Steve Politi previews Game 5 from the New Jersey Devils' perspective

Game five, Hurricanes and Devils tonight here at PNC Arena. A gentleman who used to cover the Carolina Hurricanes back in the day and is now a, I was going to say sports columnist, but duh. For the star ledger and NJ.com, the pride of the Nutley High School Maroon Raiders, Steve Politti joins us on the Adam Gold Show. How are you, sir? I'm doing great, sir. How are you?

I'm doing well. In a in an alternate universe, I am also the pride of the Nutley High School Maroon Raiders. I think you were more of a more of the pride than I was.

No, no, no, you're not sell yourself short. There's plenty of room for many prize in that. Well, that is true.

That's right, but Martha Stewart also Nutley High School. So you wrote the other day. This struck me because I kind of felt this way, but I appreciated that you wrote it. You wrote that you thought the hurt the New Jersey Devils quit in game four. Was it more about the second period or the third?

Yeah, I mean, I think that's what I found. I think watching it allowed to reach the same conclusion. And then you talk to the Devils in the locker room and they didn't deny it. And then Niko, he sure said we stopped playing. Damon Severson said there was just no response, no pushback to what to what the Hurricanes did. The third period, they just skated it out, you know, right?

When you're down 6-1, maybe that's, you know, all right, Xavier, you're not going to win. But but also you kind of want to see some fight, some fire, some heart, something. Something from them and you just didn't get it in that game. So yeah, I was disappointed. I think a lot of fans were.

They were booed off the ice in the second period. Yeah, and that would be, you know, I'm not sure what's going to happen tonight, but certainly you would think that they would want to have a better effort to win or lose to end what was been a good season. You don't want that to be your last your last image of this team that they are in fact not going to advance here.

Steve Politti on Twitter, columnist, starledger, nj.com. Is there a guy on the roster that can be that tone setter? Because I think it almost has to happen with a physical edge tonight. Well, that then that guy will be chemo Meyer. Definitely.

Yeah. I mean, he's the one who's gotten under certainly was under the Ranger skin in the first year. He's the one guy who gets into the crease, you know, he's only got one goal and he's playoffs. They brought him in here for that to be that impactful player in the postseason and he has been good. It just hasn't hasn't gotten on the stat sheet good. So I mean, I think you're looking at one guy who can be sort of that sort of that player, you know, it's funny that but the other guys you would think who would who would be a good player.

The who would have an impact to me and a guy familiar to her. He stands will be ducky Hamilton's minus eight in this playoffs in this series without a single point just a massively disappointing postseason Devils are waiting for a ton of guys to do something Nico he's here just for brat just a bunch of guys who they count on the regular season not produced so at this point, whoever wants to be the step up and do it. They'll take anybody has has ducky caught any heat from whether it's the papers or talk radio.

Frankly. I don't know if the fan or ESPN in New York is having a whole bunch of discussions about this with the Yankees in last place, even though there are four games over 500. The Mets are doing much worse than the Yankees. They're just not in last place, but has has Hamilton or anybody else caught heat.

Now, I mean that you're right. They're just yeah, we're the Yankees and Mets playing below their expectations and extra in the playoffs. You know, so really good schedule. I mean the Devils do not do not crack the radio mainstream in the New York Market.

So no real heat. I mean, you know, certainly we requested to talk to him after that game and game for just because obviously the guy brought here of 63 million dollars just a lot of expectations. He admitted he's obviously not playing up to his own expectations. He wants to be better, you know, I that doesn't take away from the fact he was excellent during the course of the year.

Certainly. He's one of probably one of the top five six seven defenseman in the league, you know, and there's a big reason why they're here in the first place. But yeah, this is this is the time of year when it when it when it matters and certainly it has not been a good postseason form either as the offensive defenseman or for that matter frankly for that matter just defensively, you know, he's been lacking.

So that's a that's a problem that I think people are going to take a long look at when the season is over. Steve Politti is joining us here at Steve Politti on Twitter new nj.com star ledger columnist moving on from Dougie to the goaltending. They went back and forth.

We started with Akira Schmid. He was pulled in both games. They went to V tech Vana check. He went in game for didn't work out. They pulled it. What do they do tonight is Mackenzie and they didn't skate today. So we have no idea is Mackenzie Blackwood a possibility is Martin Brodeur a possibility. Chico rest is going to come out of the radio booth. One of the original Devils goalies bring him down. I don't know and I don't know that there's a good answer really Mackenzie Blackwood has not played since I think early April and he wasn't good when he did so if they if they go down that route, it's it's really just a lottery ticket. You know, I mean, I need tech Vana check is in bad and virtually all of his postseason starts at least Akira Schmid has a couple of good ones.

That's where I would go if I were Mindy rough today, you know, but again, there's no it's just really there's no good answer. He has not had he's not had a he's not had a great goalie performance in a while. Now it really does if they play like they did and he's right. He said this after the game game for if they play like they did in front of them. It doesn't they could be anyway could be the statue of Martin Brodeur outside the Prudential Center wouldn't matter. They just weren't good enough and they you know, in that game. It's funny if you take that it's like made a couple really big shapes early on before the Hurricanes broke it open.

So he did have his moments. They were just there, you know, they just do too many shots too many scoring chances and he wasn't good after that Steve Politti nj.com is with us here. What has what have been the questions either of Lindy rough or about Lindy rough to waiting too long to change the goalie should he have done something differently or ultimately do we over blow all of these things? Yeah, I mean, I think probably a little bit of that and it was it was curious that he would have talked to the simple to pull the goalie did it the third goal with Schmidt.

I don't know that it would make a difference at all. I think the bigger question is just why this team is just you just don't know what's going to show up at the ice. I think that's that's been a broader question. I don't know if that's a coaching thing if that's a motivational thing if that's an experience thing if it's a leadership thing. I really don't know, you know some games they've been brilliant just absolutely come out and just dominate and use their speed and race and then they look like those good education in game for and then they just stop they just stop skating.

They stop doing what makes them good and it was just sort of flabbergasting to watch it in real time because they just something changed and as it was happening, you can see it. So I don't know. Yeah.

I mean, it's it's I think Lindy rough is I add a loss to answer that question as well. Yeah, I don't think there's any question about that. And then finally for you Steve this year has been so great and the team is so young and the future is so bright and I know nobody wants to hear it now, but has this almost been gravy? Yeah, I think once you won game seven against the Rangers and you took that series and you gave your fans that bragging rights for the rest of the year that yeah anything after that was going to be gravy. It's you had the biggest turnaround on the regular season, you know, you've you've established the fact that you've got all these young players 21 1924 your core players that you're going to be in this position year after year. The team, you know, this team's not going away. I think what would be disappointing if you want to, you know, just say we just be these scores, you know, I mean 615161. It's just the other point of it. Like if you you just thought they'd be better than this this time of year. So I think that'd be the one thing that would take a little bit away from it. But if it doesn't and I think double stands would be very satisfied. Yeah, I think we're going to see a good game. I don't think we're going to see a crazy one.

Like we have seen for all for all four of these games pretty much but that's kind of the way the playoffs have gone Steve Politti at Steve Politti star Ledger Pride of Nutley High School nj.com. Thank you, man. I appreciate I'll see you soon. Yes, you tonight. Thanks. Take care.