Mitico12

I will say it again, especially to those of you who were out planning a Stanley Cup celebration after last year's win against the NYR in the playoffs - the honeymoon is over! Was last year a fluke? No. It wasn't. But we also rode a wave of success coupled by the fact that we had no expectations to go anywhere and players without much pressure on them. The situation this year is different. We still have a coach who is out of touch in today's NHL, teams that are prepared to play us night-in, night-out, and a goaltending tandem that is clearly struggling to gain confidence. Vitek Vanecek, for example, reminds me a lot of a bad version of Scott Clemmensen (and for those of you who recall him, he was shaky at best on a good day). A team that comes into a first period and sh!ts the bed, or takes a commanding lead and can barely hold on to it, is a strong indicator of bad coaching and Ill preparation. Add to that the fact that we have two goalies that cannot bail us out on a bad night, it's a very strong recipe for a top-10 draft pick come Spring of '24.

Replacing arguably one of the most prominent, up and coming stars in the game is an exercise in futility. So, there is no replacing Jack Hughes presence and production. Also, there's little replacing Nico Hischier's ability to play solid on both sides of the puck. You had a bit of a one-two punch here, that drove a bit of how the defense plays as well. However, the team's lack of "collective defense" exacerbated by spotty goaltending is going to be the team's demise this season. Irrespective of whether or not Jack and Nico come back tomorrow or next week, a team that is that porous defensively and is suspect on the back end in goal will not make it past the first round of the playoffs (if they even make the playoffs). Team defense (in exchange for an explosive offense) is what I expected from a Jack-less and Nico-less team. But apparently, our braintrust hasn't gotten the memo.

If there is tissue damage to Jack's shoulder, I'm afraid the situation may not be so short-term, as if they decide to go the non-surgical route, it would require a lot of time of rehab and stregthening of his shoulder before he's back. But, it can also present issues down the road. If they go the surgical route, he's done for the season. I'm hoping that if it was a "surgical" problem, that they would do it ASAP and give the guy a fighting chance to be back for the playoffs. I'm guessing that we will see quickly if they decide to go non surgical, then perhaps the injury is not as bad as they thought it could be. Shoulders are the worst joint to hurt - rotates at 360 degrees unlike any other joint, and it is a pain in the butt to fix. Let's hope for the best.

Well, judging from watching the replay a bunch of times I can speculate the following as injuries - Some kind of bone injury in his shoulder, or, a tear of some sort to his shoulder tendons/ligaments from the impact. Either could mean 3 months of being out of the lineup. And that's if it goes well. Let's hope it's just a deep bruise, because either of the above would mean he's gonna be out significant time. Does anyone remember which shoulder Jack hurt a few years ago?

It's interesting that the NHL can be so "woke" in a few areas, but something practical such as "privacy policies" they are not. All organizations in the USA, irrespective of their level of wokeness, have some sort of harassment training to help prevent legal action or liability to avoid lawsuits when situations like this transpire. For example, I have to go through Anti-Harassment training refresh once per year via web-based courses, even though I've done them for almost 20 years straight. I know an NHL coach is considered kind of "immune" to these types of situations given their role as an authority with the club, but in today's age, the damage an ignorant individual (like Babcock) can cause to both the club and the league is enough to warrant that this type of training or familiarization is done. Surprisingly, if it was a mistake made out of ingenuine ignorance on his part, not sure why he just didn't come out and apologize to his players (in private) and then via press conference later on. I guess the club saw irreparable damage given his past that it would become too much of a distraction for them to navigate. I'm curious to see if they paid him some sort of "severance" to leave? By the way, does the IIHF or NHL require coaches to obtain a license to coach? FIFA does, so a coach cannot become a coach until he/she gets a license from FIFA, where I assume training on issues like this is conducted (minus the Luis Rubiales kissing Jenny Hermoso incident). But, one thing's for certain, Babcock is finished as a coach, on TV, and in any line of work with the NHL. His reputation unfortunately precedes him.

He was indeed on that team in 2012.

I like Toffoli since 2012, especially noticed him when he was part of the team that broke our heart in the 2012 SCF. Good move for Fitz. Definitely appears to mark the end of Tuna in NJ. Despite the upgrades, we need to realize its one thing making paper moves, and one thing actually going out and winning. I hear a lot of fans on this forum - with all do respect to the younger folks on this site - thinking that this team is a few months away from becoming the second coming of the 1980s Edmonton Oilers. After our second round exit I saw people firing off as if we had won the cup already. My word to them - relax. It's not that easy. The team has to have a lot of things going for it - good leadership, good coaching, injuries kept to a minimum, good goaltending - and most importantly - a burning desire to win. Players have to play up to their ability, day-in, day-out. Have to be able to recover quickly from tough losses during the season. Have to be able to score by committee if one of our guys is out for short to medium-stretches of time. I'm happy Fitzy is not standing idle and trying to build a winner. Now it's up to the coaches, players, and the fans to support the project (with cautious optimism).

Not so amazing when you come to think of it. The Devils have something that the other guy wants and is willing to pay for it. If Severson hits the market, he has a lot of uncertainty for himself, while CMB is not guaranteed they will be getting his services with potential suitors out there on July 1st. So, both Severson and CMB hedged against potential negative effects of the free agent market, with the NJD acting as a "broker" to ensure both got what they wanted before uncertainty hit. No way Seves gets a max deal (legally) on the UFA market, or even gets a 7-year deal with AAV of 6+ million per. While CMB could have lost out to "better suitors" like Vancouver in UFA, so they decided to reduce the risk and get it done. Seves got the most money and most term. CMB got to avoid other suitors "wooing" Severson with intangibles when UFA begins (better city, better teammates, low taxes...etc) The 3rd round pick was simply a "broker fee" for Fitz and company. While we all internally think Severson is overhyped and overrated, you would be surprised at how many teams want their hands on Severson and we don't know it. I wouldn't be surprised if CMB didn't try to score Seves a few weeks before the deadline and were denied.

I really can't deal with all this "silver lining" talk about being happy we made it this far. The Devils had a good if not better team than Carolina. They got outplayed and outhustled. You made the playoffs right? Now do something useful with it. Just simply saying we are playing with "house money" isn't logical. You have 2 first overall picks in your lineup. 2. That should be enough to tip the balance sheet against some teams. Just a bad effort in several games in Carolina which is what needs to be addressed in the off-season.

It's bad when the McLeod line is out there every other shift. Jack has been very very very quiet.

Only thing that will work in our favor is if we win a nail biter in the 3rd and the Canes start feeling snakebitten in game 6. Just a thought.

Jack is definitely not well. Not too many shifts and he isn't exactly sharp out there.

Team is hanging on for dear life. Seems like they have mentally checked out already.

Kind of game that got away from us quickly thanks to several things: - Sub-par goaltending - Cocky attitude after scoring the first goal.

Vanecek + Immaturity has cost us this game and most likely the series.

Lindy stayed loyal to the guy that won the last game. Bad strategy.

Game over. Vanecek is an abomination.

We have to be the more determined team from the start, and have a goaltender that gets their shooters doubting a bit when they tilt the ice at times. Unfortunately, Vanecek is just not inspiring much confidence and showing BIG in net. That's the first problem. Winning 4 of 5 games two series in a row is a VERY DAUNTING task. I won't say it can't be done because we have done it before, but we would have to be perfect at home and steal one in their barn. It's gonna take puck luck, a good goaltender, and possibly a mental collapse on Carolina's behalf to pull it off. I just don't see the 'Canes imploding like that. Hope I'm wrong, but in all my years of watching hockey, it is a very very very improbable scenario.

Yep. Agreed. He looks like a HS goalie thrown in net. He isn't standing tall and aggressively attacking the shooter. They hit three posts this game, and so it could be a whole different story if our offense wasn't up to speed.

Vanecek gives out rebounds like candy on Halloween.

VV looked horrendous on that PS.

Yep. Agreed. He looks like a HS goalie thrown in net. He isn't standing tall and aggressively attacking the shooter. They hit three posts this game, and so it could be a whole different story if our offense wasn't up to speed.

Ed Olczyk is such a bum. Hates the Devils and it screams thru on the broadcast. May as well have had both him and Albert wearing Rangers hats on the broadcast. Ugh.

This game is on Lindy. Sorry. You cant step onto the ice in Game 2 having been shellacked in game 1 and draw a clunker. I get the whole "emotional high from the Rangers series and the carry-over effect" but c'mon, you have to at least skate with the opponent and make things harder for them. This team just wasn't prepared and that falls on the coaching staff. Carolina vs. Florida should be an interesting series to watch.

I may hate the Canes more than the Rangers actually. I still can't get over the Staal goal to complete the comeback against the Devils that time in the playoffs and Sutter's bewildered look after the fact. Tough road ahead, but if we play how we know how to play, we can do it.