GDT: Devils vs. Nashville, 10/25/18,

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

11 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

All of that looks like par for the course. If you didn't think we'd be dealing with that as a likely scenario even before the first game of the year then you were kidding yourself.

It's only the top two guys I pay any attention to on that list...re:  Q, no surprises...he's just not a full-time NHLer...I don't mind the Devils finding this out now though, so that they're not ever entertaining the idea of thinking he can ever be a meaningful contributor (not that I necessarily believe that they were...Q got this chance through some unfortunate circumstances).

Zacha's a bit more frustrating...dating back to last year's playoffs, that's now 12 straight pointless games for him...and he's managed a whopping 4 SOG in his last five games...he's hasn't built on the game against the Caps at all.  Given his age, I'll give him this season to show improvement, but if it's more of the same ol same ol with no signs of real progress, it's going to be hard for me to keep hoping that he's going to figure it out eventually. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[DJ Eco]

Surprised by some of the overreaction I'm seeing (by this board's standards, not surprised with FB groups or HF Boards). Sure, I agree with some basic comments, like Zacha has been disappointing (after showing more flashes in preseason), Noesen has been invisible, and Greene and Gryba didn't have a good game. I also agree Kinkaid let in a softy or two.

I'm no Kinkaid apologist, but he's the only reason we were in that game early, Hischier said as much in his intermission interview. Yeah, we put 17 SOG on Juuse Saros in the 1st period, but they put 17 more dangerous SOG on Kinkaid that period too. Our defense let 36 shots get through on Kinkaid, many of which were dangerous scoring chances. Some people need to get a grip. The Predators are:

• 8-2-0
• Number 1 team in the league
• Best goal differential in the league
• Top 3 in goals for
• 5-0-0 away record
• Probably best defense in the league
• One of the top backup goalies in the league

Remove this game from the context of the last 2 crappy results, and all we did was play a heck of a game going toe-to-toe with a heavyweight Western conference team that's blazing hot to start this season. And if you can't remove it from the last 2 results, at least admit that we came out flying and really kept up with one of our league's powerhouse teams. Losing the lead (AGAIN) sucks, I know, but we had a lead, and we got a point. The last 2 losses were unacceptable, but this one is not in that category.

Tomorrow however, we should really be winning.

Edited October 26, 2018 by DJ Eco

[NJDevils1214]

Just now, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

It's only the top two guys I pay any attention to on that list...re:  Q, no surprises...he's just not a full-time NHLer...I don't mind the Devils finding this out now though, so that they're not ever entertaining the idea of thinking he can ever be a meaningful contributor (not that I necessarily believe that they were...Q got this chance through some unfortunate circumstances).

Zacha's a bit more frustrating...dating back to last year's playoffs, that's now 12 straight pointless games for him...and he's managed a whopping 4 SOG in his last five games...he's hasn't built on the game against the Caps at all.  Given his age, I'll give him this season to show improvement, but if it's more of the same ol same ol with no signs of real progress, it's going to be hard for me to keep hoping for that he's going to figure it out eventually. 

I'm with you, but it isn't like I expected a whole lot or was counting on him to be putting up points. We should have guessed going into the year after an offseason with no real additions what the year was going to look like at times(generally speaking).

So I just don't share Devilsfan118's assessment of the "causes for concern" unless they were "causes for concern" we all saw coming for months. If there was any concern for me over the last few games, it was that in the COL an PHL games the team looked terribly out of character and sluggish. Hynes seemed to have corrected that based on the game last night.  

[Devilsfan118]

18 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

All of that looks like par for the course. If you didn't think we'd be dealing with that as a likely scenario even before the first game of the year then you were kidding yourself.

I mean Zacha gave me some hope in the first few games that he might turn it around this year and actually make himself useful to the team.

With Q, it is what it is.  He's not a top-6 NHLer.  Maybe a 4th liner type.

[Devs3cups]

Also, to say that the secondary scoring is non-existent is a stretch imo. Boyle has 3 goals, Coleman 2 , Zajac 3, Dea has 3 also. Sure guys like, MoJo (1g, hasn't played badly), Noesen (1g), Zacha (0g) and Wood (0g) need to get going (Wood had a strong game last night), but overall I feel the secondary scoring hasn't been bad at all.

[Devilsfan118]

15 minutes ago, Devs3cups said:

Also, to say that the secondary scoring is non-existent is a stretch imo. Boyle has 3 goals, Coleman 2 , Zajac 3, Dea has 3 also. Sure guys like, MoJo (1g, hasn't played badly), Noesen (1g), Zacha (0g) and Wood (0g) need to get going (Wood had a strong game last night), but overall I feel the secondary scoring hasn't been bad at all.

I mean when looking at forwards the top line has contributed 60% of the offense.. 

Though to be fair, I don't know what the standard % is across all the teams.

[Devs3cups]

7 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I mean when looking at forwards the top line has contributed 60% of the offense.. 

Though to be fair, I don't know what the standard % is across all the teams.

I feel like the PP1 units' success since the start of the year has a big part in this statistic (which would be normal since the top line mostly gets the PP time), but I'm no expert. I just feel like the secondary scoring hasn't been all that bad. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Devs3cups

[Satans Hockey]

My biggest complaint is still Andy Greene being out there during ot. Unless Sami, Butcher and Severson are all hurt he should never even sniff a second of ot.

[Devs1965]

No Debbie downer here! Last year we were picked to finish in the bottom of the league, we all know what happened. We far exceeded expectations and for this Devils Fan Last year was fun to watch!

So far this year again all experts said we added no top names and our defense was filled with question marks that we would take a step back. What I am seeing is again a team that is noticeably faster

and playing beyond expectations a much improved PP and PK , a B/U goaltender playing much better than last year (remember holding my breath on the first shots of the game on Kinky)

A defense that does not look as bad as they say we are. We have played up to the competition in almost every game against the top teams in the league. 

I know its early But This Devils fan is enjoying the hell out of this rebuild. LGD !!!!

Edited October 26, 2018 by Devs1965

[Triumph]

If this were viewed int he context of a season it would look normal. Zacha would have a goal or 2 and an assist or 2 and everything would be fine.  He's gotten unlucky and hasn't played well in some games as well.  But he's played the best hockey of his career in the first 2 games and I still see that player at times last night too.  He's making smarter plays with his body.  I'd like to see him getting more scoring chances, but that can come and go for a player like him.

[mfitz804]

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

BTW, if anyone was watching the big screen, when they superimposed the Devils jerseys on a couple of older Nashville Predators fans...the young lady in a white Devils edge jersey and the guy wearing a GW road red and green #26 Albelin jersey was my daughter and me.  She definitely LOVES being on the big screen for sure, heh heh.  I wish I'd snapped a picture.

Totally saw you! So awesome. 

[mfitz804]

1 minute ago, Triumph said:

If this were viewed int he context of a season it would look normal. Zacha would have a goal or 2 and an assist or 2 and everything would be fine.  He's gotten unlucky and hasn't played well in some games as well.  But he's played the best hockey of his career in the first 2 games and I still see that player at times last night too.  He's making smarter plays with his body.  I'd like to see him getting more scoring chances, but that can come and go for a player like him.

I thought he sucked the $1 wiener last night. 

[mfitz804]

The Legend of the Wiener Man

I referenced this earlier, but in a quick fashion and the epic nature of this fan needs to be known by all. 

Shortly before puck drop, this guy, in a bootleg Chinese Brodeur retro jersey, and his friend walk to their seats. Each is carrying two of those cardboard trays from the concession stand loaded up with hot dogs, probably about 20 each. So they are eating them, and then they start passing them to people in the surrounding seats and rows. "Anyone want a hot dog?" he would ask, people would put their hands up, and they'd receive a dog. Nice gesture. The dogs were simply handed out, or if the rows were a couple apart, a gentle toss got the dog to its intended recipient. 

Need I mention he had a beer in his non-tossing hand the entire game? It bears noting, because as things tend to do with alcohol, it got more interesting from there.

After the first intermission, he comes back with a SHIPPING BOX filled to the top with hot dogs. Definitely at least 50, but it could've been more. I didn't see him eat a single one of those. Every stoppage he was up on his feet, tossing hot dogs to whoever wanted them. And it spread. Soon people 2 sections away were waving their hands, asking for hot dogs. And he was more than happy to oblige. He twisted the open end to contain the precious cargo, and absolutely launched hot dogs for seemingly impossible distances with complete accuracy, hardly missing a target. This guy was the Taylor Hall of drunken hot dog tossing. This continued throughout the entire second period. 

This absolute legend didn't return for the start of the 3rd. But, with about 10 minutes left, he returns to his seat. With another beer. And yes, another FULL SHIPPING BOX of hot dogs. the entire section and the two adjacent to us go nuts. And this guy was loving it. Started with the same routine. But he also added in just absolutely flinging hot dogs as high as he could in any direction any time something he liked happened. People were diving for them like when they break out the t-shirt cannon. A chant broke out..."HOT DOG GUY! HOT DOG GUY!". And he loved being the hot dog guy.  

After the unfortunate result in overtime, he still had some inventory left and just started throwing them in any possible direction. The ushers had seen enough, and finally the Wiener Man rested. 

Its possible this guy woke up this morning with a headache and a little light in the wallet, wondering where all of his cash went. But I like to think he knew exactly what he was doing.

Many a cup was lifted to the Section 103 Wiener Man last night. Those of us who were there shall always remember you, and we raise our cup to you still. 

[devlman]

14 minutes ago, Triumph said:

If this were viewed int he context of a season it would look normal. Zacha would have a goal or 2 and an assist or 2 and everything would be fine.  He's gotten unlucky and hasn't played well in some games as well.  But he's played the best hockey of his career in the first 2 games and I still see that player at times last night too.  He's making smarter plays with his body.  I'd like to see him getting more scoring chances, but that can come and go for a player like him.

I disagree. At some point we can’t be giving credit for showing rare glimpses of being an NHL player. And I didn’t see any glimpse of that last night either.  He looked lost, played scared, disinterested and honestly looks like a player who doesn’t love the game of hockey. The Washington game is a long time ago now so can we please stop citing it?

[DevsMan84]

4 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

The Legend of the Wiener Man

I referenced this earlier, but in a quick fashion and the epic nature of this fan needs to be known by all. 

Shortly before puck drop, this guy, in a bootleg Chinese Brodeur retro jersey, and his friend walk to their seats. Each is carrying two of those cardboard trays from the concession stand loaded up with hot dogs, probably about 20 each. So they are eating them, and then they start passing them to people in the surrounding seats and rows. "Anyone want a hot dog?" he would ask, people would put their hands up, and they'd receive a dog. Nice gesture. The dogs were simply handed out, or if the rows were a couple apart, a gentle toss got the dog to its intended recipient. 

Need I mention he had a beer in his non-tossing hand the entire game? It bears noting, because as things tend to do with alcohol, it got more interesting from there.

After the first intermission, he comes back with a SHIPPING BOX filled to the top with hot dogs. Definitely at least 50, but it could've been more. I didn't see him eat a single one of those. Every stoppage he was up on his feet, tossing hot dogs to whoever wanted them. And it spread. Soon people 2 sections away were waving their hands, asking for hot dogs. And he was more than happy to oblige. He twisted the open end to contain the precious cargo, and absolutely launched hot dogs for seemingly impossible distances with complete accuracy, hardly missing a target. This guy was the Taylor Hall of drunken hot dog tossing. This continued throughout the entire second period. 

This absolute legend didn't return for the start of the 3rd. But, with about 10 minutes left, he returns to his seat. With another beer. And yes, another FULL SHIPPING BOX of hot dogs. the entire section and the two adjacent to us go nuts. And this guy was loving it. Started with the same routine. But he also added in just absolutely flinging hot dogs as high as he could in any direction any time something he liked happened. People were diving for them like when they break out the t-shirt cannon. A chant broke out..."HOT DOG GUY! HOT DOG GUY!". And he loved being the hot dog guy.  

After the unfortunate result in overtime, he still had some inventory left and just started throwing them in any possible direction. The ushers had seen enough, and finally the Wiener Man rested. 

Its possible this guy woke up this morning with a headache and a little light in the wallet, wondering where all of his cash went. But I like to think he knew exactly what he was doing.

Many a cup was lifted to the Section 103 Wiener Man last night. Those of us who were there shall always remember you, and we raise our cup to you still. 

Someone posted a video of that guy handing out hot dogs on FB and indeed it is literally and entire shipping box full.  Must be about 40-60 hot dogs in there.

[mfitz804]

7 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Someone posted a video of that guy handing out hot dogs on FB and indeed it is literally and entire shipping box full.  Must be about 40-60 hot dogs in there.

There were multiple people taking pictures and videos. There were three guys in full hot dog costumes in his row, and yet HE was the hot dog guy. He was amazing. 

EDIT: it wasn't just 3 guys in hot dog costumes, it was THE three guys that spawned the return of $1 hot dog night and had their picture on the big screen for the advertising. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by mfitz804

[Triumph]

3 minutes ago, devlman said:

I disagree. At some point we can’t be giving credit for showing rare glimpses of being an NHL player. And I didn’t see any glimpse of that last night either.  He looked lost, played scared, disinterested and honestly looks like a player who doesn’t love the game of hockey. The Washington game is a long time ago now so can we please stop citing it?

He's already an NHL player.  He plays NHL-quality defense and is playable on the basis of that alone.  He's starting to make better decisions in 1 on 1 battles.

[mfitz804]

1 minute ago, Triumph said:

He's already an NHL player.  He plays NHL-quality defense and is playable on the basis of that alone.  He's starting to make better decisions in 1 on 1 battles.

I don't agree. He's good defensively but a total liability on offense. He got stripped of the puck so easily so many times last night. I think he might have benefitted from more time in the AHL. 

[devlman]

3 minutes ago, Triumph said:

He's already an NHL player.  He plays NHL-quality defense and is playable on the basis of that alone.  He's starting to make better decisions in 1 on 1 battles.

He is good defensively (at times)  but was terrible at it last night with his positioning and all his turnovers.

Edited October 26, 2018 by devlman

[mfitz804]

Just now, Kinkyisth3b3st said:

There are definitely worse ways of dropping 100 bucks. Love that story.

Thankfully, it wasn't $1 Rita's Custard night, things might have gotten messy. 

[DevsMan84]

1 minute ago, mfitz804 said:

Thankfully, it wasn't $1 Rita's Custard night, things might have gotten messy. 

Or $1 nacho night.

[mfitz804]

4 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

Or $1 nacho night.

Either way, I'd have spent all of today in the bathroom. 

[titans04]

1 hour ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I'm certainly not freaking out or anything, but let's be clear - if the first line wasn't producing (probably) way above average right now this team would be in trouble.  The secondary scoring is really non-existent. 

So while the overall record isn't bad, there are certainly some things to be concerned about at this point.

This is why I was and am disappointed they sat on their hands this off season.  This team barely made the playoffs and it took a heroic effort of a few guys.  The bottom half or third could be improved upon.  To me they are asking and banking on guys to play above their heads.  We can all pretend we know who was available and who wasn't. In reality we simply don't know what conversations were had or which ones could of been had if pursued. Status quo is and was terribly risky and I think over time we will see this team fall back into the same position  they were in last year rather than taking a big step forward.  We are one injury away from being a borderline bottom feeder.

Hopefully they prove me wrong.

[NJDevils1214]

3 minutes ago, titans04 said:

This is why I was and am disappointed they sat on their hands this off season.  This team barely made the playoffs and it took a heroic effort of a few guys.  The bottom half or third could be improved upon.  To me they are asking and banking on guys to play above their heads.  We can all pretend we know who was available and who wasn't. In reality we simply don't know what conversations were had or which ones could of been had if pursued. Status quo is and was terribly risky and I think over time we will see this team fall back into the same position  they were in last year rather than taking a big step forward.  We are one injury away from being a borderline bottom feeder.

Hopefully they prove me wrong.

That injury being something to Taylor Hall. It was the same case last year too and NJ squeaked into the playoffs anyway. We have to believe.

[NJDfan1711]

1 hour ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I mean when looking at forwards the top line has contributed 60% of the offense.. 

Though to be fair, I don't know what the standard % is across all the teams.

I feel like 60% is at least close to average across the league - it might actually even be the number you shoot for.  You figure not only are the guys on the 1st line the most skilled, but don't forget they're also getting the bulk of the ice time, so 50-60% of the offense is probably spot on.  I think if you get closer to 70-80 that's where you have to start to worry a bit, because then it's a dramatic difference where the rest of the team isn't contributing as much.  I would imagine a good contribution breakdown is something like 55-25-15-5 in order of the 4 lines, give or take maybe 5 or 10 percentage points on any given line.