GDT: Senators @ Devils, 7:00 pm Maybe Eight Isn’t Enough

[mfitz804]

Just now, Nicomo said:

“Working hard” doesn’t entitle you to play top 6 minutes with the team’s best playmaker. Put him on the 3rd line where he belongs. 

He’s only there to win faceoffs. But he really does not add anything to that line other than confusing the fvck out of me with his jersey number. That’s not Jack Hughes, it’s Lack Hughes. 

[MB3]

47 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

He’s only there to win faceoffs. But he really does not add anything to that line other than confusing the fvck out of me with his jersey number. That’s not Jack Hughes, it’s Lack Hughes. 

Face-offs are hugely overrated as a whole in hockey, too. The random situational face offs — PP, PK, late-game, etc — are probably important. But there have been various studies that show that there isn’t a huge correlation to overall game FO% and productive hockey. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by MB3

[MB3]

I want to know what the Devils are doing with Yegor Sharangovich. This guy has the best shot on the team but he’s given 7 minutes a game in a checking role. Mercer, too. I get it that the top two lines are sensational and the 4th line is borderline off to a legendary start, but I’d love to see Mercer and/or Sharangovich see Haula’s minutes. 

[Rock]

it just felt like their good streak was about to end. but......  When they got the power play in OT I felt it was going to be alright.  I am not Nostradamus but that feeling just came over me.  Anyway keep it up Devils!  I think it was mentioned Tuesday, but leaving by the Edison St. exit it DEFINITELY felt like the cattle bridge at CAA.😎

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

5 hours ago, MB3 said:

I want to know what the Devils are doing with Yegor Sharangovich. This guy has the best shot on the team but he’s given 7 minutes a game in a checking role. Mercer, too. I get it that the top two lines are sensational and the 4th line is borderline off to a legendary start, but I’d love to see Mercer and/or Sharangovich see Haula’s minutes. 

Sharangovich is averaging over 16 minutes TOI over the last five games…if you look at his game log he’s actually been getting a little more time lately.  With all of the winning it’s getting lost in the shuffle, but he and Dawson have been very quiet (neither has a point over their last four GP)…and speaking of Dawson, he’s the one seeing his time get cut…after averaging over 16:30 TOI over his first six games, he’s down to less than 13:30 TOI over his last eight.

In a way it’s kinda nice to have a couple of guys lying in the weeds, who hopefully can pick it up when other guys slow down…but Dawson looked so dynamic early on last year.  He hasn’t been bad, and he’s had some surges, but also stretches where you barely notice him.  Still very young of course, and oddly it’s probably a little better for the Devils if it takes him some extra time to develop because he might wind up becoming that much more cost-effective, depending on what he makes over his first RFA contact.

But yeah, not sure how much longer Haula should be getting Top 6 minutes.  He did score 18 goals last year but 13 games without burying some golden opportunities is getting hard to take.  At least that hasn’t cost the Devils yet in the standings, but I’m sure as hell not opposed to someone else getting a look.

FWIW, Mercer is a -41 over his last 77 games.  Obviously the Devils had severe goaltending issues last season and also were a defensive nightmare, but…damn.  

Edited November 11, 2022 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Nicomo]

1 hour ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

Sharangovich is averaging over 16 minutes TOI over the last five games…if you look at his game log he’s actually been getting a little more time lately.

How much of that is on the PK though? I’d personally much rather see either him or Mercer with Jack and Bratt, not to mention on the 2nd power play unit. 

[Mitico12]

News on Vanicek?

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

8 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

How much of that is on the PK though? I’d personally much rather see either him or Mercer with Jack and Bratt, not to mention on the 2nd power play unit. 

Of course I’m not against the idea of of either one playing with Jack and Bratt, but at the same time, the guy left behind is really stuck playing with players not likely to help his offensive game.

One thing that this 11-1 burst has earned the Devils is patience.  I’m with ya in that I’d love to see Haula off Jack’s line, Smith benched for Bahl, etc, but until the Devils go into some kind of funk, it’s probably going to be status quo for a while.  That means more games to see if Smith can stop sucking for one game, and to see if Mercer and Sharangovich can develop any chemistry.

BTW saw an article a couple of days about Holtz and it confirms what we all more or less suspected…the Devils (especially Brylin) are working very hard with him during morning skates.  It wasn’t outright stated but the aspects being worked on are his skating and general awareness.  He’s just not quite ready to play in this particular system at this time.  

[mfitz804]

8 hours ago, MB3 said:

Face-offs are hugely overrated as a whole in hockey, too. The random situational face offs — PP, PK, late-game, etc — are probably important. But there have been various studies that show that there isn’t a huge correlation to overall game FO% and productive hockey. 

Bottom line, if the game is on the line, I want Jack on the ice but I do NOT want him taking faceoffs. So unless we are going to change up his line based on situations, his line must have someone who can win more than one out of three. Puck possession matters. 

 

1 hour ago, Mitico12 said:

News on Vanicek?

From the Devils??

 

[mfitz804]

1 hour ago, Nicomo said:

How much of that is on the PK though? I’d personally much rather see either him or Mercer with Jack and Bratt, not to mention on the 2nd power play unit. 

All I can say is faceoffs aside, Haula has been a perfect replacement for Zacha. How many times did he *almost* score last night?

That said, Pavel has also doubled Eric’s point production thus far. 

[MB3]

13 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Bottom line, if the game is on the line, I want Jack on the ice but I do NOT want him taking faceoffs. So unless we are going to change up his line based on situations, his line must have someone who can win more than one out of three. Puck possession matters. 

 

Well yeah, but that’s situational like I talked about. The Devils have used McLeod like that before. “Go win the face off and then gtfo the ice”. 

Doesn’t matter if Haula wins 100% of his face offs if he can’t actually use his stone hands to put the puck in the net. 

[mfitz804]

36 minutes ago, MB3 said:

Well yeah, but that’s situational like I talked about. The Devils have used McLeod like that before. “Go win the face off and then gtfo the ice”. 

Doesn’t matter if Haula wins 100% of his face offs if he can’t actually use his stone hands to put the puck in the net. 

It matters if he is on a line with two superstars who can score frequently. 

[Devil Dan 56]

I think Haula will come around. He’s getting the chances. Luckily we have the luxury of winning games even with him under producing. That being said, I’d still prefer Sharangovich or Mercer with Jack and Bratt and Haula on the 3rd line. 

[mfitz804]

1 minute ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

I think Haula will come around. He’s getting the chances. Luckily we have the luxury of winning games even with him under producing. That being said, I’d still prefer Sharangovich or Mercer with Jack and Bratt and Haula on the 3rd line. 

I would agree with this.

[Bonginator11]

1 hour ago, mfitz804 said:

Bottom line, if the game is on the line, I want Jack on the ice but I do NOT want him taking faceoffs. So unless we are going to change up his line based on situations, his line must have someone who can win more than one out of three. Puck possession matters. 

 

From the Devils??

 

This. Who knows what would have happened if Nico didn’t win the face off before the goal in OT last night. They probably enter the zone again with no problem since Jack is so good at it but they would lose precious time going back to get the puck

[mfitz804]

8 minutes ago, Bonginator11 said:

This. Who knows what would have happened if Nico didn’t win the face off before the goal in OT last night. They probably enter the zone again with no problem since Jack is so good at it but they would lose precious time going back to get the puck

Jack also does turn the puck over a lot as well. I get it, its teh kind of game he plays and those high risk, high speed moves can pay dividends, but they don't always. If I had to pick between Nico or Jack in OT, I would pick Nico right now and I wouldn't think twice. 

[MrBreeze]

Quote

After the game, head coach Lindy Ruff said he had “no concern about Vitek (Vanecek).” 

Also:

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald says he’ll ‘explore everything and anything’ amid goalie injuries

 

[mfitz804]

5 minutes ago, MrBreeze said:

 

Last season he explored Jon Gillies and Andrew Hammond. Dora is a better fvcking explorer than that. 

[Nicomo]

6 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

Last season he explored Jon Gillies and Andrew Hammond. Dora is a better fvcking explorer than that. 

Apparently he was interested in Georgiev.

 

[MB3]

1 hour ago, mfitz804 said:

It matters if he is on a line with two superstars who can score frequently. 

Situationally -- like late in OT when you have a powerplay and every second counts -- faceoffs are important. I will never complain about Haula or McLeod being on the ice in those situations where you need a draw.

Over the course of a game, a week of games, a month of games like we have so far, the positives of having Haula win 61% of the faceoffs does not outweigh the negatives of Haula whiffing on 4 grade-A chances per night. 

Just for fun: top line centers average ~10 faceoffs per game. On average, Haula will go 6-4 and Jack will go 4-6. Eric Haula, despite being fed like a fat kid at a birthday party, has 0 goals. Goose egg. That valuable ice time with our best passers and best playmakers shouldn't be given to an offensive black hole because over a 60 minute hockey game he'll win 2 more faceoffs. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by MB3

[Satans Hockey]

With all the betting ads they have been shoving in our faces for years now he's probably a degenerate gambler won money on the game lol... 

[Devil Dan 56]

3 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

Apparently he was interested in Georgiev.

 

Looks like Bernier will not be in the plans even if there is a space. That wording makes me think he’s having problems coming back from the injury

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

47 minutes ago, Devil Dan 56 said:

I think Haula will come around. He’s getting the chances. Luckily we have the luxury of winning games even with him under producing. That being said, I’d still prefer Sharangovich or Mercer with Jack and Bratt and Haula on the 3rd line. 

I think the (hopeful) long-term plan is that Haula produces just enough to justify remaining on that line while Sharangovich and Mercer figure out how to click...the idea being that eventually that 3rd line will also become productive.  I suspect they're concerned that leaving one of Sharangovich or Mercer to languish on a line with Haula and Boqvist isn't going to help either's development much.  Said it before and you just alluded to it...the Devils have won a hell of a lot, so they have the luxury of trying to give that third line (specifically Sharangovich and Mercer) some more games together.    

[CMONPETEYD]

I think its a good thing when we have to complain about minor things while we are winning. 

Bahl/Holtz should not be 7th & 13th consistently.  You are not doing them any good right now with them out of the lineup.  I would argue that Bahl should be playing over Smith.  Smith may even have had a negative drag on Severson's offensive production...   The whole Boqvist playing Center bit is probably due to playing Haula on Jack's wing because Haula is taking the majority of the faceoffs.  Zetterlund has come in and taken Holtz's spot.  Seems like thats where Holtz is being left out and right now, and Mercer/Sharan getting "demoted" there is less room for Holtz.  I would argue that Johnsson should be our 13th and Holtz should be down.  But I guess from a cap savings perspective this seems like what they want to do.  It may be time for Holtz to go down and Tyce to come up maybe?

 

 

 

[MB3]

5 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

I think the (hopeful) long-term plan is that Haula produces just enough to justify remaining on that line while Sharangovich and Mercer figure out how to click...the idea being that eventually that 3rd line will also become productive.  I suspect they're concerned that leaving one of Sharangovich or Mercer to languish on a line with Haula and Boqvist isn't going to help either's development much.  Said it before and you just alluded to it...the Devils have won a hell of a lot, so they have the luxury of trying to give that third line (specifically Sharangovich and Mercer) some more games together.    

Simple solution! Escort Boqvist to the nearest exit and push him forcefully though, and then let Holtz cook with Mercer and Haula.