ECQF: New Jersey Devils [MET2] vs New York Rangers [MET3] - Devils Win 4-3

[MrMike]

Devils to the early powerplay

[DoubleK]

Shesterkin was great. Devs need to find a way to get to him.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

4 assists for Fox tonight on 5 goals for the Rangers.

Oh what could have been...

It's never not going to hurt, is it?

[activeStick]

Yeah came in just to post how annoying it is that Fox got 4 points tonight... Sigh

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

4 assists for Fox tonight on 5 goals for the Rangers.

Oh what could have been...

It's never not going to hurt, is it?

Of all the woulda shoulda coulda players I’m pretty indifferent to him as there was never a chance he suited up for the Flames.

[Karl]

What concerns me a lot about Jersey is that most of their forwards that matter are really soft and don't handle physicality very well at all.

And then there's a few of their D-men who don't handle pressure well at all in their zone.

[Karl]

Like I said, Devils in 7. But the Jersey concerns are real.

[Erick Estrada]

Can’t overreact to one game. It was their first taste of playoff hockey. I expect they will put forth a better effort in game 2.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Of all the woulda shoulda coulda players I’m pretty indifferent to him as there was never a chance he suited up for the Flames.

Amen.

This kind of talk is pointless revisionist history akin to evaluating trades involving draft picks traded away based on who was taken with those picks. It's a massive leap of logic to say that the same players would have been taken with those picks.

One doesn't hear Flames fans lament Tim Erixon in this fashion.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Of all the woulda shoulda coulda players I’m pretty indifferent to him as there was never a chance he suited up for the Flames.

Would it help if I reminded you he was a valuable asset in the Lindholm trade and people are noting based on garbage bag day interviews that he now wants out?

Darkest times, my friend

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Would it help if I reminded you he was a valuable asset in the Lindholm trade and people are noting based on garbage bag day interviews that he now wants out?

Darkest times, my friend

I'm not in love with Lindholm like some others so I'm actually fine with him making the decisions for the Flames here. They will recoup valuable assets for him at the end of the day so the cycle of that trade will continue.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Can’t overreact to one game. It was their first taste of playoff hockey. I expect they will put forth a better effort in game 2.

Been saying this for the whole year but the Devils are so overrated imo. They've been a mediocre / bad team for years and while their young guys are now hitting their prime, I don't see them being a real contender at all. Wouldn't be surprised to see a quick series.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Saqe

Been saying this for the whole year but the Devils are so overrated imo. They've been a mediocre / bad team for years and while their young guys are now hitting their prime, I don't see them being a real contender at all. Wouldn't be surprised to see a quick series.

What are you talking about? They just had a 112 point season and their core hasn't even hit their prime years. Jack Hughes is 21 years old. All their top forwards are under 25 years old and Luke Hughes hasn't even entered the picture. They won't win the cup this season but they have potential to be the next great team as there's a lot of parallels to the Avalanche.

[SuperMatt18]

Biggest issue for the Devils in this series is the goaltending disparity is huge.

Shesterkin is elite.

Vanecek is serviceable.

Makes for a tough series whenever that happens.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Biggest issue for the Devils in this series is the goaltending disparity is huge.

Shesterkin is elite.

Vanecek is serviceable.

Makes for a tough series whenever that happens.

That, and the playoff experience of the Rangers. Lots of veterans who have been through a lot of playoff series, and a few former cup winners. Compare that to the young and green Devils, and this will likely be chalked up as a learning experience for them as they develop into a true contender.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

What are you talking about? They just had a 112 point season and their core hasn't even hit their prime years. Jack Hughes is 21 years old. All their top forwards are under 25 years old and Luke Hughes hasn't even entered the picture. They won't win the cup this season but they have potential to be the next great team as there's a lot of parallels to the Avalanche.

Ok yes, Hughes is 21 but everyone else is just entering their primes. All are around 24-26.


Yes they had a good regular season. The Panthers had a much better regular season last year and the Devils play very much the same way except they are worse than the Panthers. Their core isn't nearly as good as the Avalance.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Saqe

Ok yes, Hughes is 21 but everyone else is just entering their primes. All are around 24-26.


Yes they had a good regular season. The Panthers had a much better regular season last year and the Devils play very much the same way except they are worse than the Panthers. Their core isn't nearly as good as the Avalance.

They are built way more like the Avalanche than the Panthers of last year.

Core Under 25:
Nemec: 19
L. Hughes: 19
Holtz: 21
J. Hughes: 21
Mercer: 21
Hischier: 24
Bratt: 24
Boqvist: 24
Sharangovich: 24

Core Over 25:
Mcleod: 25
Marino: 25
Meier: 26
Severson: 28
Hamilton: 29

That is still a very, very young team. The Panthers had Lundell, Knight, and Luostarinen as pieces under 25 in their big season (Tippett too but they traded him). This team is much, much younger and built for success. Unlike the Panthers too they actually still have most of their draft picks, and have made 1st round picks in past years.

Much like the Avalanche the issue is they need a goalie (Avs had Kuemper for a year). Blackwood looking like a bust hurts the Devils a lot, but maybe Daws or Schmid can be pieces long term.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

What are you talking about? They just had a 112 point season and their core hasn't even hit their prime years. Jack Hughes is 21 years old. All their top forwards are under 25 years old and Luke Hughes hasn't even entered the picture. They won't win the cup this season but they have potential to be the next great team as there's a lot of parallels to the Avalanche.

Yes. This might be the typical "learning playoff" that a lot of eventual cup winners go through.

[Saqe]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

They are built way more like the Avalanche than the Panthers of last year.

Core Under 25:
Nemec: 19
L. Hughes: 19
Holtz: 21
J. Hughes: 21
Mercer: 21
Hischier: 24
Bratt: 24
Boqvist: 24
Sharangovich: 24

Core Over 25:
Mcleod: 25
Marino: 25
Meier: 26
Severson: 28
Hamilton: 29

That is still a very, very young team. The Panthers had Lundell, Knight, and Luostarinen as pieces under 25 in their big season (Tippett too but they traded him). This team is much, much younger and built for success. Unlike the Panthers too they actually still have most of their draft picks, and have made 1st round picks in past years.

Much like the Avalanche the issue is they need a goalie (Avs had Kuemper for a year). Blackwood looking like a bust hurts the Devils a lot, but maybe Daws or Schmid can be pieces long term.

No offense but the only way you can compare the Devils core to the Avalance is if you haven't watched them. There is not a single player on the Devils roster that I would take over MacKinnon, Rantanen or Makar. Not even projecting close to those guys. Also listing guys like Nemec or Holtz as core guys is pretty generous. Colorado also has guys like Byram who is way better than most of those guys on the list. I guess Newhook would be also core for them according to this definition.


Panthers last year had core pieces Barkov 26, Verhaege 26, Reinahrt 26, Duclair 26, Ekblad 26 and Forsling 25 so yeah, if you make the cut off at 25 then the Devils are going to look a lot younger.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

They are built way more like the Avalanche than the Panthers of last year.

Core Under 25:

Sigenthaler is 25, but needs a contract and will be getting a pretty good raise. Current cap hit is $1.15M and his next contract probably should start with a 4.

Edit: I missed his extension. They reupped him at $3.4M AAV, very team friendly.