BostonNala370 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Today Lou said "Status Quo" when talking about Henrique, Clowe, Salvador and Merrill were in practice. After practice the team goes to Washington for tomorrow nights game. I thought DeBoer said Henrique and Merrill would be back by end of week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaira_Devil_#9 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Just seen tweets from TG and Chere, JJ dropped in practice today to a line with TooToo Gomez ruutu and Brunner. How disappointing. His play lately has been much better. Gionta and Bernier getting the nod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Hes playing with Ruutu and Brunner...same as last game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onddeck Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 JJ has been arguably one of our best players... minutes need to go ^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Gionta in practice centered the 3 line with Zubrus and Bernier and JJ centered the 4th line with Ruutu and Brunner. I am sure DeBoer says they are just a line not a numbered line. Lou would comment "Status Quo". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Gionta in practice centered the 3 line with Zubrus and Bernier and JJ centered the 4th line with Ruutu and Brunner. I am sure DeBoer says they are just a line not a numbered line. Lou would comment "Status Quo". Just looking at the names on who is on our 3rd and 4th lines makes me sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Just looking at the names on who is on our 3rd and 4th lines makes me sad. Are you disappointed with Lou's collection of players? Certainly not a group of players one would build a team with the exception being JJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Coach Pete DeBoer wasn't happy with much of the practice Thursday. During one drill he was particularly tough ion defenseman Eric Gelinas, suggesting that Gelinas had several better options than the one he chose. "Ridiculous," DeBoer barked at the young defenseman. How ironic is it that Deboer would be barking at someone suggesting that they had several better options than the one he chose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaira_Devil_#9 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 (edited) Hes playing with Ruutu and Brunner...same as last game. Sorry should have said Blue jerseys which normally means scratch. Edited November 13, 2014 by Chimaira_Devil_#9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 How ironic is it that Deboer would be barking at someone suggesting that they had several better options than the one he chose... That is ironic for him! When Merrill comes back Gelinas will be the healthy scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 (edited) That is ironic for him! When Merrill comes back Gelinas will be the healthy scratch. Good because Gelinas has been AWFUL. He makes the wrong reads on players coming into the zone. He makes the wrong reads on outlet passes. He makes the wrong reads in the offensive zone. He's the one who created that 2 on 0 the other night by passing the puck backwards with a lead as a defenseman. He's getting his shots but doing little else well - I see no reason he should be in the lineup. Look, Salvador's bad and they have to do something about that, but Gelinas can't be his replacement. Edited November 13, 2014 by Triumph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Good because Gelinas has been AWFUL. He makes the wrong reads on players coming into the zone. He makes the wrong reads on outlet passes. He makes the wrong reads in the offensive zone. He's the one who created that 2 on 0 the other night by passing the puck backwards with a lead as a defenseman. He's getting his shots but doing little else well - I see no reason he should be in the lineup. I absolutely agree with you and I have felt this way since the beginning of the season. What he delivers on offense doesn't offset what he costs us on defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 How ironic is it that Deboer would be barking at someone suggesting that they had several better options than the one he chose...Lmfao[emoji23] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmann422 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Just looking at the names on who is on our 3rd and 4th lines makes me sad. I'm not sure why, so far our 3rd and 4th line guys have combined for 10 goals and 12 assists which seems decent through 16 games. That's not including Ryder's production. who when the team is healthy plays 3rd line.The obsession here with bottom 6 guys is non stop. We're fine in the bottom 6. The issue is top end talent- as much as I love camm-zajac-jagr, on a cup contender that's a good second line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I'm not sure why, so far our 3rd and 4th line guys have combined for 10 goals and 12 assists which seems decent through 16 games. That's not including Ryder's production. who when the team is healthy plays 3rd line. The obsession here with bottom 6 guys is non stop. We're fine in the bottom 6. The issue is top end talent- as much as I love camm-zajac-jagr, on a cup contender that's a good second line. Ryder has been shuttling between 2nd and 3rd line. With everyone in, the Devils are a pretty deep team. However this team, just the way it is built, is bound to have injury problems from guys like Cammy, Clowe, Havlat, et al and from guys who are just slowing down like Jagr, Elias and Zubrus. With a decent amount of injuries lately it seems like our bottom half is a little thin. I am also comparing this to how deep the Devils teams were over a decade ago, so some of this is just my perception in comparison to teams past. This is of course unfair but I just can't help myself being reminded of how things once were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Ryder has been shuttling between 2nd and 3rd line. With everyone in, the Devils are a pretty deep team. However this team, just the way it is built, is bound to have injury problems from guys like Cammy, Clowe, Havlat, et al and from guys who are just slowing down like Jagr, Elias and Zubrus. With a decent amount of injuries lately it seems like our bottom half is a little thin. I am also comparing this to how deep the Devils teams were over a decade ago, so some of this is just my perception in comparison to teams past. This is of course unfair but I just can't help myself being reminded of how things once were. The Devils in 2003 iced this bottom 6 - Pandolfo-Madden-Langenbrunner/Gionta, McKenzie-Rheaume-Stevenson. And that was in the playoffs - the depth backing up those players was Jiri Bicek, Mike Rupp, and Christian Berglund. And that's with Grant Marshall, a not very good player, on the first line. I can keep going, but basically that isn't very good - give that team 2 injuries at forward and see what the lines look like then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 The Devils in 2003 iced this bottom 6 - Pandolfo-Madden-Langenbrunner/Gionta, McKenzie-Rheaume-Stevenson. And that was in the playoffs - the depth backing up those players was Jiri Bicek, Mike Rupp, and Christian Berglund. And that's with Grant Marshall, a not very good player, on the first line. I can keep going, but basically that isn't very good - give that team 2 injuries at forward and see what the lines look like then. I was thinking more of the 99-00 and 00-01 teams. But yeah that bottom 6 is not very good either. I even said on CR1976's thread about the 00-01 March run that I think the 2003 team is the least offensively gifted team to win the cup in 25 years (probably more). However, at the same time it was a different type of game in 2003 with clutching and grabbing still prevalent and you needed guys like the Stevenson's and the Maddens to do that kind of work. Rheaume was brought in because without Holik none of the other centers on the team could win a faceoff for their lives. These days seeing Brunner skate around in circles and Zubrus skating as if he was skating in mud not doing a whole lot isn't pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I'm not sure why, so far our 3rd and 4th line guys have combined for 10 goals and 12 assists which seems decent through 16 games. That's not including Ryder's production. who when the team is healthy plays 3rd line. The obsession here with bottom 6 guys is non stop. We're fine in the bottom 6. The issue is top end talent- as much as I love camm-zajac-jagr, on a cup contender that's a good second line. Cammy, Zajac & Jagr have 12 goals and 17 assists through 16 games, that's not bad comparing one line against 2. The weak link on scoring is the Elias line that has had injuries and hasn't produced if DeBoer would put Henrique, Elias and Havlet together I think we would have major improvements. These line need to stay together to build chemistry. I personally would like to see Gomez signed because I think he would add a positive to the center position, the PP, the PK and puck movement. Using JJ, Elias/Henrique, Gomez and Zajac as centers we would have vast improvement and we would have Gionta and Zubrus as backup centers. I never want to see Clowe back on the ice. Strip the "C" from Salvador and give it to Cammy, he seems to be the team spoke person and he is respected by the fans and players along with the coaching staff and he is signed for 5 years. What we would be doing is taking a collection of players that Lou has collected and are mis-used by DeBoer and build a positive team to carry us through the rebuild cycle unlike the decisions that DeBoer makes with personal. This can be done. We can score more goals, we have to score more goals to make the playoffs. One of the things that has hurt us lately is the defense has fallen off scoring goals. Without their goals we miss the playoffs. The defense has 10 goals and 29 assists during the same 16 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmann422 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 (edited) Ryder has been shuttling between 2nd and 3rd line. With everyone in, the Devils are a pretty deep team. However this team, just the way it is built, is bound to have injury problems from guys like Cammy, Clowe, Havlat, et al and from guys who are just slowing down like Jagr, Elias and Zubrus. With a decent amount of injuries lately it seems like our bottom half is a little thin. I am also comparing this to how deep the Devils teams were over a decade ago, so some of this is just my perception in comparison to teams past. This is of course unfair but I just can't help myself being reminded of how things once were. fair enough I agree injuries can be a problem with this roster but I guess I don't really think overall forward depth is an issue- it's more top end talent that we lack.Production wise we've scored 43 goals which puts is smack dab at league average so far. If we could only tighten up the PK to anywhere near where it was the last 2 years we'd be in great shape. Edited November 13, 2014 by dmann422 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 fair enough I agree injuries can be a problem with this roster but I guess I don't really think overall forward depth is an issue- it's more top end talent that we lack. Production wise we've scored 43 goals which puts is smack dab at league average so far. If we could only tighten up the PK to anywhere near where it was the last 2 years we'd be in great shape. The PK is def the bigger concern as well as getting into positive goal differential territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Visually the Devils have changed their X's and O's on the PK recently. I won't be surprised if it goes from horrific to at least better than average the rest of the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmann422 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 (edited) The PK is def the bigger concern as well as getting into positive goal differential territory.yes and one thing effects the other- 5v5 we have a +4 differential. It's special teams and especially PK where we get killed (20 pk goals conceded vs 10 pp goals scored)Visually the Devils have changed their X's and O's on the PK recently. I won't be surprised if it goes from horrific to at least better than average the rest of the season. let's hope so, against minny it seemed like they were a lot more aggressive on the puck once it gained the zone, but then again the wild have the worst PP in the league so far so it's hard to read into it. Tomorrow against the caps will be a good measure. Edited November 13, 2014 by dmann422 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 yes and one thing effects the other- 5v5 we have a +4 differential. It's special teams and especially PK where we get killed (20 pk goals conceded vs 10 pp goals scored) let's hope so, against minny it seemed like they were a lot more aggressive on the puck once it gained the zone, but then again the wild have the worst PP in the league so far so it's hard to read into it. Tomorrow against the caps will be a good measure. The initial PK this year didnt allow the forwards to be aggressive. One forward was glued to the high slot and couldn't move, I guess he was supposed to be taking away passing lanes and center ice shots, while the other forward had to cover the entire rink from side board to side board. If you watch the early PK you'll sometimes see the forward glued to the middle helplessly watching a defenseman and forward on the half boards play with the puck while the other Devil forward madly skates over from the other half boards. The Devil glued to the high slot knew he needed to move, knew the proper play was to move out on the point man but the system wouldn't allow it. Now the Devils are back to having the forwards patrol half the ice each and pivoting as the puck changes sides of the ice. This gives the forwards freedom to pressure and lets them start in a better position to apply the pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 The initial PK this year didnt allow the forwards to be aggressive. One forward was glued to the high slot and couldn't move, I guess he was supposed to be taking away passing lanes and center ice shots, while the other forward had to cover the entire rink from side board to side board. If you watch the early PK you'll sometimes see the forward glued to the middle helplessly watching a defenseman and forward on the half boards play with the puck while the other Devil forward madly skates over from the other half boards. The Devil glued to the high slot knew he needed to move, knew the proper play was to move out on the point man but the system wouldn't allow it. Now the Devils are back to having the forwards patrol half the ice each and pivoting as the puck changes sides of the ice. This gives the forwards freedom to pressure and lets them start in a better position to apply the pressure. Good observation but it begs the question. Why would you change such a good system/formula we've had for 2 years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Good observation but it begs the question. Why would you change such a good system/formula we've had for 2 years? Because this year someone decided it was a good idea to take Dave Barr off of coaching the PK and put Mike Foligno in charge of coaching the PK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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