flyers0909 Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 @bkobow05 @Forge I saw this tweet yesterday, and was wondering how well it matches up with what you guys are seeing from the Devils. Essentially this says they're getting shelled in shot differential when it comes to low danger and medium danger chances. But are dominant when it comes to high danger chances. As someone who hasn't even watched a Devils game this year (how in the hell have the Flyers finished 9 season series so far but haven't played a game against Jersey yet...?) if I had to guess based off this chart the Devils are spending a lot of time in their own zone, but are limiting the shots to the point and not much close to the net, and they are often scoring off the rush? Quote Charlie O'Connor @charlieo_conn 20h20 hours ago Unsurprisingly as a result, the Devils have the second-largest positive gap between their 5v5 Corsi For % (46.74%) and xG For (50.26%) in the NHL. Again, showing they are losing the shot share quite heavily, but giving up poor chances and making the most of theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 @flyers0909 I've watched about 75% of the devils games this year, and I'll say that sounds about right. There have been plenty of games where I've watched and I thought we were completely outplayed, but mainly because we spent so much time in our own zone. Lot of point shots for sure - it would probably be a little more even in this regard, but I swear that we can't get anything on the net from the point. Our defensemen may have the worst shot accuracy in the league lol. We don't spend a lot of time chasing, in my opinion, which is a positive. Our skill players are really adept passers, so I think that there are a lot of high probability shots when the pass makes it through. Cross ice passes into empty space. They also jump on pucks. Like, puck takes an odd hop and suddenly the devils are on it the other way on a breakout. Some of that is luck (for the puck to take a fortunate bounce), and some of it is skill and grit to go get it. On the other hand, I haven't seen a lot of that go against us, so that helps. We've also played a lot of close games, and a lot of games with an empty net. We haven't scored a lot of empty net goals, spend quite a bit of time in our own end there - I'm not sure if that's considered 5x5 though. Obviously, thats not huge in the grand scheme, but it could influence some of that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 (edited) @flyers0909 I've only gotten to watch a handful of games this season due to being on 2nd shift (back to 1st now...hooray!) and from what I've seen, we've got a bend but don't break type defensive scheme so we spend a lot of time in our own zone waiting for runouts and when we get them, we capitalize. Naturally, that means we probably give up a ton of shots but, again, it seems like they are coming from further away from the net due to clamping down and, as they say in D3: The Mighty Ducks, "cleaning up the garbage" in front of the net. @Forge is the one that has a better feel for what we are right now. I've just been really excited based off the handful of games that I've managed to catch. Definitely not your father's Devils. It's also crazy that we've been so productive despite only getting a combined 45 games and 18 points from Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac and Marcus Johansson. Gotta figure they'll cover some of the eventual return to earth goal scoring/shooting that's due for Bratt (10 G/18.9% SH%), Gibbons (12 G/26.7% SH%) and Boyle (8 G/22.2% SH%). Also gotta figure that Hischier will start getting less unlucky (5 G/7.0% SH%) in that regard. Basically, I don't think we're going anywhere. Edited December 20, 2017 by bkobow05 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyers0909 Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 These charts pretty much show what I was saying and you guys confirmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 I love Zajac, but at this point, I feel like his offensive skill and output is basically nil at this point. He's really a better fit as a checking line center or 4th line guy. I'm not sure who we would replace him to center the second line with Johannsson and Bratt, though. Zacha doesn't seem to be at a point where he can do it, so the best option may be Boyle, but I really wish we had a more natural sniper for two skill players like Bratt and Johannsson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 And just as I was typing that last post, Boyle seriously scores a goal against Chicago lol (may have been Coleman on a tip, not sure yet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Devils have played the Blackhawks twice this season, Crawford has been pulled from both games. We have been playing some really good hockey lately. Getting to almost every loose puck, finding a lot of open ice...so much fun to watch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 10 goals in 4 periods vs the Blackhawks this season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Man, this team just plays such inspired hockey. It's also nice that we have a ton of puck carriers now. Before, our players treated the puck like a hot potato or handled it so damn loose and slow. We are fast and can win one on one now. It's so refreshing to finally adapt. This team is so damn fun. Even if we fall off to end the year, this team has set themselves up real nice for the future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 21 minutes ago, bkobow05 said: Man, this team just plays such inspired hockey. It's also nice that we have a ton of puck carriers now. Before, our players treated the puck like a hot potato or handled it so damn loose and slow. We are fast and can win one on one now. It's so refreshing to finally adapt. This team is so damn fun. Even if we fall off to end the year, this team has set themselves up real nice for the future. I kept waiting for us to fall apart, but at this point, I don't see it happening. I don't know if we finish as a top 3 team in the conference, but I don't see any way in which we aren't at least a playoff team. We really are that good in my opinion. The defense from the forwards has gotten much better. We still have issues on the blue line, but the forwards are doing a really admirable job in their defensive responsibility lately which really helps, and we haven't committed as many bad penalties or horrific turnovers in our own end. Things are looking super good moving forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 When Nico learns to be more aggressive with his shots, he's going to be one of the best all around players in hockey. He's already surprisingly defensively responsible, and his vision and passing is extremely good and he is capable of making some really good moves with the puck. He just needs to improve his shot, and be more willing to shoot rather than always look for that perfect pass. Also, Schneider is still very good. Great saves on a Kane breakaway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 @Forge Yea, I agree. Travis Zajac doesn't fit this team anymore. He's too slow at this point. However, we still need him due to what you said above...defense out of our forwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Just now, bkobow05 said: @Forge Yea, I agree. Travis Zajac doesn't fit this team anymore. He's too slow at this point. However, we still need him due to what you said above...defense out of our forwards. He and Boyle are also the only legit face off men we have, so he definitely has a role, I just hate wasting Bratt and Johannsson's skill with him in the middle. I really wish Zacha would get it together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 3 minutes ago, Forge said: He and Boyle are also the only legit face off men we have, so he definitely has a role, I just hate wasting Bratt and Johannsson's skill with him in the middle. I really wish Zacha would get it together. At this point, I think Zacha needs to be stuck on the wing. Then again, kid is only 20 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted December 24, 2017 Share Posted December 24, 2017 Oof...I don't know what happened in that second period, but Chicago just destroyed us. That was ugly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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