Jump to content

GDT Season Opener- Devils @ FLA 7:30 PM


dmann422

Recommended Posts

Some things to clean up for sure, but there's also some encouraging signs here.  Taylor Hall didn't score but he showed why he's such a special player.   Auvitu has some promise - he looks like an NHLer at least.  Greene-Severson has to do a better job and there's some defensive zone issues that I assume won't go away, but I like how much faster this year's team is - it's obvious from right away.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They definitely stole a point tonight. They were outplayed much of the game, including the entire 3rd period. Cory looked sharp. The PP looks atrocious, but credit where it's due to the Panthers PK. The play on Severson to set up the OT goal was embarrassing. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, nmigliore said:

Felt like NJ was outplayed severely at times, but Florida is a great team - happy to steal a point on the road in a tough matchup. Also, nice to be reminded again how terrific Cory Schneider is.

It did kind of suck to see the return of the "two-steps-slower, easily-overwhelmed" Devils at times last night, but lots of roster turnover (and could be more as the season progresses).  Not sweating anything yet, and my expectations aren't that high to begin with.   

And yeah, Cory's a fine goalie.  All he's done is prove it since coming here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

Jesus fvck guys. It's the first game of the season against a 100 point team. 

Yeah, just reading this page of the thread alone my initial thought was "everyone seems really negative already" lol.  I caught the first period and we seemed decent.  If it went downhill from there then that sucks of course, but I'm not gonna overreact after one game, against a pretty strong team no less.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw most of the game last night and OT and some quick thoughts:

1) DSP cannot be on the top line.  He looked like he was slowing down Hall and Henrique all night.  Would like to see DSP dropped down and Bennett inserted into DSP's spot.  Would maybe like to see Speers out to make room for him.

2) Severson was bad, especially on that last play in OT.  Some fans on FB were saying it was obvious interference that was missed by the refs.  I think it was a gritty hockey play and Severson just got schooled on it.

3) Greene was worse.  He looked like he aged 3 years over the off-season.  That play where the Florida player just came up from behind him and stole the puck from him was pretty embarrassing.  I love Greene, but I am very worried as this has been happening since the start of the preseason.

4) Schneider was great as always.  Can't fault him on the goals.

5) Zacha looked solid.  Can't ask for anything more out of him.

6) Auvitu looks to be a potential Rafalski 2.0 and an element on our defense that we have been missing since Zid's left. 

7) Zajac had a great game.  Josefson didn't to say the least.

8) Quincey was fine but Lovejoy didn't impress me much.

9) Saw Cammy skate quite a bit last night, but not a whole lot of much else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

- While everyone's piling on Severson, I thought Greene had the much worse game. He must have had 3 or 4 PIVOTAL giveaways in the first 2 periods that Schneider bailed him out on. First game of the season, but I'm holding him up to a higher standard as captain; he should not be one of the weakest links in Game 1. I hope we don't see Salvador-syndrome in Greene, where there's a huge dropoff in his play from here on out.

- Speers and Wood look GOOD, I was impressed. They don't seem "big" but they play so big, impressive tenacity and speed. They are straight up pit bulls, and I'm rating them together because they worked great as a unit cycling around the boards and making things hellish on Panthers' D. 

- Fiddler's game went up as the game wore on, he showed us some great glimpses of what he's going to bring to this team and I like what I see. He's a super smart hockey player. Those 20-30 (maybe more?) seconds on the penalty kill where he shielded the puck along the boards while 3 Panthers tried to pry it away, amazing!

- Pavel Zacha is the real deal. He's not going back to Sarnia ever again. He looked like one of our best players last night, even hit the crossbar on a very tough play.

- Parenteau looked like he fit in right away. I won't gush too much praise on him over the goal, as that was 99% Auvitu, but his overall play throughout the game looked like he was in preseason camp with us the whole time.

- Palmieri was another one of our best players last night, he came back this season ready to play. He's playing with the confidence of an elite player, made some amazing plays in the first 2 periods. He looks like a completely new player from when he was a Duck.

- We may have something special on our hands with Auvitu. It wasn't just the goal, he made some fantastic plays throughout the game, and basically created our only goal; stopped a clear at the blue line, brought it down with his stick to keep it in play, the puck makes its way back to him eventually, he creates space, releases that bomb of a slapshot, and boom, goal. We haven't had that in a while.

- Give it up for John Moore getting pissed at being boarded (not called) and absolutely muscling that Panthers player into submission on the ice. I've never seen him that pissed off haha.. Taking someone down like that while on skates is not as easy as it looks, he hit the weight room this offseason.

- OVERALL: Great 1 point to get, absolutely robbed by Cory Schneider, who looked like he's in midseason form. Panthers look like they're going to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference hands down, and we were one Henrique/Hall overtime goal (in the first minute) from getting 2 points out of it. Improve the power play, wait for some more chemistry to form on a couple of the lines, and I think this game was a good measuring stick that we're really not in that bad shape.

Edited by DJ Eco
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

Not entirely sure we're the fan base that should be picking on other teams' attendance; I had friends at the game and from their pictures it was closer to capacity than most weekday Devils games. They're building a pretty solid following down here in SoFla.

the lower bowl was completely empty for a season opener for a team that just last season had 47 wins and made the playoffs for the first time in 4 years.  Ive never seen an empty bowl for a season opener in NJ.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, RunninWithTheDevil said:

the lower bowl was completely empty for a season opener for a team that just last season had 47 wins and made the playoffs for the first time in 4 years.  Ive never seen an empty bowl for a season opener in NJ.

Ya behind the benches was just.... ghostly. I mean we have bad attendance generally, but wow for a season opener that was appalling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Martyisth3b3st said:

"We're still bad" and "same old Devils" are silly comments to make in an overtime loss to a 103 point hockey team on the road in the first game of the season. Sorry if I upset you.

We're still bad doesn't mean we're not going in the right direction or more fun to watch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still overall feel pretty good about this team even if my expectations are not all that high.  Most of the issues last night seemed to stem from chemistry issues which is most likely due to a lot of new faces on this team.  I have to say the 4th line last night was the best 4th line we have iced in years and didn't make me want to puke every time I saw them on the ice.  Some good positives going and I think if we make it out of October with a semi-decent record we can possibly get something good going for us.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They didn't play poorly, but they looked out of sync.  I think we're gonna see this team struggle for a little while.  When 9 of our 18 skaters are new faces, you shouldn't expect a cohesive team right from the start.  It'll take a little bit for this team to gel.

5 on 5

  • Corsi: 41.38%
  • Fenwick: 46.38%
  • Scoring Chances: 38.71%
  • HD Scoring Chances: 37.50%
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.