Carter Gionta Bernier line

[Triumph]

It's -23 for a reason and that's because it asked to do way too much. My biggest fault with Deboer is his usage of the 4th line and the players. They have been seen against top lines from time to to time and continue to get burned. Plus Gionta is used on the PK, and he is a trainwreck there as well. 

 

That's not really true.  It's -23 because they have 1 goal combined in 12 games.  Now obviously Gionta is a terrible shooter so some of that is expected, but they have not been getting killed this year.

[NewarkDevil5]

That's not really true.  It's -23 because they have 1 goal combined in 12 games.  Now obviously Gionta is a terrible shooter so some of that is expected, but they have not been getting killed this year.

 

Are we talking -23 as being the sum total of their individual plus minuses or is that the +/- of the team while that line is on the ice?

[maxpower]

Are we talking -23 as being the sum total of their individual plus minuses or is that the +/- of the team while that line is on the ice?

 

Gionta's -6 is probably the closest reflection of what the "line's" +/- is.    But they have only scored one goal.

[NewarkDevil5]

Gionta's -6 is probably the closest reflection of what the "line's" +/- is.    But they have only scored one goal.

 

A goal against every other game isn't good as a fourth line, because you shouldn't be expecting your fourth line to score every other game to maintain an even rating.

 

To be fair, they've been put out there against competition that fourth lines shouldn't be expected to play against either. That's more on the coach than anything else.

 

Part of this team's problem is that it doesn't have a checking line. I really do think that when he gets back, Zajac should be given honest to goodness shutdown center duties. Tell him, we don't care if you score or not so long as the other guys don't. Slap Zubrus on the line with him and the same instructions.

 

I know having a checking line doesn't fit with Deboer's philosophy, but I think that is something he needs to adapt into the philosophy. Used to be that if the Devils got scored on it was by some no-name guy who hadn't ever scored a goal before. As maddening as that was, it was also why we won so much. We were shutting down the big guns. So what if every once in a while we got burned by an air rifle?

 

Now we're getting eaten alive by every star who comes to town. That means we're not working the right percentages. We're allowing the shots by the people who shoot well.

Edited November 5, 2013 by NewarkDevil5

[Triumph]

The 4th line is at least decent at suppressing shots against, although they also play plenty against other 4th lines which no doubt affects their rates.  I doubt very much that other team's stars do significantly better against NJ than the rest of the league because the Devils suppress shots so well in general.

[NewarkDevil5]

The 4th line is at least decent at suppressing shots against, although they also play plenty against other 4th lines which no doubt affects their rates.  I doubt very much that other team's stars do significantly better against NJ than the rest of the league because the Devils suppress shots so well in general.

 

I'm not saying they're doing better against NJ than the rest of the league. I'm saying they used to do much worse against us and now they're starting to treat us just like any other team. That's the problem.

[Triumph]

I'm not saying they're doing better against NJ than the rest of the league. I'm saying they used to do much worse against us and now they're starting to treat us just like any other team. That's the problem.

 

Doubt that was ever the case, and indeed, NJ's shot rates against are comparable (though worse) to their best days.