begin to show that he was the long term replacement for Schneider. Hopefully next season will be different with a better Binghamton team with the arrivals of McLeod, Seney, Sissons and possibly Joey Anderson.
-Starting Kinkid. We don't play till tuesday and Schneider has no confidence. vs. Tampa that can mean 5 in a hurry
-Getting Mueller in there for a jag like Lovejoy gave them some well needed fresh legs on a tough back 2 back
-Getting Noesen in there for some more fresh legs
Nico has stepped up big time. Love the dirty goal he cleaned up tonight
I was surprised by the jump they had tonight off such an emotional win last night. They sagged a bit in the third but got the job done
Right now, I probably could not name 5 players on the roster. The only thing I know is Schneider is the goalie and it seems like he splits time with another guy and they have Hall who is having a really good season. Have no idea where he came from. I saw that the Devils started out hot but when I look at the standings now they seem to be border line to make the playoffs. That's it.
So, does this team have a shot this year?
What is their outlook for the next year or two?
Who else to keep an eye on?
I see a couple of the Rangers threads there the guys here are talking like that team completely sucks
Right now, I probably could not name 5 players on the roster. The only thing I know is Schneider is the goalie and it seems like he splits time with another guy and they have Hall who is having a really good season. Have no idea where he came from. I saw that the Devils started out hot but when I look at the standings now they seem to be border line to make the playoffs. That's it.
So, does this team have a shot this year?
What is their outlook for the next year or two?
Who else to keep an eye on?
I see a couple of the Rangers threads there the guys here are talking like that team completely sucks
No, the Devils don't have a shot to win the cup this year. They aren't good enough defensively and aren't an elite offensive team like the Penguins that can make up for it. They can certainly win a round or two though. They play up to their competition.
Their outlook for the next year or two is pretty bright. They have essentially unlimited cap room, and their best players are young. The first half of this season was a dream start with Hischier, Jesper Bratt (6th round pick in 2016), and Will Butcher (Hobey Baker winner signed as a free agent after the Avalanche couldn't get him to sign a rookie deal) putting up crazy point totals as rookies. Only Hischier has come close to keeping up that pace, and Bratt has fallen off completely on offense. Bratt is a great penalty killer though and keeps flashing skill, so he will probably bounce back at some point. Butcher is so smooth as a puck moving and handling defenseman, and is a great decision maker, but is being sheltered defensively. Hischier is a true center that is clearly going to be even better when he adds a few pounds of muscle and can't be knocked around so easily.
In the first half they also got unsustainable play from guys like Brian Gibbons, Drew Stafford, and Brian Boyle. But the constant this year is Hall, who seems to thrive on the system that is being installed based on speed and skill. He was good last year, but he looks like a completely different player this season. He shows no signs of slowing down. The offense runs through him.
Shero traded Henrique and a mid round pick for Sami Vatanen this year, which seems to be paying off. Vatanen is getting top minutes with Andy Greene (who is clearly aging but still good positionally). Vatanen is another good skater and is quarterbacking the power play along with Butcher. Henrique didn't seem to fit the system well enough and wasn't going to justify the contract he's going to get in a year or two. Ultimately, even with Vatanen, the team lacks top talent on defense that can really shut down top players. Carlson is a FA this season, and Karlsson and Doughty are next season, and the Devils can throw obscene money at them, but who knows whether any of them will actually leave or leave to come here.
Hall is the player to keep an eye on. The Devils will live or die with him, and he needs to keep playing at this ridiculous level. Palmieri is going to get his goals too. But the three rookies are going to be critical due to their skill and high ceilings. This is a system team with three of the fastest players in the league in Hall, Wood, and Grabner, and more speed sprinkled through the entire lineup. And then the goalie situation is just strange. Schneider didn't have a great year last year, and was hurt for a large portion of this season, but he looks just terrible now. Kinkaid is clearly a solid backup, and is playing better than that right now, but is a complete question mark going forward. Trading Schneider now would be selling way too low. If they're going to trade him, they need to try to build some of his value back up first.
The Devils can contend for the cup as early as next year if they can somehow revamp their defense and actually spend to the cap. They might have to sacrifice too much to do that, though. A two year plan is more realistic at this point. They would need, at a minimum, Hall to continue playing at this level, Hischier to become a bona fide 1C, and to add a true top defenseman without crippling their depth.
I would like to see Santini brought back up. He should rotate in with Lovejoy and Moore to keep them fresh and provide some much needed help in their own zone.
The Devils would have been in much better shape if Palmieri and Johansson didn’t miss so much time this season.
I would like to see Santini brought back up. He should rotate in with Lovejoy and Moore to keep them fresh and provide some much needed help in their own zone.
The Devils would have been in much better shape if Palmieri and Johansson didn’t miss so much time this season.
Yep agree with this all. On the post above Henrique fit the system just fine. In season if you're going to talk to another playoff team during the season you have to give up something to get something. Johansson really has been the forgotten guy. He missed so much of the season. He's been skating on his own. Seems like he may practice sometime soon. Would really help to get him back by the end of the season.
They would need to win all 8 games?