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GDT: Heroes vs Villains 7:00 Da Garden


Jerzey

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This was the Devils' B squad and I thought they looked pretty good considering.  I guess they had 3 of their top D, but the other 3 D were AHL quality.

Zacha was the best player as Mantzas noted.  Made some sharp plays with the puck.  Stafford wasn't bad either, but he should look good against a Rangers team that also wasn't loaded.

Speers and McLeod weren't making a great case for their making the team in this game, but I thought both guys made some small plays that'll be the kind of thing that will make them good NHLers.  They showed good anticipation.

Hayes looked better tonight.  I don't know if he's worth giving a contract to but at least he didn't take 4 minors again.

Not sure what to make of Dyblenko, who got beat badly on Rangers goal #1 but who seems relatively competent?  I guess he'll start the season in the AHL regardless.

Blackwood made some big stops and had no chance on the game-winner.

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As far as preseason games go, the ones that are by far the easiest to watch are hockey games.  Just feels much more like a regular season game than other sports...you get just that little bit more intensity.  A few preseason games (especially against rivals) are just enough to get you ready for the ones that count.

Now that I've gotten a good look at the red and white unis during gameplay...the good news is that the worst-looking angle (straight on...that's the vantage point that is the least-flattering, especially re:  the chopped shoulder yokes) rarely rears its ugly head during game action.  From the typical TV camera angle, they're not that bad.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the reds about a 5 and the whites a 4.5.  They're probably not going to look terribly good on fans (that's when they'll really look like pajama tops), but at least they're not a total lost cause on the ice. 

Kind of ironic that despite being named Lovejoy, nothing he does even remotely inspires love or joy from the fanbase.  It's only one game, but suffice it to say that he's already scaring the sh!t out of me. 

As much as I missed hockey, one thing I didn't miss is Joe fvcking Micheletti jizzing himself anytime a Ranger player so much as farts on the ice...apparently everytime a Ranger touches the puck (or is even near the play), that player immediately parts the Red Sea, cures cancer and ends poverty in the course of one shift.  Poor Dano must have been choking back vomit every 10 seconds or so listening to that sh!t...good lord.  Even JD (one of the most blatant homers ever) probably thinks Micheletti sounds ridiculous.

Anyway, one of those games that's hard to get any real read on, with so many guys in the lineup who aren't candidates to make the team.  Even though the Devils lost, and even though the constant whistle-blowing clearly affected the flow of the game a number of times, there were some nice moments in general.  Just fun to watch Devils hockey again...and especially with my daughter asking all sorts of questions about the game, the Devils, different players...so glad that she's getting more and more into this.

 

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The Great:

– Pavel Zacha. I'm so incredibly excited to see what he does this season, you heard all offseason about how he stayed in Jersey to put in the work over the summer and it really shows. Just seemed like last night he had an extra step that was missing last season and he was making good reads and plays all night, good sh!t kid.

The Good:

– Drew Stafford. I was very pleasantly surprised at his playmaking ability last night, put him with the right guys he could be this year's Stempniak, really liked that I saw last night.
– MacKenzie Blackwood. Most times I've seen Blackwood play he's put up a stinker, but last night was not one of those nights. You saw that potential everyone always talks about, he's definitely got a skill set – size, athleticism, poise – he just needs to put it all together consistently. Hopefully he has a good season in Bing, because his performance last night was very encouraging.
– Jimmy Hayes. Pretty big turnaround from last game where I ripped into him pretty hard. He was surprisingly competent last night and made some good plays in the offensive zone, picked up a couple points. He's earned a couple more games I think.
– Michael McLeod. Thought he had a strong game despite not putting up any points, he didn't blaze by anyone but he used his speed and legs to gain the zone a few times, saw somewhere he had 5 controlled zone entries last night which is quite good, we've been pretty bad lately at gaining the offensive zone so it's definitely encouraging that has the ability to carry the puck in his game.

The Meh:

– Adam Henrique. I had to remind myself last night that he was playing, because he was unfortunately invisible.

The Bad:

– Yaroslav Dyblenko. Basically the same thing I said last game, you can tell he's never played in North America. His positioning and lane coverage on the defensive side of the puck has been very bad, he'll need some coaching in Bing for sure.
– Ben Lovejoy. Just see what I said about Dyb's positioning and apply it to Lovejoy. Except Benny Boy doesn't have the excuse of never playing in North America, he's been exposed to North American hockey for 33 years. Sigh.

Edited by CommonDreads
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9 minutes ago, RunninWithTheDevil said:

I said to my girlfriend as soon as they scored "Jesus you would think this was a playoff game"

Meanwhile Nico scored on a beautiful individual effort, embarrassing two defenders and the goaltender in the process and acted like it was no big thing... because it isn't. This dude slams home a no-doubter tap in on a 4 on 3 and acts like he just walked through the whole team lol. Not a big deal, and if it was in the regular season I'd completely get it, but in this case just thought it was humorous.

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1 hour ago, Steven M. said:

Meanwhile Nico scored on a beautiful individual effort, embarrassing two defenders and the goaltender in the process and acted like it was no big thing... because it isn't. This dude slams home a no-doubter tap in on a 4 on 3 and acts like he just walked through the whole team lol. Not a big deal, and if it was in the regular season I'd completely get it, but in this case just thought it was humorous.

A. He's an 18-year old kid who just won a game with seconds left in OT, give him a break. Heaven forbid the NHL turns into baseball where every bat flip starts a benches clearing brawl.

B. Nico's goal made it 4-1 in the third period, it's not comparable at all. Not a situation for a player to go nuts in.

Edited by NJDevs4978
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14 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Definitely, he looks great.

Blackwood does too. 

Do you think Miles Wood wears an extra set of long johns because he spends so much time laying on the ice?

Nah - I think Wood has spent so much time on the ice at this point he's used to it, feels like home.

 

Imo if Hayes is a part of the starting 12 moving forward it's a sign of just how far we still have to go.  Not a fan. 

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32 minutes ago, NJDevs4978 said:

A. He's an 18-year old kid who just won a game with seconds left in OT, give him a break. Heaven forbid the NHL turns into baseball where every bat flip starts a benches clearing brawl.

B. Nico's goal made it 4-1 in the third period, it's not comparable at all. Not a situation for a player to go nuts in.

I just thought it was funny, not hating on him for it. Personality is good. Just funny given the situation.

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