TheRedStorm

Can't be any more difficult then that fence you pretend to sit on. There can't be a fan base in the history of sports that can have two billionaires buy a team of theirs from bankruptcy, pay off massive debt and yet still spend money on the team, hire men with successful resume's run the business side, invest millions into the arena, spend money on FA's and the cap and commit long term to the city/state where they play.....yet, have fans pine for the former owner who very nearly got this team moved out of NJ. Unreal. VBK was a swell guy and all, and his intentions were great. He was just in over his head and didn't have the finances to be a pro sports owner. He was exposed when he lost Chambers as a partner. Some in this fanbase (and the same types that still chant and pine for YS) still focus on VBK being "one of them" i.e. a Devils fan and former STH, the fan who made good and bought the team. They believe the new owners don't and won't love and care for the team as much as it's just another business in the coffers of successful men. Listen, people. The Devils are finally being run as a business. It's 30 years overdue.

Every coach on every team has favorites and leans on them more then he should, sometimes at the expense of the team and roster. Lemaire and Bobby Carpenter ring a bell? Hell, arguably, Lemaire lost a playoff series with that. Pete, rightfully or wrongfully, believes in the players he assigns responsibilities too like any other coach. If you bring another coach in here, he's going to do the same thing either with the same players or others. It's a tricky slope. Personally, i think if you take Pete's Pets away he'll have no choice right Lou?

Then you fire Pete right now, hire a short-term retread coach for a full youth movement, dump most of the vets, miss the playoffs (again...not like there's a chance it's not going to happen again, anyway) and dump the season in the name of youth development and a shot at Connor McDavid. Oh, and hope the fanbase shows up the rest of the year doing it in October.

Again, there is absolutely NO guarantee that a new coach is going to not use the same players in the same situations that we call bad decisions and personnel management. A new coach is going to have to have some set of balls to do what needs to be done to some vets and have the backing of his GM.

This team's roster is still vulnerable to being beaten by speed and top end skill and it's a year older. I can not argue with some bad personnel decisions made, but this is still a roster with dead weight, players who might be/are aging before our eyes and it's painfully slow. And, being that as it is, can they sustain an offensive pace? Teams that don't take nights off is a cliche' at best. Yes, the Devils work hard but they have stretches where they go brain dead and they pay for it. They make far too many mistakes that aren't always coach related and they take entirely way to many penalties. Sometimes, the other team is more skilled, faster and younger, too, and that's where the difference lies.

Bad coaching aside for the moment, firing Pete right now would be a mistake. This is the move you make in April and May after a 3rd straight no playoffs. This isn't the type of roster that needs a kick in the pants a firing would give it. This isn't a bunch of underachievers that needs a message. I can not see how a new coach is going to make a difference this season with this roster as is, especially the D. I just can't see enough of a change to justify a firing and a retread hiring right now.

He's leaning on vets who shouldn't be having that sort of responsibility. Again, is it out of necessity of not trusting younger players (when he has shown he can and does) and his personnel or bad coaching or both? Whatever the case, is a new coach going to do anything different? I don't believe so.

It's not just tonight, though. They've lost more then a share of leads breaking system play. This is still a frustrating team to watch. They are beyond frustrating, actually. They still are what they are. RE: Firing Pete, it won't change much. Who are they going to hire? Another retread for short term? Maybe you'll get a player or two like Larsson and Brunner to find his game under a new voice, but Salvador isn't coming out, they will still be old and slow with the same roster. We all know Pete does some dumb sh!t, but sometimes you wonder if it's out of necessity or desperation because he doesn't have the right personnel in his mind. Firing him isn't going to be the prudent move right now. A 3rd straight no playoffs and he'll be gone though.

When the system that relies on puck possession stops attacking that's going to happen. They do not have enough talent or speed but to play keep away. This isn't 1997 like Lou still thinks it is. They either play strong system play and get a lead or slack and then pick up the urgency when they fall behind. This team is also painfully slow which does not help matters.

People are just frustrated that the coach and GM can't see or won't see what we perceive as bad personnel decisions.

Just go for it in OT. As bad as a SO team that this is, their odds aren't going to be good against big pads who barely loses these. I'd hate to start off 0-1 after a blown 2 goal lead and go 0-for on attempts.

As long as Salvador continues to be in this lineup this team is just begging to lose and, quite frankly, they deserve it. It's disgusting it's come to this. I'll say it again, if this team played in a market that was more rabid with media coverage (i.e., gave more of a damn) they'd get eaten alive with personnel decisions they make.

Offensive defensemen take longer to develop. You have to have patience. Have him make the mistakes there so he's better prepared here. He still brings an element the Devils lack in the present, so, for the time being, you have to take the good with the bad. It also good he's getting more games in now.

The Rangers won a round with Nash being invisible, St Louis dissapearing in the last half of that series and no Kreider. If any of that changes, i think you have to start taking them seriously. Then again, it can be said that the Flyers not having Mason early on, no Grossmann and the insertion of Hal Gill cost them that series and i'd agree, too. Emery did a serviceable job under the circumstance, but there's no way you win a round with him in net. My fear with Pittsburgh lies with MAF. He can easily lose this series on his own.

Yep. just enough to win not quite enough to blow it. You know it'll end 2-1. The Flyers will have one last second stab at it with the goalie pulled and Queen will be on his back not knowing where the puck is with 5 blue shirts on top of him and 5 flyers poking away and somehow it doesn't go in.

The thing is they won this series without Kreider and by getting zilch from Rick Nash. If Nash all of a sudden gets hot vs Pittsburgh, they become a scary team. If he stays cold, then they have to go back on relying on Carcillo, Moore, Pouliot and all the depth to overachieve again. Not having Grossmann hurt the Flyers and they basically threw a game away putting Hal Gill in there. That was a terrible move. If the Devils did something like that, this board would have had a catastrophic meltdown.

Flyers lost this game by not winning the first period. It's another 7 game series where the Rangers are just a bit better then their opponent is.

From the Flyers twitter LOL....

The Rangers win this series tomorrow. I didn't think this would go 7 as the Rangers have an edge in defense and goaltending, but the Flyers seem to be using their speed and quickness well, plus Mason is playing elite level. The Rangers are a different team then in 2012 and even 2013 and with a different coach, so i don't think it's a pattern with their game 7's. It might be more true that they aren't that much better then the teams they are playing, but just enough more to win over a 7 game series. The Rangers might even be favored to beat Pittsburgh in some circles, too. If MAF is going to continue to play like he has and the Penguins showing they can be grit and grinded away, it's not out of the question the Rangers can beat them. I think the Flyers and Penguins would be an entertaining series if it came to it. But, we might be due for a surprise or two anyway so maybe the Flyers pull it off tomorrow. Then see if Minnesota can upset and if the Kings can join a very exclusive club.

I'm shocked there isn't a 2008 Victoria Cup champions banner up there and the DVD set in the team store.

Seeing teams blow leads and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory this postseason, i don't know if it's just really good hockey or some terrible hockey disguised as good. Whatever the case this is entertaining.

Gill was terrible. It's hard to believe the Flyers had no one else that could play at a serviceable level other then a washed up, plodding 39 year old.

Let's hope that the Flyers now turn to inflicting as much physical damage to them as possible, especially on the defensemen, The Flyers just don't have the goaltending and defense even though Mason pulled that performance out of his ass in game 4.

Jesus H, did Fleury ever lose confidence. He had no idea where that point shot was from Johnson earlier then blew the OT winner. You could almost see that coming.

FWIW, Paul Martin has 8 assists in this series.