nj96

It's a word (at least in my own personal made-up dictionary)! I figured it would be a little more couth than saying "Square in the 'nads"... -Dan

I really don't think the Devils played badly, they were just severely outmatched speed wise. It seemed like there were 10 Tampa skaters out there at all times. There's a definite pattern forming that the Devils have a real problem with aggressive forchecking teams. They need to work on a quick breakout to get out of the zone safely. I wish Janssen and Rassmussen could have gotten more time, but they would have looked like they were skating backwards with TB's speed... That said, I really thought that they were going to get out of it with the win. After all the chances TB had and it was still scorless, I really thought the hockey gods were smiling. Oh well. Got a point. -Dan

To add injury to insult, Ovechkin got speared really badly in the groinular area. He was down for a long, long time. He did come back, though. It looked like the guy meant to hold him up but landed the point of his stick in the magic spot. Definitely not intent to injure. -Dan

It really wasn't that bad. Definitely not as bad as the Domi/Niedermayer incident. Just let Janssen kick his butt next time out and all will be right with the world. Kasparitis is an old school guy, he'll take the whipping and everyone will go on with their lives. -Dan

I can't say I've been missing it, Bob...

Awesome! Much easier to find out where you are in a thread now! Great job on the skin, DM! -Dan

One more colors suggestion... On the Pages list inside a thread (like at the bottom where it says "4 Pages << 1 2 3") it's hard to see which page you're on. If the color difference between the current page and other pages was more pronounced it would make navigating a thread a lot easier. The New Topic indicator looks Awesome!!! -Dan

The skin looks good. I like the new Logo on the top. One suggestion, though... The quote text is black and the reply text is gray. No biggie, but it just looks reversed to me. Everything else looks great! -Dan

It says they've assigned him there, not that he will actually play... I could see Almo going if he actually wants to get back to the big show with the Devils. H could show he can work hard and do everything he wasn't doing when he was here. But I really can't see him physically being able to...

I was poking around ESPN.com last night and there's a video of it. If you go to the NHL section it was on the right. Sorry there's no direct link... I think they should have let him in on some dump and chase drills and see how he fared down in the corners... -Dan

It's been sounding like Doc and Chico are hitting the bottle during the games lately... Kinda like Bob Euker in Major League... -Dan

Maybe the reason he was waived and didn't just retire was the fact that he still gets paid. At the beginning of the season, Lou could've said to him, "Come on in, play till Patty gets back. We'll see how the hip is and make the decision then. If it doesn't work, here's your cash. Thanks for being a great guy. Have a good unofficial retirement." I think it was very mutual and I guess time will tell. If Mogilny gets picked up of waivers and actually plays then my idea is thrown out the window. But if he just slowly fades into the night, then maybe this is what's going on. -Dan

Quick question... If someone DOES pick him up, does any of his salary count towards the cap? -Dan

Has anyone thought that maybe this is what Mogilny wanted? We all saw him being ineffecive and a step behind. Maybe he did, too? I don't think Lou would just outright waive a veteran player who has been here a couple times and knows the way things work. Maybe it was a mutual decision. Injuries, the daily grind, Lou cracking the whip behind the bench. Maybe it just got too much for the hip and his heart. But then again, Lou had to do something and with the way he's been playing, his salary and his hip (AND the fact that he might be the lockerroom problem) Lou may have just waived him to help right the ship, but I think they definitely would have talked it over a little beforehand. -Dan

The problem is that no one one-times pucks. They stop the puck, look up for an opening, look back down and take a shot (IF they actually do shoot). This team needs a full day of one-timer practice. I counted a few games ago and there were around 20 flubbed or completely missed one-timers. Honestly, I lost count over 15. And the majority of them were on the PP. One day of one timer practice and then they can say who can pass and who can shoot and line up a good PP. Another thing I've been thinking about is just laying it up for a point shot. Over and over and over again. Let the lead defender get pelted a few times and he'll start to back off a bit. If only we had someone that could rifle the puck... What's Malakhov doing now... -Dan

If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all. Dazed and Confused. -Dan

You have to figure that if he's been practicing with the team all year, the coaching staff has seen what he can do for what they need him to do. If he wasn't capable, they could have just said, "Sorry, Tommy, it's just not in the cards. Here's a front office job." I'm confident that he's got the skills for what we need him to do. He's not the future, he's just a known commodity that can only improve what we've got back there. It's basically an Albelin for Malakov switch and I'm definitely a big fan of that. -Dan

Malakov might be technically on a "leave of absence" which would give him the paycheck he's looking for but not count it towards the cap. Kind of a going away present for playing nice instead of dropping him outright. I was too busy to read all of this at work! WOW! Just wow... -Dan

My thoughts: Imaging back when Stevens was young if leadership was thrust upon him. Granted, he may have done better than Madden, White Rafalski and Gomez but there would still be a learning curve there. If you think about the recent loss of leadership, both in the room and on the ice, there going to some time before someone steps up and makes it their team. The core went from being 3 guys who had almost 20 years experience each to a bunch of 5 year guys. Lack of leadership is expected but I feel that a few guys will step up and give this team an identity. You can't expect too much just yet. I'd wait until Patty's back until wholesale changes are made. Who knows how the team will react when his experience and scoring come back (IF they do). Split Gomez and Elias up and viola, there's a double scoring threat. Throw in Kozlov, Gionta and Mogilny and you have two very talented lines that would free up one of them from the opponents top defenders. Give it time... My .02 -Dan

As it happened I said to myself, "Marty just Richtered himself." That's the scariest part - we've seen that same injury before and Richter retired because of it (among other things). If Marty did do any damage, he'd be out for months and even when he came back it would always be a weak spot. What's making me nervous now is Marty's played hurt for long stretches, so playing with discomfort isn't something he'd shy away from and if he did come back and really hurt it we'd be screwed. TAKE SOME TIME OFF!!! Wait for it feel 100% then come back. The Devils will probably go 0-10 in the mean time, but it would be worth it if it brings about some staff changes and reduces the chances of Marty being out longterm. -Dan

How about 0 points for a tie. Go by wins. You figure teams will gnaw and scratch to get the win if that's the only way they're getting ahead. -Dan

One word! Skate! They skated tonight. Every line, every man. They looked good! Really good! Still not convinced they're the real deal until they bring the same thing every night. Paul Martin and Zach Parise are the real deal. Both of them looked like they saw the ice well and didn't get rattled. The lines worked well, but I think it was more the players hustling than the new lines. Gomez was back to his form and Kozlov is looking like I knew he could. I really hope they both give that effort all season... Marty and Langenbrunner both look out of shape. Definitely nt as quick as they should be. Gotta get them on a diet! I think Madden's pulling ahead of the rest in the race for Captain. He leads by example and as long as he can keep it up, I think he's a shoe-in. Rafalski just doesn't scream Captain to me and Mogilny is a little to aloof. Oh, well. Great game but I'd like to see them do this against some good teams. -Dan

Marty and Gionta - he was flying all night. Put him with Gomez/Mogilny and you've got a pretty exciting line. -Dan

My take on the game tonight, the Devils thus far and the "new" NHL... The Devils looked horrible tonight. Watch the game against the Pens and then watch this one. The difference is skating. Today tey all just sat with the puck and waited for it to magically appear down ice. With the new rules and the speed the Devils have, they should be drawing 2-3 hooking penalties a period. Another thing, when they pass it up in the neutral zone, the man they pass to is always skating the wrong way. It's so frustrating when they can't get anything going and keep passing to players skating towards the Devils net. Honestly, the Devils look lost without the leadership of Stevens. Even with Niedermayer in there last season, they were still lost just not as bad as this year. They need to name a captain. I'd like to see Madden shine above the rest because he's got the fire that Mogilny and Rafalski just don't have but we need some serious leadership and drive. The whole team looks unmotivated. Maybe they're just getting back into the rhythm, who knows... Also, Langenbrunner just looks out of shape. He's slow, not really "with it" around the puck, y'know. Scary thing is he's looking kinda like Friesen last season. Hopefully he'll get his act together soon. We're going to need him. Now to the "new" NHL... The delay-of-game penalties for defencemen who put the puck in the seats is the dumbest rule next to the shootout. Tonight there were two good examples (one each way) of the defencemen just trying to clear the zone while being pestered leading to penalties (both of which were questionable because of where the puck left the playing surface). Overall, I'm not happy about this season. I know it's only a few games in, but if the Devils don't start turning it around it's going to be an ugly season... -Dan

I was looking at Robinson last ngiht and all of a sudden he reminded me of Ryan Stiles from Whose line... -Dan