GDT 5 The New Jersey Devils face Bob Hartley's Flames

[Mike Brown]

Another obligatory "it's only the [insert number] game of the season, they still need time to mesh," post.

 

Well it's true.

 

its funny cause the new forwards seem to be meshing...it's our d-men (from seasons past) that cant get it together

 

Well one of our best defensemen is sitting in the fvcking pressbox.  

 

meh...even the mighty Pens got their arses wooped by the Panthers tonight,  at least our loses are close, maybe we're over reacting

 

We are.

 

Wow just watched the dvr recording. fvcking furious with that call on Ryder. As soon as I saw him go in the box, I fvcking knew we were getting scored on. fvcking terrible noncalls and blown calls tonight. Worst officiating ive seen in a long time. This d once again lets us down. How many more games do we have to suffer with old and slow as our core??!?!? gg on worst franchise start in history. fvcking so mad right now

 

The core is not old or slow.  The core is Fayne, Larsson, and Greene.  Problem is, they're either not playing, or they're playing poorly.

[lazer]

Can't keep losing 1 goal games - they're 0-4 now in 1 goal games, it's not easy to sustain that kind of losing percentage.  They got their break in this game when Ryder scored, but then it got called back on a garbage penalty.  They'll actually get a break (other than some of the weak goals that have been going in) soon enough. 

 

right here although i think our PK is holding; i wish we could counter with a "servicable" power play.

 

jj was weak imo but not to blame, i will always say that much

 

Zajac had chances again; this is against calgary.

 

i wanted a point out of this game so i am disappointed hah 

[munichdevil]

For more than a year it seems I am watching the same game over and over again. I am tired of it.  

[Marshall]

I don't even know anymore...I saw that Ryder penalty and thought "nope, not tonight either".

[Revan]

Can't keep losing 1 goal games - they're 0-4 now in 1 goal games, it's not easy to sustain that kind of losing percentage.  They got their break in this game when Ryder scored, but then it got called back on a garbage penalty.  They'll actually get a break (other than some of the weak goals that have been going in) soon enough. 

Yeah, that's about what everybody was saying last year and they managed to go on a friggin 10-game losing streak. Never recovered from that trauma either, the last few games of the season were pure embarrassment. They kept sucking until the very end of the season and they start the new season on a 5-game skid. Sorry, but Lou can't just sit on his ass waiting for a magical break to happen. Besides, when it actually happens, what does it really change? We win a game or two based on probability and then still keep losing more games than we win. If you're a good team, you get more breaks going your way. Clearly the Devils are either a bad team, or a badly coached team.

[NJDevs4978]

Yeah, that's about what everybody was saying last year and they managed to go on a friggin 10-game losing streak. Never recovered from that trauma either, the last few games of the season were pure embarrassment. They kept sucking until the very end of the season and they start the new season on a 5-game skid. Sorry, but Lou can't just sit on his ass waiting for a magical break to happen. Besides, when it actually happens, what does it really change? We win a game or two based on probability and then still keep losing more games than we win. If you're a good team, you get more breaks going your way. Clearly the Devils are either a bad team, or a badly coached team.

 

11-19-10 since the illusory start of last season.  Nice to see we're starting this season the way we ended last one - the absolute inability to get a win without the Russian merc in the lineup.  Way to prove the experts wrong, boys.  Yes, we're scoring more but it's because we're taking more stupid chances as well and voila the great shot-preventing defense of last year is no longer there.

We're not winning OR developing players.  Lou's patience with Pete may only have weeks left at this point.

[Triumph]

NJ's 'shot preventing' defense isn't there because they have had leads in all of these games.  NJ trailed in most of the games last year.

 

If Lou makes a change based on the inability to win in shootouts, he'll be making a mistake.

 

In 2011-12 when DeBoer started out, the Devils were 26-18-2 before the team got Alexei Ponikarovsky.  If you give them all shootout and OT losses, like you guys are, that team is 15-18-13, which is below .500, not to mention below NHL .500.  They played 13 OT/SO games and went 11-2.  But that was all skill.

Edited October 12, 2013 by Triumph

[EdgeControl]

sal may be skating better, but he and zid picked a bad time to lose a backdoor. sooo frustrating and compounded by chico's blathering apologies.  our inability to get quality blasts from the point was apparent again. can we bring up a hired gun not named curtis foster?

 

aside from the zajak bernier pair where has the devils deep cycling gone? the old men have shown a bit but no one else. henrique was carrying the puck well. harrold is a good puck handling in traffic as well (he does the difficult things well) it may bite him a few times but I can live with that

 

just dont lose to the rags boys get the 2 fn points

[Pepperkorn]

I don't knwo what to say -- no it's not that big a deal but I think there might be a team mindset - a very stubborn one.

 

How is Sal's refusing to cover the open guy, but stick to his own despite the fact Zids was already doing the wrong thing any different from our coaching staffs entire style?  It's the same.  It's EXACTLY what DeBoer is doing.  It's sticking brainlessly to a CLEARLY losing plan and refusing to change things up mid-stream for the sake of a win.  personally I dont find that admirable discipline.  I find it bullsh!t and illogical and self-destructive.  Discipline is POINTLESS if it's self-destructive.  You;re learning to self destruct not how t be disciplined 

 

I love exposing problems but this team isn't fixing them once they've been exposed - that is the concern.  They have a history of not learning from past mistakes which I find concerning personally.

 

I think there is something going on  keeping the energy down.  A sort of forced dicipline that isn't coming naturally and I dont see that it will -- and it's dragging the team down.  Slow and tired is a mental issue.  These guys are professional athletes and they are conditioned well --   slow and tired doesn't figure in.  Yes they're on a west coast road trip.  Yes normally it's far to early to be concerned.  but these are the same problems from last year following them into this year is the thing.  Pre-season was high energy with all the young blood.  This team is sapping the life out of everyone and ... there needs to be something done.  Nothing big, nothing heavy handed -- but something a little more obvious and something different than past failed solutions. 

 

This formula is not winning as is -- it needs tweaks, obvious tweaks nit little adjustments while staying the (do you understand it is a losing?) course.

 

Basically I think what I'm saying is IF the coaching formula was a success you'd SEE buy-in.  It woudl be something visual, not audio.  Nothing is being fixed - just spoken of.  No the team isn't clueless, no they aren't on the wrong page or different pages.

 

Also Henrique and Zajac ARE finding their groove.  they are really our most important parts - and aside from Andy greene their is no equivalently relevant part on our D.  Fayne shoudl be but -- you know if you just dont like him get rid of him.  how long before you get that this technique isn't working?  WHY did you hold on to him -- just because Talinder left?  I mean -- I'm just curious.

 

I dont think it's Stevens in the sense that he's making the wrong calls.  i think it's Stevens in the sense he's not taking the lead.  Gretzky never had to be coached - that is why he was a sh!tty one -- he spoke his own language only.  Stevens was coached and learned - he speaks the language of several coaches and quite clearly knew how to listen and change even when he wasn't sure.  He was OK with trusting someone else's sight.  SOOOO  maybe his weakness is not trusting his own in a new situation.  He's not speaking up during games we all see that.  He's not accepting his role in SUPPORT of his core.  He's not offering managerial support to his charges.  That would be my guess.  Lou needs to have lunch with him and ask for what he woudl do -- and the answer you want to hear is something different.  You want Stevens to actually hear the question not try to solve the problems through the I work under Pete's lens.  You have various coaches for the differences they bring.  If Stevens is the guy being too heavy handed then DeBoer isn't doing HIS job.  What I'm sayign here is they can't be on the same page as it stands - they need to help eachother out of this blind spot. Being so nice together is not exposing the problems it's covering then up.

 

it sounds counter to my hating the fact that this team is just an huge exposed mess and they wont fix it because the guys aren't getting it - so just leave the big gaping wound until it's healed by magic?  Well that's no solution either.

 

ehhh fvck it... I have my own life to get on with.

 

Yeah -- this is that bad.  Nothing so far proves to me that any steps have been made to fix anythign -- waiting ten games with these problems is stupid.  They're old problems everyone knew about.  Basically the inaction tells us fans they are unfixable and that's why everyone is freaking out.

 

and fvck it all I cant waste my time thinking it through further

Edited October 12, 2013 by Pepperkorn

[Jerzey]

Perhaps sometimes we forget how many of these guys are new to the team. They'll find their groove. It's only 5 games in and because there are so many new faces it's a valid excuse (for now). And to be honest they look a lot better than I thought they would.

 

I do agree that the merry go round on defense needs to stop. Make a trade already or something. Isn't Larsson on his final year of his RFA contract or is he restricted until he's 26? Either way I can't see him wanting to sign an extension and why on earth would Fayne want to re-sign? Plus how does all of this look to our AHL guys like Merrill, Gelinas, and Severson? Especially after what happened with Urbom.

Edited October 12, 2013 by Jerzey Devil

[EdgeControl]

Parity is the word, outside of the rags and a few elite teams there are a bunch of one goal games across the league.  that said we need some pts. get 4 points over these next 3 games and this board will be a bit more positive. one or two pts and all hell will break loose

 

big week coming up

[cgb6397]

This road trip has certainly been one to forget. I've passed out before the end of every game because these 9:30/10:00 puck drops are killing me, and wake up every morning to find out they've blown a lead. Maybe the cozy confines of the Rock are what they need to win a fvcking game

[caron14]

I would take Laviollette right now.... We need emotion! we need character.... we need change!

 

Laviolette will not be shy to trade bench or sit out the harrold volchenkov salvador....

 

He will bring emotion to the game. Deboer seems to have no emotions out there.

 

We need to change and quickly

[Devilsfan118]

I spent the night in the hospital with family so I wasn't able to watch, but, after reading the reactions here, it sounds like more of the same with a horrible call sprinkled on top.

At least they're close games people. This could as easily be a 3-4 game winning (or lossless) streak, given a few breaks. Granted, that's what we said about last season..

Sidebar: Why are any of you acknowledging BigZ? He only ever posts in GDTs after Devils losses. He's the definition of a troll - he contributes nothing and only tried to agitate. To the newer members of the forum, there's this handy dandy ignore function, and I suggest you employ it if his posts get to you.

[MadDog2020]

For more than a year it seems I am watching the same game over and over again. I am tired of it.  

This.

[NJDevs4978]

This road trip has certainly been one to forget. I've passed out before the end of every game because these 9:30/10:00 puck drops are killing me, and wake up every morning to find out they've blown a lead. Maybe the cozy confines of the Rock are what they need to win a fvcking game

 

It'll be hilarious in a masochistic sense if they're still winless by next Saturday, and the crowd'd still testy about the whole goal song fiasco.  Between our fans and Ranger fans who are testy about their own team pulling a MacLean-Devils and the whole Saturday night thing, it won't be a pretty sight in the stands.

[Mike Brown]

The Devils were actually very good defensively for the first 57 minutes of the game.  That one 5 second segment where they weren't, cost us.  

Edited October 12, 2013 by Mike Brown

[SterioDesign]

there's simply no way to describe last year and this year so far. The guys are losing 1 goal games back to back and they don't get any break. To the point where i'm telling myself thats it's impossible that a team can be that unlucky. 

 

i mean... the last 4 games... one play or one fvck up made the difference. We litteraly could have won and be 4-1-0 easily. 

 

I'm more annoyed by all my friend giving me a hard time about the Devils not winning games but they are clueless on how the games went. They we're all tight games not as if they sucks incredibly.

 

We'll have to get on a winning streak soon though and DeBoer is going to have to man up and stop fvcking over the kids and sit Salvador cause jesus christ that guy is not helping at all. 

[Derek21]

The Devils were actually very good defensively for the first 57 minutes of the game.  That one 5 second segment where they weren't, cost us.  

 

Somewhat erratic in the third. Flames had the early edge with shots 6-1. Then the Devs had that one long shift by Jagr, Elias and Zubrus that should've resulted in a goal. Instead, Calgary blocked shots and they didn't give up a shot. That was the game.

[flyboyike]

I get the feeling some people seem to want it both ways.  Many of the same fans that (rightly) accused this team of being too slow to go through a generational change are now unhappy about generational growing pains.  I'm nowhere near enough of an expert to suggest what the coaching staff should or should not do, I can only observe some things that (to me, anyway) seem fairly obvious.

 

The team lost a lot of firepower all at once.  Regardless of how one feels about ##s 17, 23, 9 and 12, there's no denying these were experienced players, who at least had been around the block a few times, played under a lot of different conditions against different teams.  They were replaced by new people who are learning to play in the NHL and, more importantly, learning to play with each other.  This takes time.  In hockey, like in any sport or any job, there is a learning curve.  We may very well have another bad season or two, but talent takes time to develop.  The other option is to try and hang everything on the same old people and end up like Philly.

[Revan]

i mean... the last 4 games... one play or one fvck up made the difference. We litteraly could have won and be 4-1-0 easily. 

That's what I've learned watching the playoffs. It's not about being a much better team, it's just about being better. Sometimes you see a club simply being one step ahead of their opponents all series long and they sweep the series. No blowouts, no shutouts, but they win 4-0. That's pretty much what's happening to the Devs now. They are always this bit worse. And they are going to lose a lot of points because of that seemingly small difference if their games doesn't change quickly.

[Mike Brown]

I get the feeling some people seem to want it both ways.  Many of the same fans that (rightly) accused this team of being too slow to go through a generational change are now unhappy about generational growing pains.  I'm nowhere near enough of an expert to suggest what the coaching staff should or should not do, I can only observe some things that (to me, anyway) seem fairly obvious.

 

The team lost a lot of firepower all at once.  Regardless of how one feels about ##s 17, 23, 9 and 12, there's no denying these were experienced players, who at least had been around the block a few times, played under a lot of different conditions against different teams.  They were replaced by new people who are learning to play in the NHL and, more importantly, learning to play with each other.  This takes time.  In hockey, like in any sport or any job, there is a learning curve.  We may very well have another bad season or two, but talent takes time to develop.  The other option is to try and hang everything on the same old people and end up like Philly.

 

Who was the number 12?

[Mike Brown]

That's what I've learned watching the playoffs. It's not about being a much better team, it's just about being better. Sometimes you see a club simply being one step ahead of their opponents all series long and they sweep the series. No blowouts, no shutouts, but they win 4-0. That's pretty much what's happening to the Devs now. They are always this bit worse. And they are going to lose a lot of points because of that seemingly small difference if their games doesn't change quickly.

 

The gap between the best team in the league, and the worst isn't as big as some think.  This isn't a CCCP vs USA in 1980 type of gap here.  If the bad Panthers plays a good game, even they can beat the Hawks if they play a bad game.  We saw it last night when the Panthers clobbered the Pens.

[SterioDesign]

Who was the number 12?

 

Rolston i assume

[SterioDesign]

That's what I've learned watching the playoffs. It's not about being a much better team, it's just about being better. Sometimes you see a club simply being one step ahead of their opponents all series long and they sweep the series. No blowouts, no shutouts, but they win 4-0. That's pretty much what's happening to the Devs now. They are always this bit worse. And they are going to lose a lot of points because of that seemingly small difference if their games doesn't change quickly.

 

yup a lot of what fvcked us over is bad D coverage and leaving guys wide open against out goalie. Grabner, Hall, Monahan... those 3 bad plays killed our game.

 

well that + our guys not able to score a single penalty shot / SO, it's really a concern