Derlique Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 For the last month, this team has been in a downward spiral that shows no signs of ending. Coming into the year, I felt like we were a bubble team; think 88-94 points, with the odds being more likely we were gonna just miss the cut. However, I thought we would be vastly improved from the mirage team that was carried by Cory Schneider. The team was supposed to take a step forward possession-wise, hopefully hover around 50%, but be in most games. What we've seen since the team arrived in California about a month ago has been abysmal, and frankly, unacceptable. I have been the biggest excuse maker for this team over the last few weeks between injuries and the brutal home-away split, but the excuses must stop. This team sucks. Hynes has been a disaster this season. I don't know how anyone with two eyes could conclude that Moore is more deserving of ice time than Auvitu, who has struggled recently. Moore has no clue what to do with the puck and can't defend. These last 3 games have been borderline unwatchable and it takes Hynes halfway through an asskicking vs the Rangers to finally shuffle the top 6. PAP was invisible for a month, yet he gets spoonfed time with Hall while Bennett plays his ass off with Sergei fvcking Kalinin. They've hardly shown the willingness to scratch DSP when he's been terrible this year. They stick with Kalinin over JJ, who has speed and probably fits the system better. I'm not confident Hynes is the guy I want leading this team. The only guys worth a damn this season have been Hall, Zajac, Severson, Bennett and Kinkaid. The rest of the team needs to wake the fvck up and look in the mirror. This last week has been fvcking brutal to watch and some heads need to start rolling if play doesnt improve soon. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 (edited) Covered this in the GDT, but if not Hynes...who? The Devils are 50-46-14 since he took over. How much better was this team supposed to be? Who is squeezing more points out of this bunch? We knew that there was a chance that Palms and Henrique wouldn't combine for 60 goals again...we just hoped that they wouldn't drop off TOO much. Well, so far, they have. You posted three words that kind of say it all: This team sucks. It's not quite that bad, but it's in the realm of accuracy. This isn't a good team. Most of their wins have come against weaker competition (I'd consider those teams peers of the Devils, because the Devils are one of the weaker teams themselves). Everyone's pissed and wants to point fingers and assess blame. I get that, because nights like last night are really cruel reminders of where the Devils are, and it sucks. 9-3-3 built up some optimism and hope. 3-7-3 has squashed it, especially with this team looking SO overmatched against higher-quality opponents. I was hoping for a bubble team as well, but there were a lot of "ifs" that were going to have to be satisfied for that to happen. And there was no way it possibly could if guys like Palms, Henrique, and Cory weren't at their very best. None have been. I think if you really want to get on anyone, you could probably get on Shero a little, but even then I think it's too early for that. He inherited a mess. It was going to take some time to fix. He's made some moves that aren't working out at the moment, but I want to see what he does next. What it comes down to is that we can all jump and down, throw sh!tfits, scream for players' and coaches' heads, but none of this is going to be fixed overnight. I do think Shero is proactive enough that changes will start to be made in time, if the team is not at least showing signs of improvement. It's also fair to point out that though these last three games have been beyond brutal on the eyes, it's these three games that are really driving the angst, and based on the opponents, there was a chance that these three games could turn out exactly as they did. At 12-7-6 I think fans were still relatively satisfied, or at least weren't completely losing their sh!t. Edited December 12, 2016 by Colorado Rockies 1976 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derlique Posted December 12, 2016 Author Share Posted December 12, 2016 CR, wins and losses are nice, but it's not about results. This team is getting dominated night in night out. They're being outshot by double digits most nights. This isn't a great roster by any means but it should be competitive. Im not sure how good Hynes is but his overall record means little to me when the team was bailed out by its superstar goalie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicomo Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 32 minutes ago, SMantzas said: For the last month, this team has been in a downward spiral that shows no signs of ending. Coming into the year, I felt like we were a bubble team; think 88-94 points, with the odds being more likely we were gonna just miss the cut. However, I thought we would be vastly improved from the mirage team that was carried by Cory Schneider. The team was supposed to take a step forward possession-wise, hopefully hover around 50%, but be in most games. What we've seen since the team arrived in California about a month ago has been abysmal, and frankly, unacceptable. I have been the biggest excuse maker for this team over the last few weeks between injuries and the brutal home-away split, but the excuses must stop. This team sucks. Hynes has been a disaster this season. I don't know how anyone with two eyes could conclude that Moore is more deserving of ice time than Auvitu, who has struggled recently. Moore has no clue what to do with the puck and can't defend. These last 3 games have been borderline unwatchable and it takes Hynes halfway through an asskicking vs the Rangers to finally shuffle the top 6. PAP was invisible for a month, yet he gets spoonfed time with Hall while Bennett plays his ass off with Sergei fvcking Kalinin. They've hardly shown the willingness to scratch DSP when he's been terrible this year. They stick with Kalinin over JJ, who has speed and probably fits the system better. I'm not confident Hynes is the guy I want leading this team. The only guys worth a damn this season have been Hall, Zajac, Severson, Bennett and Kinkaid. The rest of the team needs to wake the fvck up and look in the mirror. This last week has been fvcking brutal to watch and some heads need to start rolling if play doesnt improve soon. Not sure how Bennett (with 1 goal in 24 games) has been better than Cammaleri, who is leading the team in goals and is 3rd in pts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerzey Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 (edited) The one guy who has been missing for our last three games is Zacha. Not saying he's the reason we've been losing but I think his absence is part of it. He's really good with the puck. I'd add that I think both Lappin and Wood are excellent additions. Both so fast. I think for the most par Cammy has done well too. As expected at least. He's been there when we needed him. The biggest problems I see right now are Henrique and Palmieri slumping in a major way (It's almost like they've been cursed), the defense, and Cory's subpar play. Cory coming out of his slump could change d everything for this team but that's too much pressure for one person. I'd really like to see Shero work his magic one more time and get us a good defender to help even out the defense. Not sure what we could give up though. It's been a bad stretch of games and getting beat by the Rags like that sucks. I don't think firing Hynes right now is the right move but he does need to get these guys going back in the right direction soon. We're in the toughest division in hockey right now and we're still over 500. Things aren't that bad yet. Edit: Henrique and Palmieri are like the bad news bears out there right now. Falling all over the ice, deflecting goals into our own net, giving away the puck right in front of Cory...it's almost comical what they're doing out there. Edited December 12, 2016 by Jerzey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derlique Posted December 12, 2016 Author Share Posted December 12, 2016 Just now, Nicomo said: Not sure how Bennett (with 1 goal in 24 games) has been better than Cammaleri, who is leading the team in goals and is 3rd in pts. I'm not talking about overall performances, I'm talking about expectations. Bennett has been creating chances left and right; Cammalleri had a hot week but has been otherwise unimpressive 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Yeah, that's the real problem - the team isn't competitive lately. Now do I think this is a lull in what will be an otherwise decent season? Yeah, there's too much talent here. But this team could also be heading down into MacLeanVille, a place I didn't think we'd visit ever again. When the team is sh!tty like this, everyone points fingers at their least favorite players. So yeah, Moore blows. I get why Auvitu sits, though - I don't think he's ready for an 82 game season. I won't engage in this sort of finger pointing here besides the fact that Sergei Kalinin is not a center iin the NHL and needs to be moved off that position. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicomo Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Agree on missing Zacha. He's one guy I have high hopes for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derlique Posted December 12, 2016 Author Share Posted December 12, 2016 1 minute ago, Triumph said: Yeah, that's the real problem - the team isn't competitive lately. Now do I think this is a lull in what will be an otherwise decent season? Yeah, there's too much talent here. But this team could also be heading down into MacLeanVille, a place I didn't think we'd visit ever again. When the team is sh!tty like this, everyone points fingers at their least favorite players. So yeah, Moore blows. I get why Auvitu sits, though - I don't think he's ready for an 82 game season. I won't engage in this sort of finger pointing here besides the fact that Sergei Kalinin is not a center iin the NHL and needs to be moved off that position. John Moore playing top 4 minutes and Sergei Kalinin playing center isn't why he team is losing. I does highlight that Hynes may not know how to adjust or evaluate, which is a bigger and more serious problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 4 minutes ago, SMantzas said: John Moore playing top 4 minutes and Sergei Kalinin playing center isn't why he team is losing. I does highlight that Hynes may not know how to adjust or evaluate, which is a bigger and more serious problem. He doesn't have a whole lot of options on this front though. Auvitu isn't the same guy he was at the beginning of the year, or at least the breakout with him is not the same. The alternative to Kalinin at center is Josefson, which has its downsides as well. One thing I don't like is how the Devils have turned into a down and out team with Miles Wood on the ice, just throwing the puck away hoping he'll go get it. This can work, but I bet it's a lot less successful than it appears to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 8 minutes ago, SMantzas said: John Moore playing top 4 minutes and Sergei Kalinin playing center isn't why he team is losing. I does highlight that Hynes may not know how to adjust or evaluate, which is a bigger and more serious problem. Hynes has had prior success and run teams that dominated defensively for seasons at a time. I don't think his philosophy and player choices, even if different than mine, are the problem. I'm willing to wait and see here. The Devils get some rest and some practice finally so I'll be interested to see how they look after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisis Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 3 minutes ago, Devils731 said: I'm willing to wait and see here. The Devils get some rest and some practice finally so I'll be interested to see how they look after. You're a goddamn trail blazer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 22 minutes ago, SMantzas said: CR, wins and losses are nice, but it's not about results. This team is getting dominated night in night out. They're being outshot by double digits most nights. This isn't a great roster by any means but it should be competitive. Im not sure how good Hynes is but his overall record means little to me when the team was bailed out by its superstar goalie. No, it has gotten ugly (I've pointed out the bad SF-SA discrepancy too), which is why part of me wonders if these guys are getting a bit tired, with the lack of home games. Like 731 brought up, I'd like to see them get a breather. And more than a "home game here, home game there". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devlman Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Our schedule lately has been brutal. Top opponents and tons of road games. Schneider is also working through a slump. Things will turn back around. We also miss Zacha a lot. No need to panic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Leeds Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 I don't think rest will help Thursday in St. Louis. But getting a win there would be a huge leap, that I don't see, to working things out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonNala370 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 The entire team with coaches, the schedule, the lack of emotions, it's all very frustrating for the fans, players and I guess the coaches. IMO they are at a point where there isn't enough talent defensively to fix the defense problems, both goalies are I'm a slump and the offense has players that are coasting or not producing. I don't believe that Hynes and the other coaches know how to fix this beyond riding it out. I don't want to watch Thursday's night game except they had some rest and I want to see if that makes for any improvements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLinfante Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I sat in the 10th row or so behind the bench last Friday against St. Louis. Typically I think this board is full of doom and gloom crazy people, but I must admit, I didn't see a single thing that looked good last Friday. Nothing spectacular in the D-zone, the breakout was weak and lots of players missed the net on the chances generated in the o-zone (Palmieri). Auvitu also missed a wide open T. Hall on a backdoor pass that would have made it a one goal game early in the third. I did hear Hall let Auvitu know about it once they were back on the bench. One interesting tid-bit was that I didn't hear Hynes shout or raise his voice once, and I was sort of waiting for it. Maybe I was just far enough away, but he seemed resigned to their fate that night. I dont think he's the problem, but someone is going to have to show some emotion eventually. Similar takeaway from Sunday in MSG, Palmieri falling on the red line and the puck ending up in the net was a fitting microcosm for the whole night. I would tend to agree that we're losing games against superior competition, but I don't buy it against the Rangers. The players know how much that game means within the division. NYR was without multiple forwards and their backup goaltender played. 5-0 is unacceptable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfitz804 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 On 12/12/2016 at 11:35 AM, devlman said: Our schedule lately has been brutal. Top opponents and tons of road games. Schneider is also working through a slump. Things will turn back around. We also miss Zacha a lot. No need to panic. I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. Giving up 4-5 goals a game without scoring any may be. Zacha wasn't lighting it up, not that he wasn't playing well, he was. But he's definitely not a difference maker at this point. Imagine how ultimately crappy we'd be right now if Zajac was playing the way he usually does instead of playing out of his mind. The problem is our best defensemen are our worst from last year (Severson) and an old guy (Greene), with Auvitu playing good offense but ok defense. Quincey and Lovejoy have not cut it at all, and Cory is getting pelted with more than 35 shots most of the time. Sometimes more than 45-48ish. With him in a slump, you have to cut that in half, which they can't do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunslinger27 Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 3 minutes ago, mfitz804 said: I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. Giving up 4-5 goals a game without scoring any may be. Zacha wasn't lighting it up, not that he wasn't playing well, he was. But he's definitely not a difference maker at this point. Imagine how ultimately crappy we'd be right now if Zajac was playing the way he usually does instead of playing out of his mind. The problem is our best defensemen are our worst from last year (Severson) and an old guy (Greene), with Auvitu playing good offense but ok defense. Quincey and Lovejoy have not cut it at all, and Cory is getting pelted with more than 35 shots most of the time. Sometimes more than 45-48ish. With him in a slump, you have to cut that in half, which they can't do. Fitz, I agree, our defense is not scaring anyone at this point, But we need those Offense and the power play unit to get it sh!t together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfitz804 Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 3 hours ago, Gunslinger27 said: Fitz, I agree, our defense is not scaring anyone at this point, But we need those Offense and the power play unit to get it sh!t together. No doubt. We've got two guys who just came off 30 goal seasons that have been sh!tting the bed for most of the season. Though, if Palmieri could hit the net with some of those crazy hard one timers that nearly always miss, he'd probably have 15 already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 I don't think firing Hynes does any good, simply because who the hell do you hire that will actually improve on this roster? I like Rick Kowalsky but is he the guy? I don't know. Moore and Lovejoy are disasters and Auvitu should play but that alone doesn't sink a team. If the Devils had a bonafide #1 dman being benched, then it's a different matter but that's not the case. What is really bothersome is that this isn't just a bad PDO-stretch where pucks aren't going in. The recent 10 game stretch is the worst in the past two and a half seasons in terms of expected Goals For% (xGF%). Score Adjusted Corsi% paints a similar picture. They're playing poorly AND not getting bounces. On the topic of disheartening, Pavel Zacha. I think if he'd been a middle-6-ish center this season things would be a lot rosier. Last among F in relCorsi, 9th in 5v5 P/60, last in individual shot attempts/60, last in individual expected goals/60, second last in individual scoring chances/60...you get the picture. I wasn't high on the pick and yeah, it's his rookie season and there will be struggles, but this is worse than struggling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZ76 Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Alexei Zhitnik: "Looks like it's time for Kalinin to go back to Avangard https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=az&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.russia-hockey.ru%2Farticles%2Fprizyv2015%2Fzhitnik_kalininu_pora_v_omsk%2F&edit-text=&act=url made by google translate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vadvlfan Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Hynes is doing everything he can as far as plugging in players. He has very little talent to work with. Look at Fla. firing coach and they're worse with GM Tom Rowe. Not that Hynes is Mr. Wonderful, but doubt anyone that comes in now will make us any better. I agree on not playing JJ. DSP needs to sit, & Schneids needs to be way better. This team is so fragile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Leeds Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Missing Larsson yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicomo Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 1 minute ago, Jimmy Leeds said: Missing Larsson yet? Yes, but not enough to regret the trade for Hall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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