GDT: Game One: Flyers at Devils 04/14/2010 7:30 PM

[thegame346]

That non-factor double minor PP chance is what sealed the game for me. I couldn't even really get excited about that first goal. It was too little too late.

[overtime98]

I thought the atmosphere last night was awesome and the pre game playoff intro at the rock was awesome and really set the tone for the opening of the playoffs... I thought the Devils out played them for most of the game and it couldve been 2 or 3 nothing devils in the first period. It was a frusterating night because we actually played well enough to win that game. We need to pepper boucher a little more and scoring that late goal was huge coming into game 2, much better than letting boucher build on a playoff shutout. Flyers scored on a couple garbage goals, but hey a a goal is a goal which they got and we couldnt get one or two of those early on. Still, I believe we got this and it starts friday night, we are the better team!

[mrthemike]

Kovy had some great chances, more than I can say about other players on the team. sh!tty start to the playoffs.

[BlueSkirt]

we are the better team!

agreed. Devs in 6.

[Triumph]

He has plenty of time (at least 3 games) to make me eat my words, but I'm convinced that Kovalchuk is the kind of player who can fill the net and pad his stats for bad teams, where there isn't a whole lot on the line. True superstars who shine in the big moments find a way to bury at least one of those scoring chances last night, and don't make the terrible and baffling decisions that Kovalchuk seems to make on a nightly basis...all of which become that much more glaring when he's only scored 10 goals in 28 GP as a Devil...yeah, I know he scored at a much higher pace than that with the Thrashers, and I don't really care, because they likely looked the other way when it came to other aspects of his game (many of which are shaky) as long as he scored goals and gave Thrasher fans a reason to come to the games, overall development be damned.

Friday's another game and another day. Hoping the Devils remember that Brian Boucher isn't Dominik Hasek.

gimme a break, the guy has played 5 playoff games. he was the best devil forward, and while he did make some poor decisions, it's clear that if jacques can get him out there against bartulis and krajicek for even a few shifts, he's going to be lighting the lamp.

[adavid]

Keep the Faith.

[DaneykoIsGod]

Tough game. Devils pretty much out everything'ed the Flyers except in goals. Devils were the better team tonight but the better team doesn't every time. Play like this on Friday and I think we'll all be cheering a win.

I only read the last four pages of this thread, but this is the post that most closely resembles how I feel about last night.

[MantaRay]

eh, Kovalchuk got some legit scoring chances, which is more than I can say for some other players. I'm just getting used to the other stuff, because, well, he's going to be someone else's problem in July. he's incredibly skilled but dumb. what can you do.

+1.

I hate the fact that since we got Kovy, everyone else has taken a step backward. It's like they no longer look for the open forward, now its "where is Kovy" and then just watch the play instead of getting involved.

[Triumph]

+1.

I hate the fact that since we got Kovy, everyone else has taken a step backward. It's like they no longer look for the open forward, now its "where is Kovy" and then just watch the play instead of getting involved.

yeah i can't stand this. give me brian rolston on the 2nd line, the guy who can't even make it through a game without being benched.

[Pepperkorn]

The thing is Rollie went on the wrong side of Pronger,” Lemaire said. “That’s why he lost the puck. It’s little details when you get in front of the net. It’s all little details. You’ve got to be on the strong side of a player if you want to be able to control him and control the puck when the puck comes.

Yeah, see thing of it is... he was doing it all night - maybe I just caught the first time and Pronger caught it too and knew he could capitalize on the weakness... maybe? of course he did... so these guys have to learn what they're doing the FIRST time it happens and they ALMOST shaft themselves. A few guys are in the game -- a few guys just aren't there 100% THAT is what some of our historically great players brought to the Devils table -- they're just THERE in the moment, playing hockey who could I be writing about..???

[95Crash]

Offhand, does anyone know what the regular season series record was between the Devils-Flyers in 1999-2000, the year we came back from 3-1 down against them?

[Pepperkorn]

That might not have made sense -- I got that the skate bounced it in -- but Rolston can't play his whole body - really - watch - he plays with one half of his body - he's always got a weak side and all you have to do is hit up the other -- it's like taking candy from a freaking baby - it's like he doesn't fully comprehend positioning... it's not something that's ballpark or he doesn't understand how to play a zone really -- he needs to get stupid. Because Jersey is a smart team and Lou is smart Rolston thinks he has to engage his intellect - when it's the EXACT opposite. DISENGAGE BRIAN - DISENGAGE!!!

NOW I know why he's an epic fail in NJ and decent anywhere else!

[DaneykoIsGod]

Offhand, does anyone know what the regular season series record was between the Devils-Flyers in 1999-2000, the year we came back from 3-1 down against them?

Just checked on ESPN for the Devils' regular season record against the Flyers in seasons where we met them in the playoffs.

2004 (lost in 5) 2-3-1

2000 (won in 7) 4-1-0

1995 (won in 6) 1-3-0

Feel free to double-check. I kinda rushed this a little.

[Devil Dan 56]

for those of you who went where there a lot of philly fans there?

No, there wasn't a huge amount. They were very quiet at first, and the Devils fans were cheering and chanting and fired up as can be until the Devils killed the crowd with their Brian Rolston-style la-dee-da play.

The Philly fans mostly sat on their hands until there were about 10 mins left and they were up by 2. Then, suddenly they were crazy brave.

[MantaRay]

No, there wasn't a huge amount. They were very quiet at first, and the Devils fans were cheering and chanting and fired up as can be until the Devils killed the crowd with their Brian Rolston-style la-dee-da play.

The Philly fans mostly sat on their hands until there were about 10 mins left and they were up by 2. Then, suddenly they were crazy brave.

I heard them in the third with their cries of "Bouch" everytime he made a save.

[95Crash]

Just checked on ESPN for the Devils' regular season record against the Flyers in seasons where we met them in the playoffs.

2004 (lost in 5) 2-3-1

2000 (won in 7) 4-1-0

1995 (won in 6) 1-3-0

Feel free to double-check. I kinda rushed this a little.

Thanks, I'm trying to talk this Devs fan down from the ledge. I thought maybe if we had played poorly against them that year that he could see there's no reason to give up hope right now after only one game.

I heard them in the third with their cries of "Bouch" everytime he made a save.

Yes, I heard it too, but didn't think it was all that loud. It only might've seemed that way because our own fans were so silent by that point in the game.

[LucifersDog]

Interesting playoff game. We lost as number 2 seed by one goal and so did the other teams in the playoffs last night. All top seeds lost by one goal. As for the Devils well the first goal against was off Rolston's skate was he out of position I don't know but these things happen. The second goal Shoula does a give away along the boards that Laperriere gets and throw a rink wide pass to Richards who hits a slap shot at Marty. Marty clearly saw what was going on and didn't stop the shot. It rings off the pipe an into the net. Devils are down by two and they pressed and that was the ballgame. 6 minutes of PP in 3rd and they get nothing because the don't shoot at the net enough and don't have players down in front of the net. Game over.

Being down one of the first two at home will be a struggle for this team during this series. They have to get on the board first in each game.

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

Yeah, see thing of it is... he was doing it all night - maybe I just caught the first time and Pronger caught it too and knew he could capitalize on the weakness... maybe? of course he did... so these guys have to learn what they're doing the FIRST time it happens and they ALMOST shaft themselves. A few guys are in the game -- a few guys just aren't there 100% THAT is what some of our historically great players brought to the Devils table -- they're just THERE in the moment, playing hockey who could I be writing about..???

Sean Brown

[Aznjsn]

in the years we had proficient top lines, like the "A" line, or even the "EGG" line, they worked pretty damn well.. You wanna know why?

CUZ THE COACH DIDN'T FCK WITH THE LINES EVERY DAMN DAY!"

[nyrsuck26]

in the years we had proficient top lines, like the "A" line, or even the "EGG" line, they worked pretty damn well.. You wanna know why?

CUZ THE COACH DIDN'T FCK WITH THE LINES EVERY DAMN DAY!"

Agree.

I want ZZPops. If we still lose, so be it, but at least we will have put our best product on the ice.

[DaneykoIsGod]

in the years we had proficient top lines, like the "A" line, or even the "EGG" line, they worked pretty damn well.. You wanna know why?

CUZ THE COACH DIDN'T FCK WITH THE LINES EVERY DAMN DAY!"

We also had checking lines back then that would shadow the opponents' skilled lines. No one wants to see that return.

I think what Jacques is trying to do is innovative. Why should our best players be limited to two linemates when there are 11 other forwards on the team who might benefit from playing with them or who might bring out other elements of our best players' games? In a perfect world, Jacques would be able to put any three of our forwards out together and they'd be able to play cohesively. I think that's what he's been working toward all season long. In theory, there are a lot of benefits to this, namely making it impossible for the opponent to prepare.

Of course, in theory Communism works too.

[MantaRay]

We also had checking lines back then that would shadow the opponents' skilled lines. No one wants to see that return.

I think what Jacques is trying to do is innovative. Why should our best players be limited to two linemates when there are 11 other forwards on the team who might benefit from playing with them or who might bring out other elements of our best players' games? In a perfect world, Jacques would be able to put any three of our forwards out together and they'd be able to play cohesively. I think that's what he's been working toward all season long. In theory, there are a lot of benefits to this, namely making it impossible for the opponent to prepare.

The problem and I heard this from both Parise and Elias in seperate interviews, is that you don't have the time to develop any chemistry that would allow you to anticipate where your line mates will be or apply to their strength shift-to-shift. I would rather have set lines (like ZZ Pops) that work well together because they have developed the chemistry together.

[dantesinferno]

Rolston has no heart and is killing time waiting for the season to end, trying real hard not to get injured. He almost never puts himself in a position where he will have to battle and play physically hard. Pronger’s goal was a prime example, Rolston should have battled him for the crease, at least tried to move him or tie him up but I think he was afraid of making Pronger mad at him and paying for it later.

Is Kovalchuk always on the far side/point in a strategic move to keep at least one defender tied up there thus freeing space on the opposite side? Just wondering because I agree with a previous post that whatever he is doing there isn’t working.

Niedermayer is almost worse than Rolston, he just makes less money and as for Langenbrunner? Who knows what his problem is but he should lose the C. Give it back to Elias or maybe Parise or Kovalchuk…if he stays. Maybe Kovalchuk turned the puck over a few times but at least he looks like he wants to win and is trying his best, more than you can say for the team’s Captain….maybe his mind is still a jumble?

[devlman]

The way we shot straight at Boucher's pads and chest all night long you wouldve thought Gionta was still on our team.

And has anyone seen Patrik Elias? Remember him?

On the plus side, our fans sounded great and tried to push the team.

Edited April 15, 2010 by devlman

[Legion15]

what's frustrating is when we lose, people are running around looking for someone to blame (Kovy, Rolston, etc) whether they really played bad or just had a few bad breaks, or did something a little boneheaded. when we win, it's all about predicting how many games til we start losing again. jesus when we do well, just take the win, when we lose, yeah it hurts and you want to know what happened, but sometimes it is what it is. you dwell on it all the time, yeah you're always gonna be pessimistic.