Mottau is awful!

[cubanjd305]

.... I really have nothing else to say....

[cubanjd305]

K, bye.

that made me smile

[DevilinLA]

Ok, I'll be the first to admit that he's had a worse season this year....but I still don't get how this dude is always the scapegoat for everything on our D. Our D has a wealth of problems aside from Mottau:

1.) Dude is playing more minutes than he should be:

2.) He lost his equip on one goal but where was Colin "Free Pass because I was on a Cup team" White on picking up the coverage?

3.) How many shots on open nets does MM tip aside denying a scoring chance that no one remembers

4.) "The Development of andy Greene" - Ok no doubt this kid has made some leaps in his game, but those saying that we can afford to lose Martin - or whatever "with the development of Greene" - where is this guy getting pucks to the net in the last months? He has no doubt improved but consistency is still a question with him.

5.) Fraser - Ok this dude fights, great, but coverage is an issue with him. Maybe he's got Dano potential in him but I haven't seen it yet.

6.) Has White learned nothing from Game 7 v CAR - this dude goes for the big hit at the blue line on a regular basis, yet gets beaten so many times by taking himself out of the play.

There are gaping issues here that I hope Martin can solve when he returns. But how far away is he? ... and what will he be when he returns? do we need help?

[coryrafalski]

"Ok, I'll be the first to admit that he's had a worse season this year....but I still don't get how this dude is always the scapegoat for everything on our D. Our D has a wealth of problems aside from Mottau"

[DevilinLA]

"Ok, I'll be the first to admit that he's had a worse season this year....but I still don't get how this dude is always the scapegoat for everything on our D. Our D has a wealth of problems aside from Mottau"

Damn right. We miss Martin really, really badly. Mottau wasn't the worse defender today. Salvador lost us the game tonight.

He ended up giving the puck away behind the goal (that's the fourth time he's done it in two games) and then ended flat on his face while the Habs slotted the puck in the empty net. He's a liability at the moment, he's lost all his confidence and looks dreadful. If we wouldn't struggle with injuries, I'd suggest sending him down for a while to get his bloody act together again.

If we want to have any hope of a run in the play offs, we need to shell out on another solid defender who can use the puck. A decent sniper would also be handy, somebody like Briere. Doesn't need to be a superstar, just somebody who finds the net. This problem we have with scoring is getting worse. Impressed with Palmieri though, who knows, he might be the answer.

[coryrafalski]

Damn right. We miss Martin really, really badly. Mottau wasn't the worse defender today. Salvador lost us the game tonight.

He ended up giving the puck away behind the goal (that's the fourth time he's done it in two games) and then ended flat on his face while the Habs slotted the puck in the empty net. He's a liability at the moment, he's lost all his confidence and looks dreadful. If we wouldn't struggle with injuries, I'd suggest sending him down for a while to get his bloody act together again.

If we want to have any hope of a run in the play offs, we need to shell out on another solid defender who can use the puck. A decent sniper would also be handy, somebody like Briere. Doesn't need to be a superstar, just somebody who finds the net. This problem we have with scoring is getting worse. Impressed with Palmieri though, who knows, he might be the answer.

Briere? Are you crazy? A 7M guy whose had nothing but injury problems since getting to PHI?

Whose going to pass him the puck Rob Neidermayer?

[DevilinLA]

Briere? Are you crazy? A 7M guy whose had nothing but injury problems since getting to PHI?

Whose going to pass him the puck Rob Neidermayer?

Well, I didn't mean that I wanted him specifically, just somebody LIKE him. Or at least a player similar to the one he used to be at Phoenix and Sabres - a 25-30 goal a season guy.

Niedermayer

[coryrafalski]

2.) Do we upgrade on D and actually have someone who has a point shot

Bring back Sheldon...?

Seriously though, I'd rather go with having more flair and width up front. We saw that against the Canes last year. I know that goals are at a premium in post season anyway, but they only managed to score 16 goals against us in those seven games - and half of those came in two games! We only put 14 past them, which is not even close to being good enough to win a series. And I can't see us being any better in that department this year. Especially now Gionta's gone.

[eaglejelly]

Can you guys practice quoting please

[sundstrom]

white doesn't get a free pass from me. but again - the guy (and mottau too really) are a very good 3rd pairing. unfortunately, they are played like a top 2nd pairing which they very much are not.

[The Facepainter]

It's the whole team that's out of sync.

[coryrafalski]

Can you guys practice quoting please

Yeah, sorry about that. I think I figured it out in the last post. A bit like Salvador on the puck. Clueless.

[Jerrydevil]

I thought Salvador played a pretty decent game. The problem is that when the other goalie is on fire, it magnifies everyone else's mistakes. That was a good game yesterday, and on many nights that kind of Devil effort is good enough to win.

That game just didn't make me upset. The Canadiens outplayed NJ but both teams played at a high level.

That being said, the team naturally misses the regulars who are out. But they will turn it around before they're back ... watch.

[halfsharkalligatorhalfman]

Mottau is the biggest bargain on the team other than Parise, he's can fill in anywhere and do a good job. Hating on Mottau is a waste of time, you're essentially attacking the Salary Cap/Team Revenue streams and its limitations on the Devils' roster. He's given the team far beyond his salary since he's been here.

[GoArmySports]

We just need to get healthy again period....plus Brodeur needs a night off eventually.

[Mike441]

I thought Salvador played a pretty decent game. The problem is that when the other goalie is on fire, it magnifies everyone else's mistakes. That was a good game yesterday, and on many nights that kind of Devil effort is good enough to win.

I think Sal is our best defenseman, physical, good along the boards. and to think we got him for cam is just mind blowing

[DevilNurn]

Can you guys practice quoting please

+1

And I think that this team is way out of sync because of injuries, but I think our D is hardly the problem. We haven't been letting that many goals in lately, it's just that the mistakes are visible. We've been getting a lot of shutouts in the last month or so, and much as that has to do with Marty, it has a lot to do with D. Once Martin comes back I'm not worried about our D. Not nearly as much as our forwards

Our problem is seemingly really 3rd-line based. You have Zach making that first line good no matter who it's with, you have Elias (when healthy) making that second line good, but I think the problem has really been that we don't have a truly decent 3rd line to put out there. We've got plenty of 4th line guys so I'm not worried about that. It's really a problem that we've been putting Niedermayer and Pandolfo out there with whatever rookie can stick and we expect it to go well. I'm not badmouthing them as players--they're both decent on the penalty kill--but I think that's really where our lack of depth, especially at center, is really showing. We could definitely use a centerman (Zubrus will help but not solve the problem). Clarkson coming back fixes most of our problems at right wing, and might make our 3rd line that much better, but I think there is just a complete lack of creativity when that line is on the ice, and a very low chance of scoring or checking. Not to mention we could really use some intangibles beyond Marty and Zach. I'm not saying we need to bring in Kovalchuk, but I really think we need to make some changes beyond a Salmela-Havelid caliber move.

[skullsmasher]

He's better than White.

[Devilstail]

I don't like him. He has put 4 goals in his own net this year. Might be he is just having a bad year with them but what the hell. He has scored more goals on marty than on the other teams.

[mouse]

I have no problem cutting Mottau's playing time when the team is healthy, in fact I'm an advocate of giving Fraser tougher minutes and seeing how he responds, but there's no reason to trash him. He's cheap, reliable, and flexible. He's a perfect 6th or 7th dman, but because of injuries and, to a lesser extent, Oduya's ineffectiveness (though he was really good last night IMO), he's been the 4th. When Martin gets back, he can go back to being the role player he's supposed to be. That said, the White Mottau pairing scares the crap out of me. Neither of them can skate.

[Devils731]

Mottau played 27 minutes last game and blocked 7 shots while Fraser only played 8:30 and yet, based on what I've seen over the last few months, I bet I can find lots of people who think Fraser played at least as well as Mottau last night or even better. Mottau played more than ~3 minutes more than any other player on the team yesterday but we have a thread calling him awful, that's ridiculous.

Edited January 25, 2010 by Devils731

[Toaster13]

I don't see why people hate on Motts and White so much. They're a good pairing for us now that Martin is out and Oduya isn't playing the way we expected him to. Salvador and Greene have been a good pairing for us as well. When Martin comes back White and Motts won't get as mush ice time and I guess people can't bitch about them then. If you think Mottau is so horrible just think of him as our 6th D-man which isn't so bad.

[mouse]

I don't see why people hate on Motts and White so much. They're a good pairing for us now that Martin is out and Oduya isn't playing the way we expected him to. Salvador and Greene have been a good pairing for us as well. When Martin comes back White and Motts won't get as mush ice time and I guess people can't bitch about them then. If you think Mottau is so horrible just think of him as our 6th D-man which isn't so bad.

I hate the pairing, because good, fast teams (like the Canes last year) expose how slow they are. Both of them needs to be paired with someone who can skate.

MY main issue with Motts is that he has no upside. Greene, even last year, showed flashes of promise with his speed. White and Sal can hit. Motts does a lot, but nothing great, and, even if he's better than Fraser, I'm tantalized by Fraser's potential to be a big hitter for us, and I'd like to see if we can trust him in big situations. I'm not saying he can, and if not we can always go back to Motts, but Fraser could be a bigger weapon.

Edited January 25, 2010 by mouse

[cubanjd305]

I hate the pairing, because good, fast teams (like the Canes last year) expose how slow they are. Both of them needs to be paired with someone who can skate.

MY main issue with Motts is that he has no upside. Greene, even last year, showed flashes of promise with his speed. White and Sal can hit. Motts does a lot, but nothing great, and, even if he's better than Fraser, I'm tantalized by Fraser's potential to be a big hitter for us, and I'd like to see if we can trust him in big situations. I'm not saying he can, and if not we can always go back to Motts, but Fraser could be a bigger weapon.

I too want to see what Frasier is able to do later in games.

Mottau HAS been awful this year. Many mistakes, sometimes more than the team can handle and there's pretty much no more room for improvement with him. At times it seems he thinks his job is secure. Maybe giving Frasier more minutes will bring him back to his former gritty self....but if Martin returned tomorrow, I'd have a very tough time making a case for Mottau over Fraser to scratched or sent down.

Edited January 26, 2010 by cubanjd305

[manbearpig]

I hate the pairing, because good, fast teams (like the Canes last year) expose how slow they are. Both of them needs to be paired with someone who can skate.

MY main issue with Motts is that he has no upside. Greene, even last year, showed flashes of promise with his speed. White and Sal can hit. Motts does a lot, but nothing great, and, even if he's better than Fraser, I'm tantalized by Fraser's potential to be a big hitter for us, and I'd like to see if we can trust him in big situations. I'm not saying he can, and if not we can always go back to Motts, but Fraser could be a bigger weapon.

I'm not saying this to be a dick, but when I see Mikey Motts out there, I consider it a successful shift if the team doesn't get scored on. That's not me hating on him because I've been a huge proponent of his the last two seasons. When him and Whitey are not on the same pairing, I believe they both have a little more "umph", but not too much more. It just seems to me that Motty's getting beat to, or knocked off of more pucks than he is controlling and breaking out of the zone. I don't want the guy's head, but like it was said before, everyone's been playing a ton of minutes with the injuries, but he should really be a 12-15 minute guy, not 27 and change or whatever it was the other night.