GDT: #21 Devils at Flames 10pm

[Lindys Lazy Eye]

I agree but I would of preferred Johnny Mac. The stats guy is awful and the rest are to Rags biased.

Dano had to fight back with an honest take that they were overreacting to this game.

EJ was pretty neutral last night.

 

[glenwo2]

I really, really do not mean to single you out, but this fan base is spoiled. Not saying we should be complacent with mediocrity, but this team is not nearly that horrible or mathematically on its way to elimination at this point of the season to be tuning out already.

Well if the Devils would start WINNING GAMES instead of losing them, then I'll get "less apathetic".


I guess that makes me a front-runner then. So be it. I want this team to win, dammit!! Losing sucks and missing the playoffs for the fourth(or is it fifth?) straight year would suck even more.

 

[NJD Kula]

You mean the same Adam Larsson who was on the ice for the game tying goal?

Poor argument chief.

You can't blame the guy who has been 100% on the PK and was perfect through the entire game. Andy Greene was out there with Larsson (not covering his man) and he was on ice for every goal against.

I'll keep saying this until Deboer is fired, he's setting players up to fail (includes Greene).
See TOI: http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/TV020305.HTM
Note:
Larsson's last shift was on PK at 13:33-14:10 before coming on the ice "cold" at 18:55.
Greene comes on the ice at 14:10, plays shifts of 50sec, 30sec, 46sec (goal allowed), and then 1:35 (goal allowed).
Now all Jagr had to do was hold the puck in Calgary's end and game over.

Is that Jagr's fault? Yes. Who put the team in this position though? Deboer.

A good coach puts his team/players in positions to succeed, Deboer has been shooting his guys in the foot before they even get on the ice. He does it with all of his poor personnel decisions.

Let's say he has a great system, but even in a good system you need to utilize your players correctly. In 2012 the system worked because he had 2 elite forwards to lean on.
Now he's got quality forwards but he's not balancing it, he plays favorites, leaning on the wrong guys. People like Gionta and Bernier are protecting leads. Gionta jumped off the ice before CGY's 3rd goal, Bernier was still out there. This is also why the Devils hardly end games with ENG, Bernier misplays the puck at CI and fails to get the insurance goal.

This leads to the epic Jagr failure with Andy Greene playing 4 of the final 5 mins, people start throwing all of these guys under the bus.

The buck needs to stop with Deboer. He sucks, this team has been mediocre since 2012, time to move on. LL before the Johnny Mac incident had never had a problem tossing coaches for losing 4 games in a row, what's going on now? Are the Devils settling for this middling type of game?

Just missing the playoffs by 2 pts each season is now a positive?

Fun stat: Larsson ended +0 but would've been +1 if he didn't leave the ice on the 4th goal that he collected an assist on (Zid and Gel got the +1).

 

[glenwo2]

The Sabres actually know how to win 3 in a row

remind me again how many more wins we have than Edmonton the last few seasons

OOF! Now those two were below the belt.

 

[NJDevs26]

Well if the Devils would start WINNING GAMES instead of losing them, then I'll get "less apathetic".


I guess that makes me a front-runner then. So be it. I want this team to win, dammit!! Losing sucks and missing the playoffs for the fourth(or is it fifth?) straight year would suck even more.

It would 'only' be three straight years and four out of five, let's not make it worse than it actually is YET

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

You just can't blow that lead if you have any playoff aspirations.

Pretty much. I see a lot of excuses being made for the team and I don't get it. If this type of game happens 3 times over the course of the entire season, okay, no big deal. But this is the 3rd game they've already pissed away out of the first 21 they've played. If this roster is the one we go to war with for the remainder of the season, they're going to miss the playoffs again imo. Who cares how poor the East is? The Devils are a poor team so it doesn't make a difference.

As far as the apathetic feelings go, I completely understand people who feel that way. I caught some of the Islanders / Pens game last night and that place was absolutely jumping all night long. Tons of energy in the building / crowd. I really couldn't see myself getting that worked up over the Devils right now. Win or lose. What is there to be so excited or upset about? The product, while not complete dog ****, just isn't very good. Last night's game stood out because there was some actual flow to it. It's one thing that the Devils don't win all that often any more, but they can be a real chore to watch these last few seasons. This mediocre stretch of 150 games that they've been stuck in has been nothing but a draining experience.

 

[StvBroDan]

What a friggen joke of a team up 3-1 in the third lose by a shootout. The players I saw on the ice when goals were scored should have been on the bench. Clemmer in goal should have been Cory. Enough of this ****. Get you **** together Lou and get rid of the deadwood. Enough is Enough

 

[StvBroDan]

It would 'only' be three straight years and four out of five, let's not make it worse than it actually is YET

The way things are going we on have one thing to look forward to. A long off season with no playoffs. This garbage is old.

 

[glenwo2]

It would 'only' be three straight years and four out of five, let's not make it worse than it actually is YET

Well it would certainly feel like 4-5 straight years.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

Calgary is real young up front and have speed. They may be over-achieving, however, their going in the right direction.

 

[JK3]

I think it was me and Eddy going back and fourth last night regarding the turnovers.

I just don't understand the decision making with some of these guys. Just horrid cross ice, ill advised, risky passes turning into great chances for the other team.

This is fundamental stuff you learn as a kid, inexcusable coming from vets. Jagr, Zajac and Henrique had some bad ones last night.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

I think it was me and Eddy going back and fourth last night regarding the turnovers.

I just don't understand the decision making with some of these guys. Just horrid cross ice, ill advised, risky passes turning into great chances for the other team.

This is fundamental stuff you learn as a kid, inexcusable coming from vets. Jagr, Zajac and Henrique had some bad ones last night.

Elias too. His beauty assist kind of put some makeup on his game, but he made some bonehead passes on the Pp that killed possession. He's been really turning the puck over all year it seems.

 

[njdevils1982]

wasted point.....game was in the bag......

****, the first 2 goals were beauties though

 

[glenwo2]

My apologies for this OT post but :

How was the food there, njdevils1982?

I know you said it was your first trip to that arena so I'm just curious...

Even though the Devils messed up what could've been a great night for you, maybe the food made up for it?

 

[njdevils1982]

How was the food there, njdevils1982?

I know you said it was your first trip to that arena so I'm just curious...

just had a slice of pizza at the game...typical stadium fare....didnt really seek out food as we went for steak dinner before outside the arena. (and beers also of course)

upper front seats were great....for 52 face value and grabbing 2 for 80. ****ing steal. not the case when i go see the game in T.O in december....those cost a ****ton.

cheers

 

[JK3]

Elias too. His beauty assist kind of put some makeup on his game, but he made some bonehead passes on the Pp that killed possession. He's been really turning the puck over all year it seems.

Forgot about Patty, I kind of forgave him too after that slick assist he had just like in the 2000 finals but on the other side.

The possession killing ones are bad enough but leading to direct goals are just inexcusable.

 

[tailfins]

Note:
Larsson's last shift was on PK at 13:33-14:10 before coming on the ice "cold" at 18:55.

Did you watch the game? Are you sure about that shift chart? I don't recall Larsson sitting, and here's a different shift chart that shows Larsson with pretty regular usage:

http://hockeystats.ca/game/2014020305/shifts

Per that, Larsson had the third most time of any Devils D, behind Greene and Severson.

The reality is that this is exactly the kind of game we've got to expect playing 4 young d. Greene's getting run into the ground because there is no one else. Severson and Larsson are getting force fed minutes, and they're getting into situations that they've never been in before. Zids is forced to take on responsibility he's not well suited for.

All of you who wanted the kids to play are seeing what happens when they do. This is called a learning experience. It sucks to lose this game, but these kind of things have gotta be expected. And it's completely unclear how anyone is complaining about player usage - unless you're a big Gelinas fan.

 

[Czech Trio]

Despite everything, it looks as though Jagr has found his gear again. Skating like he is not his age.

 

[Khione]

What are you talking about, Larsson was on the ice for the last shift with a one-goal lead. Maybe he missed a shift or two before that which is puzzling but they were running 5 D for most of the third period so the rotation was going to be a little wonky, but that's almost looking for something to complain about considering Larsson played 22 minutes total last night.

Read Njd Kulas post please.

 

[Khione]

You mean the same Adam Larsson who was on the ice for the game tying goal?

Yes.

 

[NJDevs26]

Big deal, Larsson sat for four whole minutes. Maybe they wanted other defensemen (re: Zidlicky) out with a two-goal lead to try to seal it offensively once Calgary started emptying their net. Then when Calgary got to within one with two and a half minutes left it's either send Larsson out for the next shift or save him for the final shift, which they chose the latter. Again him sitting one or maybe two shifts with a two-goal lead is not a big deal considering he played twenty-two minutes including four shifts in OT after he was on for the tying goal.

 

[Khione]

Did you watch the game? Are you sure about that shift chart? I don't recall Larsson sitting, and here's a different shift chart that shows Larsson with pretty regular usage:

http://hockeystats.ca/game/2014020305/shifts

Per that, Larsson had the third most time of any Devils D, behind Greene and Severson.

The reality is that this is exactly the kind of game we've got to expect playing 4 young d. Greene's getting run into the ground because there is no one else. Severson and Larsson are getting force fed minutes, and they're getting into situations that they've never been in before. Zids is forced to take on responsibility he's not well suited for.

All of you who wanted the kids to play are seeing what happens when they do. This is called a learning experience. It sucks to lose this game, but these kind of things have gotta be expected. And it's completely unclear how anyone is complaining about player usage - unless you're a big Gelinas fan.

It was not he kids fault. It was the vets.

We were up 2-0. We had a lot of chances to make it 3-0. Havlat, cam and ryder didnt score. If we score there we win.

Overall the kids on defence played the game great.

 

[NJDevs26]

Did you watch the game? Are you sure about that shift chart? I don't recall Larsson sitting, and here's a different shift chart that shows Larsson with pretty regular usage:

http://hockeystats.ca/game/2014020305/shifts

Per that, Larsson had the third most time of any Devils D, behind Greene and Severson.

The reality is that this is exactly the kind of game we've got to expect playing 4 young d. Greene's getting run into the ground because there is no one else. Severson and Larsson are getting force fed minutes, and they're getting into situations that they've never been in before. Zids is forced to take on responsibility he's not well suited for.

All of you who wanted the kids to play are seeing what happens when they do. This is called a learning experience. It sucks to lose this game, but these kind of things have gotta be expected. And it's completely unclear how anyone is complaining about player usage - unless you're a big Gelinas fan.

They got run into the ground because Gelinas was benched for practically the entire third period plus OT. I don't expect that to be an issue when (if?) Merrill comes back. Nobody except Severson's getting particularly overplayed most nights and it's not even like he's the one making most of these screwups.

 

[Khione]

Big deal, Larsson sat for four whole minutes. Maybe they wanted other defensemen (re: Zidlicky) out with a two-goal lead to try to seal it offensively once Calgary started emptying their net. Then when Calgary got to within one with two and a half minutes left it's either send Larsson out for the next shift or save him for the final shift, which they chose the latter. Again him sitting one or maybe two shifts with a two-goal lead is not a big deal considering he played twenty-two minutes including four shifts in OT after he was on for the tying goal.

Why sit him? To play Zidlicky when we are defending a 2 goal lead? Well, dont do it agian cause we saw the result of that splendid idea at the saddledome.

Zidlicky on the ice instead of Larsson defending a 2 goal lead...

 

[NJDevs26]

Why sit him? To play Zidlicky when we are defending a 2 goal lead? Well, dont do it agian cause we saw the result of that splendid idea at the saddledome.

Zidlicky on the ice instead of Larsson defending a 2 goal lead...

You're trying to end the game when you're up two, not go into a shell. But of course the players on the ice DID go into a shell and that's what happens. You play more conservatively when you're up one (hence why Marty never went for scoring a goal up one but would go for it up two).

And for the record, it was Greene and Severson that were on the ice when the third goal was scored, Zidlicky actually had nothing to do with either of the two goals in the final 2:30 so let's not perpetuate the myth it was his fault or Pete's fault for playing him an extra shift over Larsson up two goals or whatever, this is arguing over nothing. Greene-Severson on the ice for the third goal, Greene-Larsson on the ice for the fourth goal and we're blaming Zidlicky? Okay...