In case you haven't noticed, and judging by the subject matter of this blog you haven't, the NHL is back and its ratings are threatening to climb out of the cellar. (H/T Harry Doyle)
One of the surprise stories so far in the 2009-10 season has been the New Jersey Devils. After suffering one of the most heartbreaking elimination-game losses in NHL history -- Martin Brodeur giving up the game-tying and game-winning goals within the last 1:20 of the 3rd period in Game 7 of the first round series -- the Devils have bounced back in a huge way.
They stand at 13-4-0, which is good enough for the 3rd best record in the NHL (despite having played 1, 2, or 3 fewer games than most of the "top 10" teams. The Devils also have a nice-sized, 2-point lead in the Atlantic, again having played 2 fewer games than the 2nd place Penguins.
Oh yeah, they're also 9-0 on the road following their convincing 4-1 win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
Why is this surprising? The obvious reason is that the team won the division last year by a comfortable 7 points, got a 3-seed against Carolina with home ice advantage, and lost the series when arguably the best goalie in hockey history mailed in one of the worst choke acts in hockey history. So yeah, it's tough to come back from that.
But even more surprising is the glut of personnel changes that have altered the face of the team. Former Stanley Cup winners Brendan Shanahan and Bobby Holik? Gone. Former Stanley Cup winning coach Jacques Lemaire? Welcome back! John Madden and Brian Gionta, who combined for 83 points last year? Gone. Exciting new guys such as Niclas Bergfors and David Clarkson? Welcome to New Jersey!
Injuries have also wracked the Devils. Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston have missed time. So have Johnny Oduya (extremely underrated defenseman in last year's regular season) and Jay Pandolfo (great name).
But as Scott Burnside points out, Lemaire is the right personality for this team at this time. He's been in NJ before and won a Cup there in 1995. He can rebuild a team that lost some big leaders and point scorers. He's got more experience than Brent Sutter, even if he's a little less fiery with the pregame talks. And you know what? He's off to a hell of a start. So many changes have happened in Newark, but he has the team poised to establish a new core of talent. And like we've known for the last 16 years (!!) we still have Marty Brodeur in net. And his Game 7 performance earlier this year notwithstanding, there's nobody I'd rather have between the pipes in a big game. In that way, he's like the Mariano Rivera of hockey - the ageless wonder, the guy who (99% of the time) comes through in pressure situations, the guy who always represents the ace-up-the-sleeve that your team has and the opponent does not. I challenge you to find a player on some other team in some other sport who is more like The Great Mariano than Brodeur.
Anyway, before I go, I should say that since NYaT isn't a hockey blog, I better embed these here because I might never have another opportunity! Enjoy, Devils fans...
First, one you've probably already seen:
And now one you probably haven't:
Friday, November 13, 2009
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I think the Brodeur and Rivera comparisons may be a bit off. Brodeur is more like a starter than a closer. He has more Roger Clemens to him than Rivera.
ReplyDeleteAnd just hope your Devils don't face King Henrik and the Rangers in the playoffs, because they you'll see what a real goalie who isn't 50 can do ;)
Respectfully, I disagree (although to some degree, baseball and hockey are apples and oranges). Anyway, for the sake of argument, a starting pitcher is involved in every single pitch, which is more akin to a winger or other position player. Gretzky on the 80's Oilers teams was Roger Clemens. Or Scotty Stevens on the 1995-2004 Devils.
ReplyDeleteIn most games, there are roughly 25 shots on goal. A lot of them are pretty routine and easy saves. So you really only need your goalie to come up big, say, a half dozen times per game.
Isn't that what Mariano does? You just need him to come up big for 3-6 outs a game. All the other routine stuff (such as innings 1-7) are handled by the starter. Similarly, in hockey, most of the routine stuff is handled by the D or your wingers/center. Rivera excels at getting the toughest outs. Brodeur excels at not only doing what every goalie does (the easy saves) but also coming up huge at the most critical parts of the most critical games.
Except in 2009 against Carolina. That sucked.
But your argument that Brodeur's never aged is wrong. If you look at his stats (especially in the playoffs), they've fallen off in recent years.
ReplyDeleteThey would be perfectly fine stats for most people, but that is not in a "Rivera-esque way".
And Scott Stevens was a fine NHL player, but there is no way, even across sports you can compare him to Roger Clemens unless you count the number of head hits and dirty plays from both players.
Perhaps Brodeur is not as "ageless" as Rivera. But how many athletes of any sport really are? I'm just saying that Brodeur has aged better than virtually all other goalies. He still carries the load for his team; there's no platooning in goal for the Devils. Brodeur has started at least 70 games in 11 of his past 13 seasons!
ReplyDeleteContrast that to other "top" goalies such as your own Mike Richter, who started more than 70 games only once in his entire career, and who played in 45, 55, and 13 games his last three seasons. Richter played in just 666 games. Brodeur? 1004 and counting. And besides, Brodeur's save % in 2007-08 (his last full season) was .920 and his GAA was 2.17. How about back in 2000, when he was in his "prime" and won his 2nd Cup? .906 and 2.32. Perhaps he has actually gotten *better* in his old age.
I realize that Mariano is on another planet, but Brodeur is about as ageless as NHL goalies get.
Now here's a great argument: Who was more important to their team's championships in the last 15 years: Rivera or Brodeur?
ReplyDeleteMariano Rivera, no question. I love Brodeur but it's not much of a debate.
ReplyDelete