The annual has Brodeur played too many reg season games?

Now that the playoffs are close has Sutter overused Brodeur in the regular season just like every other coach before him? Granted Marty has stolen some low scoring games for us but at what point do you say enough is enough we need to save Brodeur for the big show. Maybe we lose a couple games that Weekes plays but do you think its worth it at this point?

Also do you think Marty was calling the shots on this one or Brent?

I personally think more rest was warranted maybe 3-5 more games for Weekes.

i dont think people understand that sitting out 3 hours during a game is the same as sitting our 3 hours and not practicing twice a day and giving him extra rest on off days

so that said, no

i dont think people understand that sitting out 3 hours during a game is the same as sitting our 3 hours and not practicing twice a day and giving him extra rest on off days

so that said, no

I don't understand it either.. It's every single year too

I think that Marty and the coach have just a little better judgment of how he's feeling than we do.. Just a little...

I don't buy the "he was worn out during the regular season" when he has a bag game in the post season either..

That's also assuming we win every game Marty plays. Obviously we do better with him, but had we sat him once in a while, the record might not have been THAT much different.

Brodeur getting tired out is a myth.

Do the goalies get tired more than the players? Apparently so..

I personally think more rest was warranted maybe 3-5 more games for Weekes.Then Brodeur would possibly be looking at even more rest next week as the 9th place team in the Eastern Conference.

Then Brodeur would possibly be looking at even more rest next week as the 9th place team in the Eastern Conference.

Exactly I don't think people realize how tight the standings are. Yea they will probably finish 4th and get home ice in the first round however that still is going to be just a few points more than 8th place. Every game is so important now.

This year has also been different because unlike in the past Marty has been given off a lot of the practices and morning skates. So he has gotten more rest this year.

That said if the Isles win in regulation tonight I think we will see Weekes in net tomorrow night. They would have clinched 4th and be locked into that so start Weekes tomorrow and the then Marty Sunday so he doesn't have a full week off but gets a game off (and Weekes gets a game in in case he is needed).

I think that Marty and the coach have just a little better judgment of how he's feeling than we do.. Just a little...

I think the coach does. He's done more between games to give Marty a rest than prior coaches and more or less locked him out of practice (as I hoped he would) the two days after the Flyer game just when it looked as if the games played were catching up to him with a handful of bad goals in that game and the Ranger game.

If it was completely up to Marty he would play every minute of every game. And that's not a bad quality to have, but the organization has come way too close to letting him do that the last few years.

And yes, overplaying Marty has hurt the last couple of years. This is no longer pre-lockout hockey with an airtight defense. Playing 75 games now, at age 35 is different than playing 75 at age 30, with a better defense.

But as I said above so far it looks as if Sutter's found a happy medium in giving him enough rest between games so that he doesn't fatigue on the ice the way he did last March and April.

It's really a double edged sword. I would've like to have gotten Weekes about 3 or 4 more starts this season, but at the same time I also realize that we probably would be fighting for our playoff lives because we'd probably have 2 less wins. Plus, I think Marty will bring it come playoff time.

Brodeur getting tired out is a myth.

Quoted for truth.

Well documented that Marty himself feels better playing every game rather than sitting (he loses his sharpness), he WANTS to play every game, Sutter has given him carte blanche to sit himself if he ever feels tired or wants a break, and that he feels no different than forwards and defense who are expected to play every game. That plus he is getting whole days off after games, not practicing the day of games via the morning skate, it all says this is nothing more than hot air pumped continuously by the media and nay sayers looking for excuses for Devils failures.

Marty had a spell of about 3 games mid-season where he let in 4-5 soft goals in a row, but other than that, he has not had repeated or even a trend of soft goals or weak play that can be pointed to as a reason for believing he is either tired or not on top of his game.

MYTH

i dont think people understand that sitting out 3 hours during a game is the same as sitting our 3 hours and not practicing twice a day and giving him extra rest on off days

so that said, no


Mental fatigue? You'd have to think that playing in THAT many games wears on a person over an 82 game season. Even Brodeur.

Mental fatigue? You'd have to think that playing in THAT many games wears on a person over an 82 game season. Even Brodeur.

no, he said he likes playing. he said if hes at the rink why not play. theonly reason why they rest him is for physical fatigue

I actually wish they let him play EVERY game. Glenn Hall did it. Why not now? With conditioning the way it is, how is playing 76 or 78 games really that much different than 82? It would just cement his status as the best goalie ever. Heck, he could have been doing it the past few seasons and then he could have been making a run at beating Glenn Hall's record for consecutive games. I think marty got robbed of trying for that record.

Anyway, as you can see, I don't believe that he will be fatigued. It's like the way pitchers all of a sudden can't pitch more than 6 innings. I just read Steve Carlton pitched 30 complete games in 1972. Now, a pitcher is lucky to pitch one complete game. Are athletes suddenly too fragile? Has mankind devolved so rapidly? It's all bunch of crap.

No.

I hate the media.

I don't think people really understand Marty at all. He actually gets worse the more you sit him. The more Marty plays the better he gets. Against Tampa last year you could see him coming off some rust. Same as beginning of the year. After that wears off he played alot better.

But alot of that is trust too, he said there were way too many rebounds that went off the devils during the playoffs. I think when you have to not only worry about the opponent but your own team scoring on you it can make it hard to play.

Hopefully this year he's got more trust in his D and will play out of his mind.

No, Marty will be fine.

I fail to see how taking 2 1/2 hours off, on say...November 2nd, December 10th, February 2nd & March 7 is going to make a rat's ass difference to how Marty feels come April (& hopefully May & June).

No.

I hate the media.


+1 :shakehead

I actually wish they let him play EVERY game. Glenn Hall did it. Why not now? With conditioning the way it is, how is playing 76 or 78 games really that much different than 82? It would just cement his status as the best goalie ever. Heck, he could have been doing it the past few seasons and then he could have been making a run at beating Glenn Hall's record for consecutive games. I think marty got robbed of trying for that record.

Anyway, as you can see, I don't believe that he will be fatigued. It's like the way pitchers all of a sudden can't pitch more than 6 innings. I just read Steve Carlton pitched 30 complete games in 1972. Now, a pitcher is lucky to pitch one complete game. Are athletes suddenly too fragile? Has mankind devolved so rapidly? It's all bunch of crap.

I think you're right about goaltenders, but it's different with pitching. Almost all pitchers besides maybe Tim Wakefield throw 90 mph on every pitch. That wears down your arm a lot. I'm sure in the 70's, there weren't as many juiced up players that are able to hit pitches over 95 mph, so pitching has to be better now.

No.

I hate the media.

I could quote this in every post I ever write from now on and it still won't be said enough. The Media aren't nearly as smart as they make themselves out to be. These talking heads must have it marked on their Calendar at the start of the season that come April it's time to talk about Marty being fatigued, the extra point costing teams a playoff berth and whether or not the MVP should go to a player whose team didn't make the playoffs. The media can go :rant: themselves.

Any Islanders fans reading this might know this well with the Nolan "controversy" contrived by the TSN talking heads.. what a load. They sure shut up now that DP is out and Dubie's doing well.

Let's win tonight in Philadelphia and give him a rest day against Rangers on sunday and then in playoffs let's repeat series against Rangers from 2006.:)

The best thing to do is have Marty play the last two games and practice every other day til the playoffs start. We need him to be warmed up and ready to go.

Also, maybe the reason our offense dropped off because they are no longer playing hard against Marty.

He won't be as worn out as last season, that's for sure.

I think he'll be fine and won't be the reason we get bounced in the playoffs.

He won't be as worn out as last season, that's for sure.

I think he'll be fine and won't be the reason we get bounced in the playoffs.

Yeah, that honor goes to our inept offense ;)

Although I think we can win a lot of 2-1 games in the playoffs, as long as they can actually score at least 2 with regularity.

Let's win tonight in Philadelphia and give him a rest day against Rangers on sunday and then in playoffs let's repeat series against Rangers from 2006.:)

I can't see Marty sitting out against the Rangers even if the game didn't mean anything

Weekes will never start again for the Devils.

I can't see Marty sitting out against the Rangers even if the game didn't mean anything

It's very important that the team wins the last meeting with the Rags before the playoffs, so yeah, he'll be playing no matter what.

Weekes will never start again for the Devils.

i dont think thats true, i think lou will get some real players this summer and then we wont have to rely on marty as much so he can rest more. so we will want a good backup to fill in

Then Brodeur would possibly be looking at even more rest next week as the 9th place team in the Eastern Conference.


thats assuming Weekes plays only games that Brodeur would have won (obviously knowing which games were won as of now), and assuming Weekes would lose these same games. just playing the devils advocate but lets say Weekes played some of the games Marty lost? then it would have made absolutely no difference.

some people are saying Brodeur never gets tired which is insane because i think he definitely showed some fatigue in last years playoffs.

thats assuming Weekes plays only games that Brodeur would have won (obviously knowing which games were won as of now), and assuming Weekes would lose these same games. just playing the devils advocate but lets say Weekes played some of the games Marty lost? then it would have made absolutely no difference.

Based on the team's goal differential, Weekes' stats and the way the team plays when Marty isn't there I think it's a fair assessment to say they were just as likely to be losses. The question is whether Marty would be "fresher" which is kind of ridiculous.

Goalies are human beings like players. If players can play 82 games and the playoffs so can goalies.

Wow. I just checked the league stats for games started expecting to see Marty all alone on top, but he's tied for second with Ryan Miller for 75 games. Luongo and Nabokov are tied for first at 76 games. Even in minutes Marty only comes in second to Nabokov's lead.

Is this new trend coming around that started when teams recognized the workload Marty puts in every season?

The discussion will be different if Brodeur looks tired during the playoffs.

Wow. I just checked the league stats for games started expecting to see Marty all alone on top, but he's tied for second with Ryan Miller for 75 games. Luongo and Nabokov are tied for first at 76 games. Even in minutes Marty only comes in second to Nabokov's lead.

Is this new trend coming around that started when teams recognized the workload Marty puts in every season?

He actually passed Nabokov in minutes played after last night's game has been added into the statistics and is alone at the top:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/statistics/?season=regular&conf=nhl&scope=all&players=goalies&column=MP&sort=descending&filter=&group=1

On a side note, if you look at all the goalies that are within 1,000 minutes of Marty's 4,570, or even the top 15 goalies in minutes played, Brodeur's statistics (especially his save %) are more than worthy for the Vezina and serious consideration for the Hart.

We are seeing the results of the answer to this question (along with other problems) yet again.

Is this new trend coming around that started when teams recognized the workload Marty puts in every season?

I think you're seeing more goalies play more games now, because regular season games mean more now than ever before. The standing are so much tighter that a back-up goalie playing 25 games instead of 15 games might be enough to cost you a playoff spot.

I think you're seeing more goalies play more games now, because regular season games mean more now than ever before. The standing are so much tighter that a back-up goalie playing 25 games instead of 15 games might be enough to cost you a playoff spot.

But still, starting 77 games at age 35 going on 36, regardless of your resume, is still ridiculous and unprecedented.

I know there's only one Martin Brodeur, but who else has had this workload at that age in recent memory?

It's insane. Some of us have been saying this for a long time now.

What was the point of paying Kevin Weekes 400k by the way? It can't be as insurance if Marty got injured because we could have signed someone at last minute anyway.

We are seeing the results of the answer to this question (along with other problems) yet again.

Result of what? It was a mental error.

But still, starting 77 games at age 35 going on 36, regardless of your resume, is still ridiculous and unprecedented.

I know there's only one Martin Brodeur, but who else has had this workload at that age in recent memory?

It's insane. Some of us have been saying this for a long time now.

What was the point of paying Kevin Weekes 400k by the way? It can't be as insurance if Marty got injured because we could have signed someone at last minute anyway.

I'm not saying it's necessarily smart .. just that it's somewhat understandable.

I'm not saying it's necessarily smart .. just that it's somewhat understandable.

I really thought that the Kevin Weekes signing was the beginning of the end of the 70+ start era for Brodeur.

And it should have been.

It's a double edged sword: Does 10 less starts by Brodeur leave us out of playoff contention?

And if so, then what was the point of signing Kevin Weekes?

Result of what? It was a mental error.

And the proof to back it up....

http://njmg.typepad.com/devilsblog/2008/04/what-happened-o.html#more

It was pretty obvious what happened on the replay....If he had seen Callahan, I'm pretty sure he would have covered the puck....It's just that these kind of mental errors get magnified in the playoffs, especially in a series like this that is likely to be decided by 1 goal most of the time....It's only 1 game....

I really thought that the Kevin Weekes signing was the beginning of the end of the 70+ start era for Brodeur.

And it should have been.

Many said the same thing, but I never believed it. Before each of the last 4 or 5 seasons you hear "Broduer is going to start fewer games this year" ...and if anything his work load is increasing.

Many said the same thing, but I never believed it. Before each of the last 4 or 5 seasons you hear "Broduer is going to start fewer games this year" ...and if anything his work load is increasing.
His game work load, yeah. But IMO Sutter has done a great job managing his overall work load. The team as a whole doesn't do morning skates on game days (aside from the healthy scratches and Weekes). The team has gotten a decent amount of days off or lighter/shorter practices, and Marty gets even more days off. There are days when everyone else comes to the rink and practices and Sutter tells Marty to stay home.

That's why I'm actually less upset with his workload this year than I am last year. I would have liked to see Weekes get a few more starts, but at least Sutter has done a good job of managing Marty's work.

His game work load, yeah. But IMO Sutter has done a great job managing his overall work load. The team as a whole doesn't do morning skates on game days (aside from the healthy scratches and Weekes). The team has gotten a decent amount of days off or lighter/shorter practices, and Marty gets even more days off. There are days when everyone else comes to the rink and practices and Sutter tells Marty to stay home.

That's why I'm actually less upset with his workload this year than I am last year. I would have liked to see Weekes get a few more starts, but at least Sutter has done a good job of managing Marty's work.

I think thats actually the problem with this team. We aren't practicing enough. Most of them can't hit the net and Marty really looked tenative last night, when have you ever seen him pounce on the puck and missing it by a mile? I wonder what kind of alcohol they served at that movie club.

How much Marty has played has nothing to do with what happened on that play last night. What it does have to do is with Marty's penchant to move to puck a lot and sometimes he ends up doing it when he should cover the puck.

You guys remember the last time Marty pretty much caused a goal in the net at the playoffs?

That was one of the years we won the cup cause Marty came back strong the next few games.

Lets hope he does that again.

The guy's going to be 36, he as half an AHL defense playing in front of him and a team that doesn't score. The fact is that he can't steal a series anymore by blanking teams. It's just the reality, not blaming the guy.