njdevil26 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 That fact that he was a point pr game player over 8 seasons in Atlanta(!) but is struggling to keep up with that now would to many people suggest the problem might not lie with him entirely. Unless you're suggesting that he's now past his prime at the age of 28 somehow. I certainly agree that he's been making some lazy mistakes lately, but if you look as far back as the second half of last season he played very well overall. I agree Parise is arguably as good as Kovy all aspects of the game considered. Elias may have been close a few years ago as well. Fact remains; Kovy needs a quality center to set him up. Put him next to Thornton and he'd have 60 goals a season. Kovy was a point per game player because when the Atlanta coaches opened their playbook, the lineup looked like this: Kovy-Kovy-Kovy Kovy-Kovy-Kovy Kovy-Kovy-Kovy Kovy-Kovy-Boulton Defense (If they want... they don't have to) Goalie Other Goalie If he has as light reduction in point production (5-10 goals less and 10-15 points less) I wouldn't be unhappy because that means his teammates are scoring as well. No one has mentioned the vast improvement of Kovy's two way game either. Every night I notice him making a good defensive play or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 This team looked excellent last night. Kovy has to break some bad habits, but I saw much more work from him on the defensive end of the puck as well. If he's a 60 to 70 point player that's fine because he looks like he's trying his best to work at becoming more defensively responsible. That aside, I was amazed at how well we looked out there last night. Defenseman jumping up in the play, crashing the net, nice, crisp passing. Totally ne Devils squad IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Crash Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 It's funny how Sykora was practically out of the league and now finds himself on our top line, LOL. So far, he he looks pretty good, IMO. He is getting some chances. And does everyone agree that the "C" fits Parise nicely? Maybe it's just me, but he looks bigger with it! Like thicker, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 A lot of kovys turnovers are a result of him playing the role of lord of the dance on both sides of the ice. Give him a puck moving dman on our end and a talented center on the opposite end and he will return to his sniper role. That having been said, he should recognize the situation he is in and pass more, which he does well, rather than trying to skate the puck past all the guys on the opposite team. As a side note, the team needs to play a more physical game. As a whole, our team is not quick enough to be winning puck battles by speed alone. Whenever I see the team play an aggressive backcheck/forecheck game, turnovers are created, which leads to scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, this has been the exception, rather than the rule in the past few years. I have not seen this part of their game change under the new coach... what i've noticed - and what has been said before - is that kovy is too often ahead of the play and that's why he's in a 1 on 4 situation. if he is with his linemates with defensemen coming in behind him, it opens up for more opportunities. i see him pass plenty to the late coming dman. the problem is that because he draws multiple defenders to him, it makes it that much harder for him to get a pass away. better shooting defensemen would also help. another thing - when he was in atlanta, he faced an inordinate amount of backup goaltenders as that team was usually terrible. i think triumph pointed this out in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) If he has as light reduction in point production (5-10 goals less and 10-15 points less) I wouldn't be unhappy because that means his teammates are scoring as well. No one has mentioned the vast improvement of Kovy's two way game either. Every night I notice him making a good defensive play or two. Well, that's what happened last year (reduced production) and his team finished dead last in scoring. Kovy scoring/producing less has no correlation to his teammates scoring more. He was a -28 last season. He did show improvements for a chunk of last season, but I wouldn't call them vast, and what I feared might happen looks it's starting to: take Lemaire, seemingly the one and only coach that could get through to Kovy, out of the equation and the bad habits/dumb decisions start coming back. I know a lot of Devil fans want to see the silver lining in the worst way when it comes to Kovy (and 100% of us want this to work out...who wouldn't?), especially with the financial commitment made to him, but I don't see how anyone can be happy with his Devil career so far. If he's wearing the red, white and blue across the river and playing the way he's played overall since coming here, we're all laughing at the Rangers for yet another bad contract signing. Edited October 14, 2011 by Colorado Rockies 1976 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dev.iL87 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) Im just finish watching of this match and I must say WOW on Larsson...this kid is really unbelievable, I dont believe it was just his 3rd nhl game. overall I think it was good game by Devs...Patty and Zach played great and Kings must thank to Quick for one point. On the other hand Kovy in defensive zone makes me so nervous everytime when he touch the puck Edited October 14, 2011 by Dev.iL87 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) thats exactly what i was saying this summer and you gave me sh!t about it, why are they giving those extra shifts to Kovy and not Zach? he played 10 more minutes than Parise tnight ? its been like that when Kovy came in too and im not sure Zach is thrilled about it especially when the other guy is rewarded while playing like sh!t as 731 explained, it's because kovalchuk can take those double shifts without tiring. i don't like the way kovalchuk's game revolves around the possibility of getting double shifted, though. re: kovalchuk - yeah he wasn't good last night, he just gets too excited for the possibility of offense. the idea that he will get 65-70 points this year is rather preposterous, though. Edited October 14, 2011 by Triumph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 as 731 explained, it's because kovalchuk can take those double shifts without tiring. i don't like the way kovalchuk's game revolves around the possibility of getting double shifted, though. re: kovalchuk - yeah he wasn't good last night, he just gets too excited for the possibility of offense. the idea that he will get 65-70 points this year is rather preposterous, though. hmmm - i'm smelling an over/under at 72.5. thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onddeck Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 had to work last night so the nhl network and nhl.com highlights are all i got to see. From the little I saw, Parise looked himself, attacking that net. Also, I hear Larsson played another nice game?? makes me tear in joy.... That first line realllly looks like its comin together so far this season. Nice win against a solid team, we gotta continue to win. LGD!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) another thing - when he was in atlanta, he faced an inordinate amount of backup goaltenders as that team was usually terrible. i think triumph pointed this out in the past. So your logic is that since he played on a sh!tty team, that made it easier for him to rack up the points? Anyone bored enough to do some research on this? How many players from teams NOT making the payoffs have won the Art Ross/Maurice Richards awards? In Atlanta he had a high end center in Savard, and also help from Heatley. THAT's the difference. Edited October 14, 2011 by njdevsftw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghdi Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) In Atlanta he had a high end center in Savard, and also help from Heatley. THAT's the difference. Both were gone by the start of the 2006-07 season. 76,87,91 points without them. The last year with Savard he had his career high of 98, but he still maintained a high level without those two. He hasnt played with Heatley since prior to the lockout. Hell, he had 58 pts through 49 games before being traded here (where he still avgd a point per game). So no. That is not the difference. Edited October 14, 2011 by ghdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 (edited) Both were gone by the start of the 2006-07 season. 76,87,91 points without them. The last year with Savard he had his career high of 98, but he still maintained a high level without those two. He hasnt played with Heatley since prior to the lockout. Hell, he had 58 pts through 49 games before being traded here (where he still avgd a point per game). So no. That is not the difference. So you're supporting the "the crappier your team is, the easier you rack up points" theory? Marián Hossa joined Atlanta when Savard/Heatley departed, racking up 92 (in 80),100 and 56 (in 60) points respectively the next 3 seasons. Edited October 14, 2011 by njdevsftw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetlebum Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I hope Gomez gets put on waivers and we pick him up. He would be great for Kovy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 So you're supporting the "the crappier your team is, the easier you rack up points" theory? Marián Hossa joined Atlanta when Savard/Heatley departed, racking up 92 (in 80),100 and 56 (in 60) points respectively the next 3 seasons. I dispute that, but here's some things that are true about Kovalchuk's tenure in Atlanta: 1: He got tons of power play time, more than he gets here (because Atlanta draws more penalties) 2: He played with decent forwards most years, although the defense was pretty awful in general 3: Atlanta tried to protect him at home, getting him out against easier competition and during offensive zone faceoffs, but it was really hard to do because they were a horrendous team 4: Atlanta faced more backup goalies than most teams (I can't prove this last one, but I suspect it's true based on a study I did last year about Kovalchuk) The thing that's being overlooked here is that yeah, Kovalchuk had some terrible giveaways. He also got a breakaway chance, made some decent passes, and wasn't a significant negative Fenwick or scoring chance wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilinLA Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I dispute that, but here's some things that are true about Kovalchuk's tenure in Atlanta: 1: He got tons of power play time, more than he gets here (because Atlanta draws more penalties) 2: He played with decent forwards most years, although the defense was pretty awful in general 3: Atlanta tried to protect him at home, getting him out against easier competition and during offensive zone faceoffs, but it was really hard to do because they were a horrendous team 4: Atlanta faced more backup goalies than most teams (I can't prove this last one, but I suspect it's true based on a study I did last year about Kovalchuk) The thing that's being overlooked here is that yeah, Kovalchuk had some terrible giveaways. He also got a breakaway chance, made some decent passes, and wasn't a significant negative Fenwick or scoring chance wise. I hope DeBoer stresses this point to Kovy during practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas0nMacIsaac Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Does it make everyone sick to their stomach that Clarkson is our best PP player so far based on stats. When he is on the ice we generate more 39.5 shots per 60 minutes. When Clarkson isn't on we generate 14.5 shots per 60 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devs82fan Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 is there anywhere online to watch the game from last night? my brother missed it. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hit the post Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Clarkson should fvcking join his buddy Sean Avery in the minors This....can't stand to watch him...can't skate..can't shoot...why.why do they keep him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 (edited) I hope DeBoer stresses this point to Kovy during practice. nice bold, bro! of course we know the devils don't count scoring chances, so good on you for not bolding that one. Edited October 15, 2011 by Triumph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devlman Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Does it make everyone sick to their stomach that Clarkson is our best PP player so far based on stats. When he is on the ice we generate more 39.5 shots per 60 minutes. When Clarkson isn't on we generate 14.5 shots per 60 minutes. Great example of how stats can be made to show anything. Clarkson ruins PPs. He belongs nowhere near ours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Great example of how stats can be made to show anything. Clarkson ruins PPs. He belongs nowhere near ours I think it better shows that you shouldn't use most stats when looking at a short period of time. Matt Cooke looks like an big goal scorer right now too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas0nMacIsaac Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 I think it better shows that you shouldn't use most stats when looking at a short period of time. Matt Cooke looks like an big goal scorer right now too. It is what you make it to be. When Clarkson is on the ice they throw more pucks at the net then when he isn't on the ice. This certainly won't last over the course of a season but as of now it is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetlebum Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 nice bold, bro! of course we know the devils don't count scoring chances, so good on you for not bolding that one. the luddite versus the know it all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevilinLA Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 the luddite versus the know it all with play by play from the pothead apparently.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetlebum Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 With views like that you have to live in Orange County. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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