Troy from NJ

I love this team.  You take the good (last year) with the bad (this year).   Only 1 team every year ever ends with a smile on their face, so disappointment is normal.   The hardest part for me is a nice playoff run is makes you look forward to every game like it's Christmas Eve.   I'll miss that this year and leave it to Lou and company to get us back in the dance next year.   Damn was last year a blast.

Oh well, now I get to root against the Rangers, which is almost as gratifying.....almost.

Devils 2014!

Devils are the oldest team in the NHL.   They've played the most games in the NHL last year and now had to play a condensed schedule.   Is it so surprising that they got off to a great start (where all those games helped since they had the least time off) and then hurt later on (most games played)?   They look gassed.   They're slower than every team they play and they're late to almost every puck and every rebound.   The checking style they play is exhausting and if tired, is simply not effective.    This reminds me of 2002 after playing the most games in the NHL the previous 2 years.   They just looked gassed.   Not saying there aren't other factors, but they are not the same team they were 6 weeks ago (even with Kovy and Brodeur) and after watching every other team in the league the past few weeks nobody looks as old and slow as NJ, nobody.

They must get younger and faster to compete.   The Islanders drafted and brought in speed.  Same with the NYR.  Chicago.  Etc..  NJ hasn't done that and the speed/age delta is just too wide at this point.   Marty and the D haven't been able to cover for them this year as they did last year, so time to face the facts.   Even in 2003 NJ went for speed and swaped Sykora for Friesen.   Think of that last goal that beat Ottawa.    Does any team in hockey have a slower top 6?

Get younger.  Get faster.   Or get beat.   Shake up time is here....

Larsson plays scared.   Let's talk about his pros first.   He has incredible vision.   He's a very good passer out of the break.   He may not be the fastest skater, but he can "float" when he has to and find the open point to take a shot.    He's also young and needs to fill out a bit.   I think he's going to be a top 2 D man in this league for a long time.   Nieds is a bad comparison because of what he became, but I remember MANY wanting his head early because he was too soft, made too many mistakes and was always thinking offense  (remember the games he suited up as a wing?) and getting burnt defensively.   I think he turned out ok, eh?   Of course the negatives with Larsson are glaring right now:  bad decisions with the puck; plays too soft for NHL hockey;  easily intimidated; doesn't have that nasty edge that makes up for other shortcomings in the NHL game and a general "European" softness that Don Cherry always screams about...until Peter Forsberg showed just how tough a Swede could be.

Larsson played better the first few games as a pro  (even pre-season) than he has now, and the biggest difference is he wasn't afraid to make mistakes early on.   He played a little too wrecklessly, but he was young and learning and played with confidence in himself.   He's lost that.  I think PDB has played with his head and now he just wants to play and is taking it a notch down to try and play clean hockey instead of winning hockey.   There's a whole other level to this kid.  The only question is can NJ get it out of him?   Nieds had Stevens to learn from and bail him out.   Larsson has nobody.    How I'd love to see a guy like Lidstrom take on a special coaching assignment and work with Larsson over the summer (no, I don't think Stevens can get it out of him.  His personality doesn't lend to working with a guy as intimidating as Stevens.   Even Nieds, and yes, Robinson would help.)   He has the goods.    We're not talking Brad Bombadir here.   Devils:  invest in your investment before he becomes a basket case and a could have been.

LGD!!!

I dont know how any sane person can think we match up well against Pitt come playoff time.

It's more of the type of team Pittsburgh would rather play than who NJ would rather play.     Pittsburgh is 4-5 vs. NJ the last 2 seasons.   Not a matchup they'd be truly looking forward to.