82 replies to this topic

[Devilsfan118]

Josefson is certainly more mobile than Kovy is at this point..but Kovy brings leadership to the room/ice that a relatively young player like Josefson doesn't.

That's my opinion, at least. You could tell after his eng that Kovy really wants this. It must be killing him (maybe a little bit literally? ) to play with this injury during the SCF

[DobaMB30]

It worked in the Florida series, you guys might still think kovi was hurt.. I say he was benched for that one game and come back hot.. after that he went on fire.. if youre really injured that extra 1 day isnt going to do sh1t for you.. he was benched and as much Id like to see it again.. you just cant !!

but you can change things up... this full 2 minutes on PP has got to stop !! and work him down low not on the point

[gata]

I think they should sit him out. You can tell the injury is coming back to haunt them.

Though I know they won't since the series stand 3-1 not 2-2

[Devils731]

Despite not being able to skate, shoot, or turn, Kovy is still garnering attention from the other team(which is stupid of them) and he's one of only 2 forwards that can envision and make a creative pass to create offense.

I'd still play him, but take him away from Parise and Zajac, cut his minutes, and use him as a forward on the PP.

[losdiablos103]

Creates passes? To whom? The skates of the Kings, right?

He is clearly hurt and clearly not playing like he wants to and should be. It's been a pretty big liability. Almost cost us a goal last night, but Marty came up big. I'd sit him. They won't, but I'm not sure if he should sit. I pray that the extra day of rest does something for him.

[ATLL765]

Despite not being able to skate, shoot, or turn, Kovy is still garnering attention from the other team(which is stupid of them) and he's one of only 2 forwards that can envision and make a creative pass to create offense.

I'd still play him, but take him away from Parise and Zajac, cut his minutes, and use him as a forward on the PP.

I think maybe splitting time between the 1st line with Zach and Zajac and maybe the 3rd line with Henrique and Clarky might work. That way you still get to have your big guns out together at certain points, but you might also catch the Kings off guard by having two skilled guys like Henrique and Kovy out there together, with Clarky there to get to the front of the net to get his hands dirty.

Edit: I also agree that he needs to be removed from the point on the PP. I like him down lower on that left side anyways, whether he's hurt or not. I think he fools some people when he moves down low like that because with that many guys down low, it's hard to cover all the passing lanes.

Edited by ATLL765, 07 June 2012 - 03:32 PM.

[Devils731]

Creates passes? To whom? The skates of the Kings, right?

Kovalchuk is still arguably the most dynamic passer on the team. He's always made some passes that cause turnovers, because he makes more high risk passes than anyone, so that happens. Elias turns the puck over a fair amount as well, due to riskier passes, they're a function of each other.

While most Devil plays are very static, dump it in, ring the puck around the boards to near side point man, Kovalchuk is still finding players skating through the neutral zone, finding players in the slot, and the far side point men, at times.

[StarDew]

Yeah I think this is what they did to him during the PHI series.. Not all to knowledgeable with them, but can you do two in a close period of time?

I had a shot every 3 weeks for going on 4 months. They would work fine but they wore off too quick. They really help the inflammation subside. They aren't fun to get though, not at all.

[Mayday]

I wouldn't be too upset if he sat.

But he won't.

[DobaMB30]

Creates passes? To whom? The skates of the Kings, right?

He is clearly hurt and clearly not playing like he wants to and should be. It's been a pretty big liability. Almost cost us a goal last night, but Marty came up big. I'd sit him. They won't, but I'm not sure if he should sit. I pray that the extra day of rest does something for him.

I have to agree, he not only gives the puck away but cant hold a puck in on the blueline that he covers for the whole 2 minutes..

only part I dont get is this "being hurt" .. all I see is a typical Russian forward, its like with OV late playoffs, the more he sat the better the club did .. lol

sorry sounds to me like a big excuse.. if hes hurt but willing to play is one thing, if hes hurt why the f^ck is he playing full 2 minutes on the PP

[Devils731]

only part I dont get is this "being hurt" .. all I see is a typical Russian forward, its like with OV late playoffs, the more he sat the better the club did .. lol

sorry sounds to me like a big excuse.. if hes hurt but willing to play is one thing, if hes hurt why the f^ck is he playing full 2 minutes on the PP

How can you not see he is hurt? He can barely move, his back is looks royally screwed up. If you've ever hurt your back then you know every movement you make reverberates through your back. You can see him grimacing on the bench and trying to stretch things out at different times.

Sorry, sounds to me like you're looking for an easy stereotyping of all Russian players instead of looking with your eyes. Kovalchuk is being a warrior playing through this, I think it's a joke that people then make light of it.

[Vic Rattlehead18]

The last 2 power plays he was taken off the point and played down low. FINALLY

[DobaMB30]

How can you not see he is hurt? He can barely move, his back is looks royally screwed up. If you've ever hurt your back then you know every movement you make reverberates through your back. You can see him grimacing on the bench and trying to stretch things out at different times.

Sorry, sounds to me like you're looking for an easy stereotyping of all Russian players instead of looking with your eyes. Kovalchuk is being a warrior playing through this, I think it's a joke that people then make light of it.

I'll try to pay more attention to it, how can someone hurt be playing 20:23 total minutes last night?? (3rd most) and full PP minutes.. that I dont get.

Edited by DobaMB30, 07 June 2012 - 06:01 PM.

[Devils731]

I'll try to pay more attention to it, how can someone hurt be playing 20:23 total minutes last night?? (3rd most) and full PP minutes.. that I dont get.

The coach keeps telling him to go out and play. If a guy with one leg is told to play 30 minutes by the coach, it doesn't mean the guy had two legs.

Kovy's success, and problem here, is that he can win a game for you with just 1 or 2 good plays that nobody else can make. So DeBoer keeps throwing him out there, gambling that the majority of the time where his injury is making Kovy a negative factor will be more than balanced out by him making 1 big shot for a goal or threading one pass through 3 defenders. DeBoer may be right, he may be wrong, but that's the gamble.

[maxpower]

He can't skate, that should be the first sign. He moves about the same speed as Elias, who is ancient. I didn't buy it initially a few months ago, but it's obvious now.

[halfsharkalligatorhalfman]

DeBoer may be right, he may be wrong, but that's the gamble.

That's a good way to put it. But the Devils have had about 20 PPs. Off my memory, I'd say maybe 5 of them were decent and generated quality chances, the rest were wash outs with a few even resulting only in quality short handed chances for the Kings. They have scored zero goals on these PPs as well, a very disturbing stat. I think the evidence is there that it's time to switch it up.

[landofvanilla]

We've won without him. I'd take 5 skaters moving at speed than 4 with 1 moving at half because it drags the unit down.

If we lose, it's easier to stomach it if they put their able-bodied TEAM (because it isn't all about one player) out there, than to say they put one injured player out there and have to second-guess whether that poor decision caused the loss, or even use it to make excuses.

I think we have enough depth to make a change.

[NJDevs4978]

At this point I'm starting to buy into the mentality of just throw two defensemen out there and play the PP like a 5-on-5 offense. I mean we only have two legit pointmen and both are compromised due to injury anyway. We're 0-14 on the PP against a formidable Kings' PK. Throwing out two defensemen and playing our normal cycle offense down low might just yield some dividends. Can't hurt. If Kovy and Zidlicky weren't both hurt that'd be something else but at this point might as well gifve up on the 'conventional' PP.

Edited by NJDevs4978, 07 June 2012 - 07:19 PM.

[thelastonealive]

Clearly Kovy's problem is not his back. It's the beard.

Specifically, it's that the beard is not a mustache. It's creating drag that's slowing him down.

#StacheItUp Kovy.

[mouse]

only part I dont get is this "being hurt" .. all I see is a typical Russian forward, its like with OV late playoffs, the more he sat the better the club did .. lol

You can question his play all you want, but not his toughness. He's been a warrior since he got here, moreso this year than ever. He played ridiculous minutes early in the year, he gets up every time he gets hit, and he's never complained even though he can barely fvcking skate. Maybe he needs to play fewer minutes, but it's a testament to his toughness that he's playing what the coaches tell him.

Also, I'm sick of the Russian stereotype. Ovie is a tough player who throws the body. He was out of shape this year, but so was Dustin Penner, and I've never heard him called a soft Canadian. The racial generalizations make it impossible to have an intelligent discussion. If Kovy wasn't Russian, his toughness wouldn't be called into question and we could talk about real issues, like does his current skillset benefit the team, or is his lack of mobility too much of a liability.