Triumph Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Since this forum is mostly bellyaching all the time, I figured I'd single out one positive so far in the Devils' season - how the power play has looked. I don't think I've seen one person note here how it's changed - the Devils have stopped dumping the puck in on the power play, for the most part. I'm too lazy to find a screen shot of what's going on, but one guy is coming up one side of the ice with the puck, and if the defenders cheat too much to his side (which they almost inevitably will), that guy will pass the puck diagonally back to a trailer on the other side of the ice who can now take advantage of the PKers cheating on the first guy. He gains the zone and the PP sets itself up. They're not perfect with it yet and I'm curious to see how defenses will adapt to this - if they go too aggressive to take away the pass, the first guy will gain the zone anyway, but it could result in some serious chances against too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Gotta agree with this. Hopefully we can just stop taking so many damn penalties and get the PK better and that alone with this current power play will win us some more games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I wonder if the change has a lot to do with Severson, and might be one of the reasons that PDB was gushing about him before the season started. No one really wants to rely on the dump and chase it seems, but you need the horses to be able to do something different. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brown Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 The reason is because we have so many good offensive defensemen. So many weapons from the blueline makes the pp lethal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ELIAS6 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 The reason is because we have so many good offensive defensemen. So many weapons from the blueline makes the pp lethal. true story we are lucky in that aspect.. gelinas, severson, merril and zids are great to have for offensive dmen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteyvegas51 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I agree with TRI. Very good so far. I'm liking the power charge into the zone right now. But saving final judgement until a puck jumps over the stick and is hanging out there in center ice waiting for a break away (nah, just kidding). I am one of the complainers that have said, "shoot the puck" from the point. Finally they are doing just that and that brings the D out to get them, giving the forwards some room to maneuver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
American_Psycho Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Would like to see even more goals from the slot. Henrique had a nice goal from there the other night off the feed from Brunner. Getting those kinds of shots off with left-handed players (Henrique, Cammalleri) in the slot would require passes from the left-wing side. If a righty is there, I could see them trying re-directions/tips from shots from the right point, or passes from Jagr on the right-wing boards. I feel like Jagr's passing is inferior to his vision, however, as he is more of a quarterback/possession type of player. All in all, it's been a joy to watch thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 The other thing is that the Devils really haven't used a #1 unit - they've rotated iterations of all 3 lines up front, and the only guy not used has been Zubrus. So some power plays Jagr hasn't been used, others Elias hasn't been used, etc. It's an interesting idea - I'm curious when they will lock in the 2 PP units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hystyk28 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Since this forum is mostly bellyaching all the time, I figured I'd single out one positive so far in the Devils' season - how the power play has looked. I don't think I've seen one person note here how it's changed - the Devils have stopped dumping the puck in on the power play, for the most part. I'm too lazy to find a screen shot of what's going on, but one guy is coming up one side of the ice with the puck, and if the defenders cheat too much to his side (which they almost inevitably will), that guy will pass the puck diagonally back to a trailer on the other side of the ice who can now take advantage of the PKers cheating on the first guy. He gains the zone and the PP sets itself up. They're not perfect with it yet and I'm curious to see how defenses will adapt to this - if they go too aggressive to take away the pass, the first guy will gain the zone anyway, but it could result in some serious chances against too. While new to the team, it has been steadily used in the league for some time now. The drop has been VERY sketchy at times. As teams see more film, the short handed goals will be there. Seversen and Zids have left some doozies for the trailer. This new approach for the team is one reason I think Gomez stuck around. The PP entry is crucial and Gomez can do it well and moves the puck well too. The real discussion is the formations they use. They have 3-4, maybe 5 different looks they present, which is really a drastic change form past seasons. I love the movements and plays off the end line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 While new to the team, it has been steadily used in the league for some time now. The drop has been VERY sketchy at times. As teams see more film, the short handed goals will be there. Seversen and Zids have left some doozies for the trailer. This new approach for the team is one reason I think Gomez stuck around. The PP entry is crucial and Gomez can do it well and moves the puck well too. The real discussion is the formations they use. They have 3-4, maybe 5 different looks they present, which is really a drastic change form past seasons. I love the movements and plays off the end line. No, I remember the Flyers using something similar to this in the 2010 playoffs, and the Sharks have also run something like this. So yeah, not new, but without question new to NJ. I'm not even sure what their basic formation is yet but it's a divide from Oates, certainly. With this many creative players on the team I'm glad they're not going with a standard formation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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