161 replies to this topic

[SterioDesign]

i mean just look at other teams play. i dont know how much you guys are watching other games from different teams, but so often im telling myself... "Great they scored that way but the Devils would have never made that play they would have send it along the boards around the net instead".

 

just ONE example, the goal that Hartnell must have scored like 40 times at least... just standing around the hashmarks inside the circle and getting a pass from the boards from giroux and BOOM one timer or a good shot. for sure that play in NJ Giroux would have send the puck behind the net and Hartnell would have been there waiting to be pinned on the board or to get free and send the puck to the blue line.

 

anyone denying that the devils are doing the same damn play 90% of the time is wearing thick blinders or he's simply in denial.

[NJDevs4978]

They have not been "playing badly." they have been playing like a better than average team which is what they are. Their standings in the conference may be a bit higher than they should be when you consider their overall play but they do a good job generally at shot suppression and don't normally have their goalies kill them.

In their losses, we're seeing pretty bad goalie play.

Just get into the playoffs and see where you go. I think there is one more trade coming (d out, f in). This team is not fundamentally flawed so just stick with it.

 

No they've been playing exactly average since the Pittsburgh home-and-home.  One good game followed by one horrendous one.  Really they were luckier to get the three points they did over this last week, considering how much they no-showed the last two periods plus on Monday and how hideous the PP was the other day, two-man advantage goal or no two-man advantage goal.

 

They really need to start finding more scoring soon (having Zajac score again would help, especially with Clarkson cooling off a little) and fix this joke of a PK to where it's at least average.  In this short season, you can go from first to ninth in no time.

[Devs1965]

C'mon Lou, do something don't wait until we fall in the standings. Kovy is not the answer there are no answers in the minors. Package a deal and make a trade. Soon real soon!
Nothing against Kovy but you know your in trouble when your best player is forced to play sickening minutes he can not carry the team and it is unfair to put him in this situation.
C'mon Lou ?

[Devils Pride 26]

Hate to say it, but Kovy and Zajac are really missing Parise on the top line. Terrible contract and I wouldn't sign him to it, I'm just saying he obviously was a big talent and the Devils have to find someone who is capable of playing with them

[Triumph]

Why is Volcheknov even playing, period?  Fayne got benched for less than the crap Volch has put out there since April.  Hell, Larsson got benched for no real reason to start the year.  Heaven forbid we sit a $4 million guy as opposed to a $3 million one though (Tallinder).

 

I bet DeBoer has no idea what Volchenkov and Tallinder make.

[Triumph]

I also don't think the D for F trade is coming.  The Devils are happy carrying 8 guys they trust. 

[NJDevs4978]

I bet DeBoer has no idea what Volchenkov and Tallinder make.

 

Well more to the point it's Volcheknov's term left on his deal as opposed to Tallinder's term (three and a half years is far less forgiving than one and a half).  

 

It would be lunacy keeping eight guys through the deadline, it's already been lunacy keeping them this long.  Most of the d-men are switching roles and partners on a weekly basis, they look more discombobulated now than they did at the start of the season when that should have been the adjustment period.

I also don't think the D for F trade is coming.  The Devils are happy carrying 8 guys they trust. 

 

Too bad they barely have eight FORWARDS they trust.  And half of them ain't contributing all that much offensively.

[Triumph]

There's no guarantees at all that the Devils will be healthy at the deadline.  They're lucky to be healthy now.  And the ice time is much more spread out this year than it was at this time (games-wise) last year when the Devils were using 7 forwards.

 

Maybe they'll try to pick up a depth forward at the deadline but Carter and Zubrus are injured and Josefson, who's still a big part of this team going forward, is in the minors (but likely not for long).

[leeski]

Is Volchenkov noticeably worse in NJ compared to Ottawa? When we first got him I didn't know much, but read he was a very physical defensive D-man who was a god of shot blocking. But if he was also terrible then, someone inform me.

[SterioDesign]

the thing is on the attack the guys are doing exactly what they are asked to do, it's just not working. We could even get... i dont know? Pat Kane who could deke out 2-3 guys and score but he wouldnt cause he'd have to dump and chase and fight along the boards. 

 

We need to get board beast like Zubrus and dman with better shots. Our system is relying on those 2 things and we dont have enough guys strong on those 2 things

[SMantzas]

I love this oft-used, completely irrelevant/untrue cliche.
 
 
How about Wolski having an open goal stopped by Jedi mind-force - ain't that luck enough?

 How about Henrique missing multiple open nets this year? These things happen both ways
 

lol ah well if you want to go the whole year depending on luck always going our way... knock yourself out dude. If you can't admit the Devils have been playing pretty bad this year other than that good stretch well i dont know what to tell you. Im glad where we are in the standings but having the flyers and rangers and so many teams struggling is certainly helping

How exactly have they been playing "bad"? They're 10-4-4 and have 24 pts in 18 games. Whenever theDevils win, they are getting lucky. But when they lose, the other team is just overwhelmingly better than us?
 
 

What luck, they lost two of the games 5-1 and got dominated the last 45 minutes at home against an inferior team on President's Day.

You can't bring your best every game. We were winning the whole game so it's natural that Ottawa would push the envelope more. Regarding the 5-1 games, our PK has largely let us down. I have faith in the coaches to sort it out

the thing is on the attack the guys are doing exactly what they are asked to do, it's just not working. We could even get... i dont know? Pat Kane who could deke out 2-3 guys and score but he wouldnt cause he'd have to dump and chase and fight along the boards. 
 
We need to get board beast like Zubrus and dman with better shots. Our system is relying on those 2 things and we dont have enough guys strong on those 2 things

Maybe 1 out of 5 times Kane pulls off that deke. The other 80%, he turns it over at the blue line often resulting in an odd man rush the other way

[GoArmySports]

Volchenkov for a 5th do it Lou.

[SterioDesign]

 How exactly have they been playing "bad"? They're 10-4-4 and have 24 pts in 18 games. Whenever theDevils win, they are getting lucky. But when they lose, the other team is just overwhelmingly better than us?

 

yet you were one of the guy supporting the shooting % thing about Gionta pointing out that even though he was producing that he was actually bad and just lucky...

 

then you go the other way around the say the opposite when we clearly see that the Devils are bad with our eyes and you deny it using the Devils records... interesting

[CarpathianForest]

Is Volchenkov noticeably worse in NJ compared to Ottawa? When we first got him I didn't know much, but read he was a very physical defensive D-man who was a god of shot blocking. But if he was also terrible then, someone inform me.

 

Volchenkov was mainly known for being an expert shot blocker in Ottawa and he was more physical in Ottawa. He's neither in New Jersey.

[SMantzas]

yet you were one of the guy supporting the shooting % thing about Gionta pointing out that even though he was producing that he was actually bad and just lucky...
 
then you go the other way around the say the opposite when we clearly see that the Devils are bad with our eyes and you deny it using the Devils records... interesting

I never said he was bad or deserved to be benched. I'm somewhere between you and Triumph. I said he should be taken off the PK and that he has been getting the benefit of the bounces.

How exactly are they bad? Because of some loosey-goosey penalty killing and the inability to score in the last 4 games? They're playing decently, just not getting the results

Edit- I know it's only been 3 games, but Loktianov looks like a player. It looks like he has some chemistry brewing with Kovalchuk

Edited by SMantzas, 23 February 2013 - 04:19 PM.

[SterioDesign]

I never said he was bad or deserved to be benched. I'm somewhere between you and Triumph. I said he should be taken off the PK and that he has been getting the benefit of the bounces.

How exactly are they bad? Because of some loosey-goosey penalty killing and the inability to score in the last 4 games? They're playing decently, just not getting the results

Edit- I know it's only been 3 games, but Loktianov looks like a player. It looks like he has some chemistry brewing with Kovalchuk

 

to me the dmen are bad because they are slow. A good simple defensive system is usually working and that's why we had a good D for the last few years eventhough we don't have superstars.

 

To me and again it's so obvious, our breakouts and our attack is a struggle, the guys doesnt have "good possession" IMO and it's hard to create good opportunities with that. when they get control of the puck in the neutral zone they'll dump it and will have to battle to get back possession and by the time they have it everyone will be in the zone. We can barely score on the PP yet we try to settle a powerplay setup 5 on 5... 

 

we're missing our 2 best guys along the boards and on the PK from last year and it was a HUGE part of our success during the season.

[DH26]

the thing is on the attack the guys are doing exactly what they are asked to do, it's just not working. We could even get... i dont know? Pat Kane who could deke out 2-3 guys and score but he wouldnt cause he'd have to dump and chase and fight along the boards. 

 

We need to get board beast like Zubrus and dman with better shots. Our system is relying on those 2 things and we dont have enough guys strong on those 2 things

 

who do we have on this team that could do that besides maybe Elias but rarely? Kovalchuk's not a wiggler like that he's more power. Zajac? Clarkson? Loktionov? Bobby Butler? Teams with Patrick Kane and Claude Giroux do it because they have Patrick Kane and Claude Giroux, not the other way around. And, I dunno, the system worked pretty well last year. 

[SMantzas]

to me the dmen are bad because they are slow. A good simple defensive system is usually working and that's why we had a good D for the last few years eventhough we don't have superstars.
 
To me and again it's so obvious, our breakouts and our attack is a struggle, the guys doesnt have "good possession" IMO and it's hard to create good opportunities with that. when they get control of the puck in the neutral zone they'll dump it and will have to battle to get back possession and by the time they have it everyone will be in the zone. We can barely score on the PP yet we try to settle a powerplay setup 5 on 5... 
 
we're missing our 2 best guys along the boards and on the PK from last year and it was a HUGE part of our success during the season.

Can't argue with you there. Greene and Zidlicky are our only dmen with any sort of speed. Those guys, along with Larsson and Fayne are the only ones capable of any breakout. Salvador and Volchenkov are grenade handlers and often just slap itout of the zone. Our problem is that we only have two guys (Elias and Kovalchuk) who are dependable carrying the puck in the zone. Even then, Kovalchuk often turns the puck over. It looks like Lokti has the ability to do it, we just need to see more of him

[CarpathianForest]

March is going to brutal and a real test of this team's mettle. What's the ETA on Zubrus?

[Neb00rs]

 How about Henrique missing multiple open nets this year? These things happen both ways
 

.........yes....correct.....that's the point.