GDT: Edmonton VS. New Jersey (Lowell) 7:30 PM EST

[nmigliore]

Still think the dropoff between Gionta and Bergfors is a small one Tri? We really needed Gionta out there...

Sutter should have putt Elias on a line with Zubrus and away from Pandolfo late in the game. I can't believe he stuck with that line all night.

The offense was not too bad, they just couldn't score despite putting up like 35+ shots.. so many chances and bad bounces and great saves.. I wish he would have perhaps tried Bergfors with Zajac/Parise though, I just know he would do better there than Langenbrunner..

[HellOnICE]

The offense was not too bad, they just couldn't score despite putting up like 35+ shots.. so many chances and bad bounces and great saves.. I wish he would have perhaps tried Bergfors with Zajac/Parise though, I just know he would do better there than Langenbrunner..

Same Ole Song and Dance.

We need to get healthy

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

Screw spreading the offense out when we are healthy I want to see all our offensive players on the top two lines, all the bums on the bottom two lines.

Parise-Zajac-Rolston

Elias-Zubrus-Gionta

Pandolfo-Madden-Langenbrunner

Vrana-Holik-Clarkson

[njdevil26]

Clemmesen has a good game. He certainly didn't hurt us bad goal or not. The refereeing was AWFUL once again. Maybe also a missed call on the Hemsky goal.

The fact that Bergfors and Vrana were sitting the entire third and most of the second just infuriates me. They would be much better than Clarkson/Rupp.

Anyway.... all in all. I thought the Devils played a good game. I haven't seen that much speed and offensive threat in a while.

Parise is amazing, no doubt about it. I was going to crap myself if he came away with that puck late in the third on the PK as he was charging down the ice. He is sooooo fast.

We also have to give a lot of credit to the young Oilers goalie. He played a fantastic game.

So with our #3 goalie in net, Brodeur, Rolston, Holik, Greene, Gionta, Salvador, Leblond, and Martin missing, I think we're gonna be okay. But that game sure was frustrating.

[MadDog2020]

The offense was not too bad, they just couldn't score despite putting up like 35+ shots.. so many chances and bad bounces and great saves.. I wish he would have perhaps tried Bergfors with Zajac/Parise though, I just know he would do better there than Langenbrunner..

Even when fully healthy, this team has trouble finishing consistently. We routinely make back-up goaltenders look like Ken Dryden. I'm amazed it took two periods for Sutter to figure out to try to get traffic in front of Delauries.

Edited November 10, 2008 by MadDog2020

[HockeyR53]

Screw spreading the offense out when we are healthy I want to see all our offensive players on the top two lines, all the bums on the bottom two lines.

Parise-Zajac-Rolston

Elias-Zubrus-Gionta

Pandolfo-Madden-Langenbrunner

Vrana-Holik-Clarkson

Honestly this is what we need. Truth of the matter is, we really don;t have enough offense to spread it.

And for a PP I'd like to see

Parise-Zajac-Elias

Rolston-Salmela/Oduya

[The Facepainter]

Great effort by the team tonight. I thought our half depleted devil team looked better than a mostly healthy EDM. But Devils are lacking the finish like usual. Zajac really stands out in that area. He's getting some great opportunities and he blows every one of them. Salmella is looking really good out there. Sooner or later he'll start putting the puck in the net. EDM's goalie stole a few of his shots. And its too bad Clemensen let that first goal in, but he played solid the rest of the night.

[Prucenterrules]

Honestly this is what we need. Truth of the matter is, we really don;t have enough offense to spread it.

And for a PP I'd like to see

Parise-Zajac-Elias

Rolston-Salmela/Oduya

Thats how the PP should be but with Martin on the point. They are our best players and are the ones who are going to score. For the 2nd PP unit it should be:

Rupp-Zubrus-Gionta

Greene(when he comes back)-Salmela/Oduya/Martin

[Random Poster]

Thats how the PP should be but with Martin on the point. They are our best players and are the ones who are going to score. For the 2nd PP unit it should be:

Rupp-Zubrus-Gionta

Who scores? Rupp won't park in front of the net, Gionta is a finisher who can't score anymore, especially when there isn't any rebounds and then he still can't, Zubrus will crash along the boards for the entirety, get the puck and maybe put on a shot on net to get a whistle.

[sundstrom]

I have said it before and I will say it again...Jaime Langenbrunner sucks and he proves it game after game. I'm sure glad we have him on our team AND he is our captain.

and we have him signed to a no movement clause for 2 more years. at least his cap number isn't entirely terrible at $2.8

- Langenbrunner is flat out slow out there, he is not an offensive forward in this league anymore he Madden and Pandolfo should be playing 13-14 minutes, not 20.

- Elias and Parise should PK more often, Parise is our best player and should be used in all situations. Atleast put more scare in the other teams PP. Zajac and Parise would work too.

langenbrunner's lack of speed is absolutely a factor as is his underwhelming offensive game. while i agree he truthfully belongs with madden and pando, he'll only take even MORE penalties because none of them really has above average NHL speed. as sutter matches them against other team's top lines who most likely have speedy players, these 3 will get toasted.

Sutter should have putt Elias on a line with Zubrus and away from Pandolfo late in the game. I can't believe he stuck with that line all night.

i can't believe he used it AT ALL. edmonton does not have a stud 1st line like TB or DET. it should have been elias-zubrus-vrana (or clarkson).

Screw spreading the offense out when we are healthy I want to see all our offensive players on the top two lines, all the bums on the bottom two lines.

Parise-Zajac-Rolston

Elias-Zubrus-Gionta

Pandolfo-Madden-Langenbrunner

Vrana-Holik-Clarkson

i actually have warmed to rupp and would put him on instead of Vrana in most situations but otherwise you are dead bang right with these lines in theory. as previously stated, our 3rd line would be a bad shutdown line because they have no speed.

[RowdyFan42]

So with our #3 goalie in net, Brodeur, Rolston, Holik, Greene, Gionta, Salvador, Leblond, and Martin missing, I think we're gonna be okay. But that game sure was frustrating.

This.

Can we at least get the team back together (less Brodeur) before we figure out whether we want to do the Chicken Little routine or not?

[DevilNurn]

Gonna agree, it's our #3 goalie, he lets in two goals. We can't get the finish we want but we give a general effort. And I've said it before, considering the circumstances, what I want to see from this team is effort, more than anything else. Parise continues his hot streak and general chances were good. A quasi-good night for Deslauriers and it's a tough break for New Jersey at home.

But without Martin as a QB for the PP, Rolston as a top-6 forward, Gionta as a good go-to-the-net guy, Salvador as a great stay-at-home-defenceman, and the size of Holik and Leblond, I'd say this team did pretty well.

Hell, we had Patrick Davis and Jay Leach on the ice and we only lost by one goal. That, to me, is pretty good.

[Triumph]

a bad shutdown line would be fine against the oilers who have no finishers though

[DevilNurn]

a bad shutdown line would be fine against the oilers who have no finishers though

Hemsky seems to be a finisher to me.

[sundstrom]

But without Martin as a QB for the PP, Rolston as a top-6 forward, Gionta as a good go-to-the-net guy, Salvador as a great stay-at-home-defenceman, and the size of Holik and Leblond, I'd say this team did pretty well.

FWIW, martin is not a PP QB - when the team is 100% healthy, he really shouldn't play the PP at all.

[The Facepainter]

Gonna agree, it's our #3 goalie, he lets in two goals. We can't get the finish we want but we give a general effort. And I've said it before, considering the circumstances, what I want to see from this team is effort, more than anything else.

Its pretty promising seeing a team with 7 or 8 injuries being capable of playing the way they did. The team should of at least had two goals. There were a few shots from the point I was amazed that didn't go in. And Zajac should have scored but he flubbed the shot by the side of the net. If he works on shots from around the crease, he could really have a breakout year. But right now, He shoots the puck into low percentage areas too much.

Edited November 10, 2008 by The Facepainter

[jkrdevil]

This is the biggest problem I have with Langenbrunner not only does he take bad penalties at bad times, but he doesn't take responsibility for it. Likw this quote after the game,

"I think you can tell I wasn't real happy with it, but we played hard," Langenbrunner said. "That's not the way a game to end like that. You don't want to have to kill a penalty in the last minute. It was a questionable one, that's for sure."

He has to be the biggest whiner on the team.

[SatansDevils]

Suprised to see so many fans there tonight for a Sunday night. It looked pretty good about 12,000+ tonight. This Devils team is having a hard time scoring goals and it is just amazing how Langenbrunner, Zajac and Madden can miss the damn net at POINT BLANK RANGE! Madden and Zajac should have scored on thos empty nets. Man this is just horrible just like their PK and PP once again which was the difference in this game the Devils should have won. That was a BS penalty called on Langenbrunner with 1:18 to go in the game. What a way to seal the game for Edmonton. Their rookie goalie played great and if the Devils knew how to score this game could have easily been 5-2 Devils. Time to regroup and go beat the NYR on Wednesday night or it is going to get really ugly real fast for this Devils team. Just another disgusted night at the Prudential Center.

[NJDevs4978]

Actually the listed attendance was just over 14,000 which is pretty good, especially considering all the things going against this game - Sunday night game opposite the Giants with school the next day, a Western Canada team coming in against the Lowell Devils.

It is funny how any game that goes up against the Giants does well, I guess not a lot of Devils fans are Giants fans Which also makes it amusing that they constantly put the Giants on the jumbotron whenever they can.

[CMONPETEYD]

Clemmensen was AWFUL at handling the puck

Salmela is our best offensive defenseman. He has the best O Instincts on the team.

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

I would like to elaborate more on Salmela, he has a drive that no defensmen on our team has had since Niedermayer, he will look for an opening coming off the point and when Devils start to realize that it should create some more space and opportunities. I also liked when he retrieved his own dump in, something I did quite a bit when I played defense, the defensmen never expects it. He has a rocket from the point and it was only a matter of time before someone deflected it or he scored. JDD made an abolsutly incredible save on him through traffic, a blistering slap shot with eyes through traffic and he still flashed the leather.

Salmela, Greene, Oduya and Martin is a good young defense core for the future. Add a number 1 or number 2 in there and we are set.

Edited November 10, 2008 by Jas0nMacIsaac

[sundstrom]

This is the biggest problem I have with Langenbrunner not only does he take bad penalties at bad times, but he doesn't take responsibility for it. Likw this quote after the game,

He has to be the biggest whiner on the team.

doesn't help that sutter backed jamie up

"When you look at the video, it's a penalty," Sutter said. "Jamie's just trying to compete and do what he has to do. They're going to make that call at any other time the rest of the night. I didn't see it initially, but I saw the video after. They're going to make that call. What are you going to do? I can't fault Jamie for it. It's a batte thing on his part. There refs are going to make that call. When you think about it, there were two penalties in the last five minutes."

[CRASHER]

doesn't help that sutter backed jamie up

That's really sad and pathetic to be honest

if that was Vrana (well ok it would have to be in the first period) he'd be on the bus to Trenton now (yes I know that's the ECHL)

[overtime98]

We lost 2-1 and through about 40 shots on net.... Cant say the effort wasnt there.... coming off a game saturday night, 2 more players out, and more rookies in the lineup. We could a lost 4-1..... Just need to play .500 hockey, get healthy and turn it on....... thank god for parise!

[eldon]

As frustrating as the game was, nothing irked me more than Zajac not lifting the puck.

And anyone that turned off the pre-game because of the new guy, who I thought actually had a personality, yes even though he said malta instead of maltby, you missed the Emrick interview, which was awesome.

He mentioned his wife & their pets, animals, when he got fired from the flyers, they had employed his wife & they wanted to keep her & the moments talking about calling the 95 finals for Fox, was great tv.

Doc, you are the best & kudos to Cangialosi for asking some very good questions.