nessus Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Jeez, we're at .500 and only 2 teams in our division have better records. Weird season so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 How can Pete get Brunner and Ryder going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoffeecake Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Anyone else watching NHL Tonight? Apparently the young Martin Gelinas had a good game tonight. Classic Weekes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moustic Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Aren't we a better team since Cam Janssen is there ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefiestygoat Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 How can Pete get Brunner and Ryder going? I'll think about this more when I'm not half asleep but I still have faith in Ryder once the PP gets a bit more consistent just because he does have a strong track record of scoring in this league. Brunner worries me though - no points in his past 10 games. Just 2 (same game) in his past 15 games. He'll get his 2 shots a game but their usually not of that much quality. I honestly have to remind myself he's even out their in pretty much every game. Haven't been impressed with him at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Couldn't stay awake past the second period, but very pleasantly surprised to see that they won. Saw that Zajac had the game-winner and overtime and thought "Finally, home run for Travis"...of course, once I saw the "highlight", it was more like he got on board with an error, but I'm sure he'll take it. Many have already touched on it, but sometimes you have a game like the one against LA, and sometimes you get one like last night. You just hope the good breaks and bad ones somehow even out over the course of a full season. Never gets old seeing Marty add to his win total. Definitely enjoyed some good luck tonight, but still made some impressive saves. Just going to enjoy this while it lasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wensink Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 (edited) I was going to bed after the 2nd either way. Great surprise to wake up to. This makes me think we've turned the corner on the bad start. LGD Edited November 21, 2013 by John Wensink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWW Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 I ended up falling asleep after the second as well. Definitely happy to see we got the win in OT. Maybe that goal was just the one we needed to break the seal and get the monkey off our backs. Nice to be the first team to take one in Anaheim. Glad I get to make another GDT haha. Expect it up when I get back from class around noon-ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSkirt Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 If the season ended today (LOL), we'd be a playoff team. Not a wild-card team, but a playoff-team ! How sweet it looks to see all those teams underneath us !!! www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=20132014&type=WC#&navid=nav-stn-conf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 (edited) I was going to bed after the 2nd either way. Great surprise to wake up to. This makes me think we've turned the corner on the bad start. LGD They really should get a lot of credit for turning it around...there was a good number of Devils fans who were ready to bury this team after the 0-4-3 start. They wanted DeBoer canned, big changes made, were comparing this team to the '10-'11 team that didn't turn in around until it was way too late, or tacking this year's record onto last season's to make the futility look even worse, etc. I wasn't as extreme as some people were, and I wanted to be patient and positive mostly because I wanted to see how all of the new bodies would jell, but I did lump in Marty's rough numbers to start this season in with his rough numbers from last season, so it's not like I didn't parttake in some of the negativity. I never would've guessed this coming into this season, but Jagr just seems like the right guy at the right time for this particular group of players...both on and off the ice...let's face it, not too many of Lou's other offseason moves are paying off yet. Schneider is getting zilch in goal support, as we all know, and he deserves a better record, but he's been a little up-and-down. Brunner and Ryder have been near invisible thus far (and in Brunner's case, this may simply be a case of this being who he really is. He now has 6 goals and 11 assists in his last 45 games, and even worse, is apparently getting pissy about not being productive). We all know the deal with Clowe. Olesz is already gone. Loki is looking less like a steal and more like a guy you take in the 5th round. And then we have guys like Henrique and Zajac, who still aren't putting up the kind of offensive numbers we'd like to see, but at least the Devils are getting goals from their defensemen for a change. Eight of them so far. It's scary to think about where this team would be without Jagr, and that's a testament to how much he's meant to the Devils in the first quarter of the season. Hope he finds a way to hold up. Edited November 21, 2013 by Colorado Rockies 1976 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Couldn't stay awake past the second period, but very pleasantly surprised to see that they won. Saw that Zajac had the game-winner and overtime and thought "Finally, home run for Travis"...of course, once I saw the "highlight", it was more like he got on board with an error, but I'm sure he'll take it. Especially since he should have had a point on the Jagr goal with the work he did to keep the play alive. One win out West already beat my expectations. At least another point in the last two games would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Especially since he should have had a point on the Jagr goal with the work he did to keep the play alive. One win out West already beat my expectations. At least another point in the last two games would be nice. We can win the kings, we came pretty close the other night but things didnt go our way. And again, the Devils always play their best against the best so i wouldnt be surprised if we'd win at least an other one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 I'm not seeing "turned it around" just yet. It's nice to catch breaks that had previously been going against the team this season. It's nice the guys can squeak by and pretty much capitalize on things --- barely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ELIAS6 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 damn fell asleep after the ducks scored their 3rd goal.. when i woke up i figured for sure that they wouldve lost.. but nice to wake up and see the score 4-3 in our favor i watched the highlights brodeur is still just unreal for his age.. as far as brunner goes..well i just hope he really doesnt turn out to be a bust for the rest of this and next season that would suck. Not seeing any signs of him even putting in a good effort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Also i'd like to point out that the guys can absolutely hold their own without Salvador and Volch (and their combined 7.4m cap hit) Plus we're getting A LOT more offensive contribution from our D lately, which is making a HUGE difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ELIAS6 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Also i'd like to point out that the guys can absolutely hold their own without Salvador and Volch (and their combined 7.4m cap hit) Plus we're getting A LOT more offensive contribution from our D lately, which is making a HUGE difference. gelinas, zid and greene have been pretty good with their offensive contributions.. Zid is good offensively but i find myself saying so many times i feel ..like he just makes such mistakes that could cost a goal like a turnover etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldon Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 I haven't felt like this since Henrique in 2011. Pretty sad but OT winners and scoring to tie it up in the last minute hadn't really happened often The win in Boston 10/26 made me cheer like the Henrique goal (in 2012 btw). This was awesome too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmann422 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 gelinas, zid and greene have been pretty good with their offensive contributions.. Zid is good offensively but i find myself saying so many times i feel ..like he just makes such mistakes that could cost a goal like a turnover etc. zid definitely makes you question sometimes if his offensive contribution is good enough to warrant his atrocious defense. He's been better gaining the zone on the pp lately but with both Volch and sal out he's actually been getting some pk time and it's a recipe for disaster.There were legitimately at least 4 turnovers he made that led to great scoring chances last night for the ducks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Especially since he should have had a point on the Jagr goal with the work he did to keep the play alive. One win out West already beat my expectations. At least another point in the last two games would be nice. I was hoping for one win out of the three games. When I saw the initial sched, I was thinking somewhere around NHL .500 or slightly below. They've done that, even if they drop the final two games. Even if they split, it's not like 9-9-5 looks great in the standings, but I still think they did a solid job. And though I usually don't make that big of a deal out of who the wins and losses come against, they've beaten some good teams...not like they were just fattening up on poor teams, and it's also not like their record's been buoyed by bogus SO wins. Devils have scored 3 or more goals in five out of the last seven games (19 total in those seven games...5-1-1 record). The breakdown is interesting: Jagr: 5 goals Janssen (?!): 2 goals Carter: 2 goals Zajac: 2 goals Ryder: 1 goal Henrique: 1 goal Tedenby: 1 goal Zubrus: 1 goal Defenseman: 4 goals None from Elias (who missed the first four games of this 5-1-1 run), none from Brunner, not much from Ryder (no points in five)...Devils fortunately got some goal-scoring from some unexpected sources. I'm not seeing "turned it around" just yet. It's nice to catch breaks that had previously been going against the team this season. It's nice the guys can squeak by and pretty much capitalize on things --- barely. I'm not saying they're about to go on a massive run. But considering how they looked after the rough start, they've at least recovered from it...it's not like they're 6-11-4 or something like that. I think if someone had told us the Devils would win 7 out of 11 after winning one out of their first ten, I think we'd all have happily signed up for it. That qualifies as a turn-around of sorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 (edited) gelinas, zid and greene have been pretty good with their offensive contributions.. Zid is good offensively but i find myself saying so many times i feel ..like he just makes such mistakes that could cost a goal like a turnover etc. Well thats what you get for offensive dmen, they have to take chances to create chances but at least they can help/contribute. You NEED goals to win, but you can still lose games (in SO) even though no goals were scored at all during a game. Any type of dmen can make a difference in a game, can be a pass, goal, block shot, etc etc but you can block all the shots in the world, if no one scored on the other side it's useless. But personally i'm always gonna put more stock into dmen who can contribute. A defensive dman can play the best game of his life, shots will still go through and freak goals can always happen no matter what. While even though a lucky shot from the point who deflect on 45 legs and goes in can happen... scoring a goal "usually" take a little more skills. Salvador and A-train (eventhough of course they bring something useful blocking shots and being strong around the net and hitting guys... they absolutely can't create anything with the puck, they might get a slapper and somehow the puck goes in 2-3 times per.... 7 years lol but u know. Edited November 21, 2013 by SterioDesign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 The idea is to have a good mix of both offensive D-men and defensive D-men. You need both. Daneyko was never an offensive guy, and Stevens became more of a defensive guy from '96 on who would occasionally pitch in. ' The problem with defensive defensemen is they tend to get noticed when they're not getting the job done, mostly because their positive contributions don't often lead to glamour numbers (goals and assists). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 The Devils' PK is hurting. The shots against numbers have been climbing since Volchenkov went out of the lineup - they were around 40 shots/60, now they are at 44.4, which is a pretty big jump for the 4 games that Volchenkov has been out. The Devils as a whole are still preventing shots 5 on 5 but that's because they have a shot preventer like Fayne to jump right in when Volchenkov gets hurt. Either way, not the greatest win last night but I'll take it. I was most impressed with NJ's 3rd period start - they haven't come out real good in 3rd periods even in games where they are trailing, but they did last night. Brunner needs a jump-start playing with Elias. You can see Brunner has good speed but he's making bad reads with and without the puck - it's like his defensive game became passable at the expense of the rest of his game. I think/hope he'll get it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 The idea is to have a good mix of both offensive D-men and defensive D-men. You need both. Daneyko was never an offensive guy, and Stevens became more of a defensive guy from '96 on who would occasionally pitch in. ' The problem with defensive defensemen is they tend to get noticed when they're not getting the job done, mostly because their positive contributions don't often lead to glamour numbers (goals and assists). This team inparticular desperately needs as many agile defensemen who can move the puck quickly and start the transition. Remember the first 5-6 games when this looked like the slowest team ever put together? Well they are still below average, but it doesn't look so awful anymore with better break outs. It's painfully obvious this team can't have both Salvador and Volchenkov in the top 6. I think Lou knows that, but he can't deal either at the moment. He loves Salvador, and he's the captain of the team, but the only thing the team can do is keep winning while they are both out of the lineup. Doesn't mean Lou could trade him though. He may have tried already. It was Craig MacTavish earlier that said something along the lines of..."there are 29 teams really trying to help us out...all offering their garbage or salary cap mistakes." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils Pride 26 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 The idea is to have a good mix of both offensive D-men and defensive D-men. You need both. Daneyko was never an offensive guy, and Stevens became more of a defensive guy from '96 on who would occasionally pitch in. ' The problem with defensive defensemen is they tend to get noticed when they're not getting the job done, mostly because their positive contributions don't often lead to glamour numbers (goals and assists). Going forward in this era, it's a disaster to dress multiple one dimensional guys. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sal and Volch both in the lineup tend to bring out the worst in each other. I think there's always a spot for one shutdown, pking, hard hitting, shot blocking defensemen on the roster. Likewise, there's always a spot for supreme blue line offensive talent who might have a lot of warts in their own end. More than one on either offensive or defensive really pushes it. The rest of the four, you really want to see as many two way defenders as you can. Think Larsson, Greene, Fanye. Not necessarily guys that score, but guys who have somewhat of a clue as what they're doing if they join a rush. Fortunately, I think that's what a lot of us get excited about, with Merrill, Severson, and Gelinas coming up - they all seem to have that two way ability. Not to mention Sanaiti or whatever his name is. An offensive game remains to be seen, but it looks like he could be that shutdown guy for the next decade by all accounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeCups Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 I really think if we had Gelinas in the lineup from Game 1 we would have at least another 2 wins on the year... Better late than never Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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