ATLL765 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Since Deboer has been gone, we've had 3 games where we held leads going into the 3rd. We've held all 3 leads. Before someone says that it's only Buffalo or that it was only Philly, remember we're not just beating them, we're DOMINATING them. We're showing the killer instinct we lacked when Deboer was coaching. Neither of these things are significant. Holding leads in 3 games is just that, 3 games. There's almost nothing you can take from just 3 games. And yes, you can say it's just Buffalo and Philly. We've seemingly had Philly's number in recent years and their defense is quite possibly the worst in the entire league. Their top 4 consists of Streit, Coburn, Schenn and Del Zotto for crying out loud. Then with Buffalo, we're talking about what is clearly, at best, the 2nd worst team in the league. They score at a rate of less than 2 goals per game while allowing well over 3 goals per game. They're even strength corsi is 37.5%! That's atrocious, absolutely atrocious. They have no offense, no defense and bad goalies. The only reason they have the number of points they do is pure luck and I'm amazed that any amount of luck was enough to take them out of 30th place in the league. I really don't think these are things where you can say that the coaching change has made a significant impact. It's like the people who are saying that the fighting has somehow had an affect on our play. It's just plain ridiculous. And I'm not even saying we didn't play a good game, I'm just saying you have to look at it in context to who we were playing. I would look great playing any sport against a 10 year old, that doesn't mean I'm a fantastic athlete. Edited January 7, 2015 by ATLL765 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsRiverDevil Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Did you guys hear how Elias threw Pete's system under the bus during his first start speech? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Neither of these things are significant. Holding leads in 3 games is just that, 3 games. There's almost nothing you can take from just 3 games. And yes, you can say it's just Buffalo and Philly. We've seemingly had Philly's number in recent years and their defense is quite possibly the worst in the entire league. Their top 4 consists of Streit, Coburn, Schenn and Del Zotto for crying out loud. Then with Buffalo, we're talking about what is clearly, at best, the 2nd worst team in the league. They score at a rate of less than 2 goals per game while allowing well over 3 goals per game. They're even strength corsi is 37.5%! That's atrocious, absolutely atrocious. They have no offense, no defense and bad goalies. The only reason they have the number of points they do is pure luck and I'm amazed that any amount of luck was enough to take them out of 30th place in the league. I really don't think these are things where you can say that the coaching change has made a significant impact. It's like the people who are saying that the fighting has somehow had an affect on our play. It's just plain ridiculous. And I'm not even saying we didn't play a good game, I'm just saying you have to look at it in context to who we were playing. I would look great playing any sport against a 10 year old, that doesn't mean I'm a fantastic athlete. So when we had 1-1 or 2-2 shootout games basically every time against them the last two-three years it didn't matter we were playing a bad team? Or all the other garbage games we played against bad teams this year (Carolina for starters)? And when's the last time they did hold leads three straight times without any drama? I'm actually being serious with this one. Perhaps the most striking difference with the coaching change is the fact they're back to giving up 25 shots a game (and not just against the bad teams) whereas they were giving up 35-40 on a regular basis earlier this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Six games are too small a sample to draw any real conclusions. Nice to see them showing signs of tightening up though. Cory continues to show that he'll stop pucks at a terrific rate...keeping the shots down will help him just as much as it helped Marty the past two seasons. Anyway, congrats to Elias for the obvious...only 80 or so players have ever racked up 1000 points in their NHL careers. In Patrik's case, 1000 doesn't speak to pure greatness as much as it does to sheer durability and longevity...it's pretty damned hard to play for so long (with a compromised immune system to boot). He's closing in on 1200 GP...if he stays healthy (and doesn't decline to the point where he's a complete liability) he'll finish with about 1300 GP and around 1070 points. His number will look quite nice hanging up in the rafters along with #30 and the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgeControl Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 of course the devils are playing better, they have their two top lines healthy for the first time in months and the system is clearly working better Oates is doing a fine job offensively. its football-like with the early shifts almost scripted plays. we could have had 6 goals that first period. this is good tinkering time for lou. hopefully we still hang on to a bottom 5 finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 this is horrible... you watch... we're gonna go on a decent run just so that Lou believes we have a chance... he won't sell at the deadline and then we'll lose just enough to have the worst possible pick without still making the playoffs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim777 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Did you guys hear how Elias threw Pete's system under the bus during his first start speech? The "we're playing a new system, and we trust each other" bit? Yeah, I heard that lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Eco Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I haven't seen a team as bad as Buffalo (in the first 1st period) play ever. God were they awful, and I imagine the same goes for their game on Sunday at MSG, where Rangers went up 3-0 in the first 15 minutes. It almost seems tank-scripted: lose the game in the first period, put work in the next 2 periods so as to not cause suspicion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 this is horrible... you watch... we're gonna go on a decent run just so that Lou believes we have a chance... he won't sell at the deadline and then we'll lose just enough to have the worst possible pick without still making the playoffsThis is what I'm afraid of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 This is what I'm afraid of. I've been afraid of that for 2 seasons in a row and thats exactly what happened, not sure why it wouldnt happen again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 I've been afraid of that for 2 seasons in a row and thats exactly what happened, not sure why it wouldnt happen againYep... We'll wind up picking fvcking 12th or some garbage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Winning is not insignificant though. This young D needs to develop. Cory needs a winning streak in the worst way before the negativity of losing for two years and the cynics dismissing him as a loser starts to get to him. Plus you need the vets who you might want to trade to stay healthy and up their value. And funny how people harp on the last two years (one of which it didn't matter where we finished cause we were drafting 30 regardless) overlook how much the 'meaningless' 2011 wins set up 2012. Edited January 7, 2015 by NJDevs4978 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Winning is not insignificant though. This young D needs to develop. Cory needs a winning streak in the worst way before the negativity of losing for two years and the cynics dismissing him as a loser starts to get to him. Plus you need the vets who you might want to trade to stay healthy and up their value. And funny how people harp on the last two years (one of which it didn't matter where we finished cause we were drafting 30 regardless) overlook how much the 'meaningless' 2011 wins set up 2012. It did matter cause Lou still went "all in" and we lost guys like Clarkson and Fayne who could have fetch a decent return if he would have been realistic. To me no other NHL teams has lost more core talent than the Devils in the last decade. NO other teams. And thats 100% because of the way Lou handles those situations. Gomez in his prime, Niedermayer, Clarkson in his prime, Rafalski, Parise in his prime, Fayne approaching his prime, Martin in his prime... we can almost throw Mogilny in there and well Gionta, which we were all fine with but its still assets walking out the door. Now we wonder why we have no assets to trade? Cause we let everything walk and go all in every damn deadline and our drafting has sucked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) I really liked that third line of Ruutu Zubrus and Ryder. They looked good last night. Maybe they can be a useful line if they are given soft minutes. Edited January 7, 2015 by Zubie#8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Dan 56 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) It did matter cause Lou still went "all in" and we lost guys like Clarkson and Fayne who could have fetch a decent return if he would have been realistic. To me no other NHL teams has lost more core talent than the Devils in the last decade. NO other teams. And thats 100% because of the way Lou handles those situations. Gomez in his prime, Niedermayer, Clarkson in his prime, Rafalski, Parise in his prime, Fayne approaching his prime, Martin in his prime... we can almost throw Mogilny in there and well Gionta, which we were all fine with but its still assets walking out the door. Now we wonder why we have no assets to trade? Cause we let everything walk and go all in every damn deadline and our drafting has sucked. Keep ignoring the actual situations involved with all of those and seeing it all in black and white. It's easier than being realistic Edited January 7, 2015 by Devil Dan 56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William D'Aquila Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 It did matter cause Lou still went "all in" and we lost guys like Clarkson and Fayne who could have fetch a decent return if he would have been realistic. To me no other NHL teams has lost more core talent than the Devils in the last decade. NO other teams. And thats 100% because of the way Lou handles those situations. Gomez in his prime, Niedermayer, Clarkson in his prime, Rafalski, Parise in his prime, Fayne approaching his prime, Martin in his prime... we can almost throw Mogilny in there and well Gionta, which we were all fine with but its still assets walking out the door. Now we wonder why we have no assets to trade? Cause we let everything walk and go all in every damn deadline and our drafting has sucked. No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Buffalo is terrible and the Devils will not 'catch' them. The first period is what happens when a team like Buffalo falls asleep - the Devils just walked over the blueline when they wanted. And that's the Devils, a team that hasn't gained the blueline easily against anyone. Michael Ryder and Patrik Elias looked like their old selves, meaning their young selves. They mounted a comeback but an AHLer got their best scoring chances and did with them what an AHLer will often do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilsrule33 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Winning is not insignificant though. This young D needs to develop. Cory needs a winning streak in the worst way before the negativity of losing for two years and the cynics dismissing him as a loser starts to get to him. Plus you need the vets who you might want to trade to stay healthy and up their value. And funny how people harp on the last two years (one of which it didn't matter where we finished cause we were drafting 30 regardless) overlook how much the 'meaningless' 2011 wins set up 2012. I've heard that, but it's hard to say. 2012 was a tough year, especially in the first half. It wasn't just this great carry-over effect. The 2011 team didn't have Parise. The 2012 team added Henrique. They add Sykora. Clarkson thrives under Deboer. Later they add Zidlicky and Pony. It's easy to say the second half of 2011 was key to the 11-12 success, but I don't see the connection. And that's not taking away anything Jacques did or trying to add to what Deboer did. If anything Jacques did more with less, but it was ridiculous unsustainable run. On another note, because someone brought up blown leads in the 3rd. Devils fans need to stop comparing what happened from 2012-2014 to what happened in say 2000, 2003, or 2007. It's a lot harder to keep leads in 3rd period, and it's something every team has to deal with. But, other than 11-12 (when there were some issues), for the last 3 years, I am almost positive that the the Devils have come back to tie or win a game after trailing in a 3rd more times than they have blown a lead going into the 3rd. You feel a lot worse about a blown 3rd period lead than a comeback, so it sticks with you more. Remember these games last year... vs Boston - two PP goals in the last two minutes to beat Boston 4-3 (comeback from 3-1) vs Anaheim - Jagr ties the game with 1 minute left, win in OT. vs NYR - Devils down 3-2 going into the 3rd. Gelinas wins with a PPG in OT. vs Wash - Trailing 3-1 to start the 3rd, Greene and then Zubrus to tie it in regulation, Greene OT winner vs Detroit - Win 4-3 after starting the 3rd down 2-1. The main problem for the past few years is the shootout failures. So blown leads in the 3rd always hurt the team, but the comebacks don't always necessarily mean wins. vs Colorado - Boucher ties it in the 3rd, but lose a shootout. vs Columbus - Henrique ties in the 3rd, but lose in a shootout. vs Phoenix - down 2-0, comeback but lose in a shootout. This year... vs Dallas - Brunnier ties in the 3rd, but lose in a shootout. vs WPG - Ryder ties it late...WIN IN A SHOOTOUT! vs Columbus - Down 2-1 going into the 3rd, goals by Henrique and Larsson give the Devils the win There has been a ton of sh!tty losses with blown leads, and I bet those ones stick out a lot more than the ones I listed above. Just a reminder that there have been some comebacks as well. Edited January 7, 2015 by devilsrule33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgeControl Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 SD, we all knew there would be some pain after the departures of kovy and zach,,,and thats what we're experiencing now the ownership at the time didnt help matters. we've hit bottom and its time to start looking forward. lou's got his sleeves rolled up, and will be sifting through the lineups. good corp of D, decent goalies and all we need is to push our lines down one level. plenty of cap room and vets are leaving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) Keep ignoring the actual situations involved with all of those and seeing it all in black and white. It's easier than being realistic Every. Single. GM. In. The. League. has "situations" buddy stop using that as an excuses. Every GM can get ahead and offer a deal at the "right" time and if you can come to a agreement you make a move BEFORE you're stuck in a corner. That's what a GM has to do. to make sure "situations" doesnt hurt the on ice product as much as possible. Of course the Kool aid drinkers won't acknowledge that. you guys want to use his "track record" to praise him? all the success? it was always the same core of players mostly, WAY easier to keep a team competitive that way. Thats also a "situation" you guys ignore. Edited January 7, 2015 by SterioDesign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 lol only SD could turn my post about how winning can have tangible benefits into another Lou rant. Talk about a Raymond Babbitt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 lol only SD could turn my post about how winning can have tangible benefits into another Lou rant. Talk about a Raymond Babbitt. its actually relevant to your post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Dan 56 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Every. Single. GM. In. The. League. has "situations" buddy stop using that as an excuses. Every GM can get ahead and offer a deal at the "right" time and if you can come to a agreement you make a move BEFORE you're stuck in a corner. That's what a GM has to do. to make sure "situations" doesnt hurt the on ice product as much as possible. Of course the Kool aid drinkers won't acknowledge that. you guys want to use his "track record" to praise him? all the success? it was always the same core of players mostly, WAY easier to keep a team competitive that way. Thats also a "situation" you guys ignore. It's not an excuses, guy. Please let me know what GM's sell off assets while in the midst of playoff runs. It's rare if it happens at all. Yeah hes successes do have a similar core, you know, because he assembled it. I'm not a Kool aid drinker. I have plenty of things I don't like about Lou. I just don't bring them into EVERY SINGLE THREAD. lol only SD could turn my post about how winning can have tangible benefits into another Lou rant. Talk about a Raymond Babbitt. The record. It's broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Yeah but Ryane Clowe, DD. Douglas Murray. Never mind that every other playoff bound team keeps their UFAs 95% of the time (or trades for some themselves). Ryane Clowe. Doug Murray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 its actually relevant to your post It has zero relevance. How is it relevant, that winning is bad cause Lou kept Clarkson and Fayne through the deadline? He also kept Greene in 2011 when you would have had him dealt off and clearly the run in 2012 wasn't even enough to justify keeping Zach in your mind (though I suspect you'd feel different if we beat Montreal in the ECF as opposed to the Rangers). Seriously dude give it a rest. Not every single point or debate has to lead back to Lou being clueless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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