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Lets go Devils!

This has largely been as unimpressive of a 9-2-2 run as it gets…superb goaltending coupled with opponents somehow not cashing in on the insane amount of high danger chances that the Devils are giving up as of late has allowed this team to somehow keep banking points. And of course scoring so many goals with their goalie pulled. Luck has been on their side to an insane degree. The good news is that they do have some guys who are capable of converting the chances (at a very good rate) that they get, and in Jack’s case, he’s your classic “Create something out of nothing” superstar. They have just enough talent that they can sometimes get away with being outplayed and outchanced, but obviously this is all going to catch up with them if they don’t get things straightened out in February. Also easy to take excellent goaltending for granted…VV has wildly exceeded expectations. I’ve already pointed it out but he’s basically been a .930 save% goalie for most of his season…his first start and a mild dip when the Devils were struggling are what’s dragging him down to .916…his season save% is misleading. We all love what he’s doing and maybe he’s found another level, but there’s always the chance that he could come back to Earth some…should that happen, the Devils won’t be getting away with nearly as much as they have been during this peculiar 9-2-2 run. With each game (win or lose) we’re reminded how much the Devils miss Marino, and how much they need a solid stay-at-home rock. The more minutes Severson gets, the more he gets exposed for being the careless, brain-dead, maddening player that he’s always been; I’ve said it a bunch of times but Seves is a classic bad-team player…NHLer, yes, but he has no business playing on a contender. Smith has been a failure; there’s just no nice way to say it. Fitz needs to upgrade there, and Seves needs to go back to getting third-pair minutes the second Marino settles back in after shaking off any rust. The ASB is coming at a perfect time, and Fitz will hopefully be as good of a deadline buyer as he’s been a seller. And hopefully the Devils will bounce back and play legit good in February, instead of relying on insane luck that allowed them to “surge” through a most misleading January. At least they’ve built up another cushion to try to figure things out.

You-know-who is desperately trying to find a way to scale the alligator-infested moat, landmines, barbed-wire fence and sniper-laden brick wall so he can lend his unique insight on this very topic…

I don't think anyone on this board has ever really discussed it but I thought Lou did a decent job his last few years in NJ

I'm at a conference for a couple days and didn't get to catch much of yesterday's game. Looks like it was a good one to miss. Hoping to catch more of tonight's especially since I noticed we have a long break coming up. It's the customary one week off that every team gets (I think?), coupled with the All Star break. It'll be really nice to go into the break with a win against a good team. If it doesn't happen, no reason to panic. Let's Go Devils.

I can’t even imagine being down on Dougie right now. Dude has a strong case for being our 2nd best player after Jack this season. He’s going to make the occasional mistake (he’s never been known for his defense - we knew what we were getting with him), but like CR said, the good way outweighs the bad. He’s a stud.

Post away man! The more the merrier.

So annoying that they can't beat Hynes.

We REALLY need Marino back.

This will feel like a SERIOUS bonus win if they pull it off tonight. This has "scheduling loss" all over it...team is already looking tired and now they're on a road back-to-back, with the two cities involved not exactly being a hop skip and a jump from one another. If they just don't have it tonight, I get it.

I feel a bounce back coming! Hibachi in net the team will play

All good bro. No hate whatsoever. Just fans getting heated after a loss in their own way I guess 😂 Edit: yes post more

I think a better term is “careless”. Dougie can definitely have Severson-like “Huh WTF?!” moments. But fortunately he doesn’t have nearly as many and he now has 45 points in 48 GP. Just take some of the bad because the good outweighs it. With Seves it’s the other way around.

I swear blackwood gives up a prime rebound on 95% of his saves

I swear if Jack ever gets 2 high end wingers… It’s driving me nuts.

MUCH better period so far.

That sequence between Dougie and Jack was sick.

Haula would have put it wide though. Good on Sharongovich for burying it.

Absolute horsesh!t.

I’ve seen it all Of course they would score on that bs.

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere, apologies if any text seems missing/is weird as I've scraped it from the page source

Henrique or bust. I really don't see why he'd be after Parise.

CAR and NJ can both submit trades SJ will accept but Meier's contract negotiations also have a big impact on the deal. If he decides he wants to play in NJ it might not matter who submits the better package to SJ.

What an absolute douche. I hope he owns the Rangers forever. So fitting

And this is why the Devils will be VERY lucky to pull off a trade where Holtz is the "big get" over Mercer. It's kind of hard to sell a (currently) healthy scratch as the centerpiece (who's been unable to stick) over a guy who has at least shown himself to be an NHLer who can just jump right into their lineup. It all comes down to how much of a price is Fitz willing to pay to land Meier? I can definitely see him pivoting to middle-tier acquisitions...I think if he opens up to the idea of trading Mercer, he's going to dig his heels in HARD when it comes to giving up other assets...not saying he would expect to get Meier for nothing more than Mercer, just that if San Jose is insisting on HIM, then Fitz will be very careful when it comes to giving them anyone else remotely crucial to the cause. Maybe moving Mercer means that he refuses to cough up the 2023 first. Or Casey. And I am definitely NOT looking to get rid of Mercer...more thinking that there will be enough other suitors involved that the Devils will have to step up if they really REALLY want Meier.

They’re absolutely loading for bear. Patches’ Achilles snapping no-contact thrusted them into the top 6 forward hunt. I will say I kinda agree with RWTD that they’re gonna do something, and someone ALWAYS swoops in to bail them out of any cap problems. lastly, brattpack posted Wood’s stats for the last couple games, with unsurprisingly results. So I decided to really look at Wood’s game log: since December 15, Wood has exactly 2 points, a singular 2 assist game. He has been a positive +/- only twice. He has become a secondary scoring black hole and is dragging anyone down with him that has to suffer being on his line.

The sunny side look is that the Devils have shown this season that they have the capability to win hockey games in more than one way. But generally, they need to tighten things up. Graves and Siegenthaler were awesome to start the season, and now they’re pretty average. Is this all about Marino? I don’t know, maybe it is. Can’t wait to find out when Marino comes back.

VV for the win. Let's gooooooo Devils

This one has the potential to get ugly if they play like they did yesterday. Big bounce back game. LGD

LGD

Jack with a goal and an assist against the Preds…he pulls to within 19 points of Kakko. Jack 2022-23 has now made up 39 points on Kakko career through 48 GP. Kakko: 35 G, 46 A, 81 Pts Jack: 31 G, 31 A, 62 Pts

Oh well…this was their third road regulation loss. That I can’t get mad about. The sloppiness was infuriating. I’m pretty sure what few remaining supporters Seves might have still had (wherever they may be) have jumped ship. Just finish your career out with bad teams…that’s where you belong. I give Mac a pass tonight, he got left out to dry to an absurd degree. Kinda sucks knowing the Devils still employ a head coach even more worthless than DBA, but there’s solid assistants here at least and there’s some fine young talent…they will keep banking points. Just looking forward to when the job is Brunette’s.

That sucked.

Stop me if you have heard this one before: I HATE DAMON SEVERSON ON THIS TEAM

It just me or has the camera guy struggled with his zoom?

Pretty much everyone on defense does other than Siegs and Marino. Those guys might get beat once in a while, but it’s usually not from decision making/brain farts.

Graves gets an assist on that one. He does some baffling sh!t sometimes.

They have got to stop these mid-period interviews with Matt.

I just hope we aren’t counting on him to come in and be lights out immediately. He’s been out a long time. Palat still isn’t back to 100%. Bit different since he had surgery, but still. Might take Marino a little time to get back to form. Hopefully not, but I’m kind of preparing for it.

I’m pissed too. That he’s still the head coach. But that problem will be solved in due time. Kudos to Mac, did a hell of a job to keep this tied.

Thank God we have Jack Hughes. That was all him.

I expect a makeup call at some point. That was horse sh!t.

LGD!

You bite your tongue lol. I will be so upset if we move him

Depends on how close Marino is to returning, but yeah, Fitz needs to address this. The answer is clearly not Bahl or Okhotiuk…not this season.

Imagine that. Brutal turnover by Graves, too. McGill needs to get in his guys asses.

Jack is unbelievable

i BET ALL THOSE sEATTLE FANS WERE PREVIOUSLY cANUCKS FANS. Edit: It seems as though I left caps lock on 🧐