SC Devs Fan Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 As a fan of the Devils I should be happy; we are playing Burns type of hockey and are 4-1, playing awesome defense. Still I am unsatisfied... I see the lack of scoring as a weakness and find the type of play bland. My question is this; would you rather the Devils play the same type of games all year (2-1, 2-0, 3-1 on an awesome night!) and finish first in the division OR open it up, score some goals but get the 7-8 playoff seed... I have a feeling Lou assembled this team to grunt and grind and win - that's his job - but isn't this also supposed to be entertainment? And isn't a high scoring team more entertaining? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 winning is always entertaining. i'd rather be a one seed with lots of 3-1 wins than a 7 seed with a bunch of 6-5 losses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 It doesn't make you a bad Devils fan, I myself hate boring hockey and would rather see this team lose some exciting 6-5 games than win 2-1 sleepers over Atlanta. We were like this from 96-99 and got absolutely nowhere in the playoffs. we should be beating atlanta 6-2 like everybody else, it shouldn't be a struggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Devs Fan Posted October 24, 2002 Author Share Posted October 24, 2002 I agree. A 2-1 win over the Thrashers doesn't put many fans in the seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GR Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 Doesn't make you a "bad fan" as you say, It's boring watching the Devils. Offense is always exciting, don't blame Burns, it's about talent of lack there of on the offensive side. 3rd and 4th line players don't usually bring excitement, speed, scoring, passing and quality shots, they miss opportunities often for a goal. Pando had some great moves last night, getting over the boards to get on and off the ice for his shift. Watching Stevens miss his passes, or let an easy pass back to him at the blue line get by him, or seeing an Atlantic player skate by him for a shot at the net or watching him stand in front of the net while shot is coming in on goal. I know he didn't want to block Marty's view of the puck. How about take the shot on the body El Captain!! Dano was sleep walking on some shifts. Exciting to watch. You might ask why do I bother, Because I believe someday they will have a team that is consistent and thrilling and exciting. Soon as Lou swallows his ego and gets some offensive talent. Where's the SPEED, LOU?????? Speed equals Hype for fans in seats, well these past 5 games should keep them away, the 4 win weren't pretty and Marty saved the bacon on most of them which equals boring hockey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 Pando did look awful out there with no real clue of what to do on offense. He strangles the Madden-Langenbrunner combo. They should get Berglund on their wing and move pando to the 4th line where he belongs. I know that McKenzie has his lovers on this board, but he should not play every game. Of course, for this to happen, either Guolla has to go down or Danton has to go out. Either way, Pando on the 3rd line kills any shot of offense. Stevens was pretty sound defensively last night. His offense was Pandolfo like though. He's slipping though...which is scary for an $8M guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrydevil Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 SC Devs Fan, Last night, I was saying to my wife the same thing you wrote. Watching the Devils can be boring. It'd be nice to see more wide-open play. However, I am impressed with the way NJ plays defense. The Devils shut down a team that has a pretty good offense AND they did not take a lot of penalties. I know it's the Thrashers, but the Devils were extremely disciplined, which was nice to see.....but maybe not fun to watch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldon Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 It's all easy for you to spend the team's money. I just think that the payroll is already way too high for the revenue that comes in for this team. Attendance is not great & even though I don't know the rankings, I can bet that revenues from things such as merchandising is pretty low as well. And with dismal tv ratings the ad revenues can't be overflowing either. I know this crosses other issues, such as marketing or rather lack of marketing, but either way, we have a pretty decent salary structure, where's the extra money to sign other players going to come from? Can't raise the tickets any higher. I kept switching the channels during intermission & commercials & watched as the Rangers with their payroll & their golden guy Pavel Bure scored 1 goal. It's 5 games in & we're 4-1, how does everyone know that we won't be in the top 10 in scoring? Elias can score & a lot of others MUST chip in 10-20 goals each. It's also easy saying we're boring vs. the teams we've been playing. Nashville, Columbus, Atlanta. I just think many many people here are way too negative, that it's depressing coming here lately & it's only Oct. 24 & the season is 5 games old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 good point on elias. remember that 2 years ago, he got hot around game 20 and scored 20 goals in about 18 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
point Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 Regarding Pandolfo- I think he can score, if he is told to. Putting Langenbrunner on that line tells them to score. We know Madden can score- his scoring % is 100%. As Pandolfo gets used to getting closer to the goal he will start to put them in. For the last 5 years he's been used to checking and PK, not exactly the mandate for putting points on the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 Pandolfo was a scorer in college, I believe I heard somewhere although I've never bothered to check it out myself. I told my dad I was going out on a limb and Pandolfo would score 15 this year and so far its not looking so good for me. -Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risky Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 We have 2 fourth lines right now. We should have 1. It should be: Pando-McKenzie-Turner Dump Guolla. Bring up Berglund. That makes our lines: Elias-Gomez-Friessen Brylin-Nieuwendyk-Berglund Langs-Madden-?? Pando-McKenzie-Stevenson Who am I forgetting? Dammit. Well, you get the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 The difference between now and 96-99 is one player, ^7^. Patrik Elias. Not only that but the defense does not have Odelein or Dean on it, making it infinitely better. This team is not like those of 96-99, you'll see soon enough. Giving the Devils a 3rd line doesn't help offense that much. Even a good third line will probably only score 40-50 goals a year. The problem is the top two lines as they are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomezz23 Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 yeah i myself is pretty bored, i miss having elias scoring 40 goals, and having 5 20, or more goal scorers...but oh well, see i love watching great goaltending so thats why i still love watching the games! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDevils Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 Pandolfo's breaking his stick on a shot was about the best shot he had all night against Atlanta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gomezz23 Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 your forgetting gionta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaddDog Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 I don't think it makes you a "bad" fan, just that you have your own opinion on what 'boring' vs. 'exciting' hockey is. I, on the other hand, do NOT really care much for NO defense, NO goaltending HIGH scoring games and would much rather watch a lower scoring affair with superb goaltending and strong d. Some of the most boring, hideous games I've ever seen were games that were total blow outs, like 8-7 where each team's goalie was a complete sieve and the defense was virtually non-existent. You or other people may enjoy that sort of thing, but I don't. Ideally I'd like to see my team score several goals, get a shut out, and play strong d, but it just ain't gonna happen for ANY team most of the time, sorry . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamode Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 I'll take a win anyway they can get it. I have to agree there really is no speed but the D is good and hopefully the O will work itself in in the next few weeks. I do think we expect alot from them, and that may be okay as supporitve, money-shelling fans yet if the coach has no fears yet, I think we can relax a little. The thing that is really bothering me now and it's carried over from a year or more ago, is the penalties being called with 2 minutes or less to play. It's like clockwork--bad penalties and then the other team cutting down the score by 1. This worries me if it is not corrected and the team doesn't give 100% with a lead (don't get lazy with a lead!) because it could lead to losses and ties which may come back to haunt them in April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 The difference between now and 96-99 is one player, ^7^.Patrik Elias. Not only that but the defense does not have Odelein or Dean on it, making it infinitely better. This team is not like those of 96-99, you'll see soon enough. But we did have Doug Gilmour, who was older than patty but was coming off 30 goal, 77,111, and 127 pt seasons and carried the leafs to the conference finals twice, he was a ppg player when we got him. Then we worried about Odelein and Dean, now it's Stevens and Dano who will be 39 by the time the playoffs begin. They worry me as much as odi and dean. White is also prone to some giveaways and stupid penalties. last years 1st round exit to carolina was a lot like senators in 98 & rags in 97, how is this team supposed to be better? If anything, it's worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chort Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 I am still amazed why people think this year's offense will be better than last year's This year's O will be lucky to reach the goal total of last year...and forget about the year before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 I think with the new rules we should score more goals than last year, but we'll still be near the bottom of the league in GF and near the top in GA. that usually adds up to a first round exit for us, or maybe this year no playoffs at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GR Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Zamode, we expected a lot like speed and more speed because that is the hype that Lou and his team put out pre-season. The expectations weren't set by the fans, but rather by the Devils Management themselves. As I keep saying you can't expect offense from a bunch of 3rd and 4th line players and at least 4 or 5 offensive players that will be lucky to score 5 goals each all season (Pando, MacKenzie, Stevenson, & Danton) That's a line and a 1/3 active players. You can add others to the list. With the obstruction being called goals so far are up about 41 goals league over last year. The average is about 4 -6 goals a game. Not the devils. TO-DATE MARTY ISN'T IN THE TOP 10 goalie for GAA or % Saves, so things aren't clicking but they have 4 wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Goals are nice. Wins are better. As to the defensive style of play, it won the Devils a Cup in the past. Long live the NZT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Plain and simple. I break it down to this. Do we want a team that can beat Atlanta 9-0 which we did it 1999 but lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Penquins or a team that win the Cup with boring hockey and playing the trap like we did in 1995. I pick the ladder of the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamode Posted October 25, 2002 Share Posted October 25, 2002 Zamode, we expected a lot like speed and more speed because that is the hype that Lou and his team put out pre-season. The expectations weren't set by the fans, but rather by the Devils Management themselves. GR, what I meant was expectations because the Devils had done well with standings and winning 2 Cups. Yes, there were crappy seasons/endings in between but they've been a good team and you get used to that. As far as fans swallowing whatever PR management may shell out, this isn't 1984. TO-DATE MARTY ISN'T IN THE TOP 10 goalie for GAA or % Saves, so things aren't clicking but they have 4 wins. Does it really matter? He is HHOF material yet he will probably never be embraced like some of his cohorts. He has 2 Cup rings and a gold medal. Wouldn't every goalie trade a great GAA & % for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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