GDT: #35 | Devils @ Panthers | 7:30 ET

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

This forward group lacks and the defensive corp is mediocre that depends largely on forward support that without it they are exposed.

It's not the fault or weakness of any individual, it's the composition of the team in my opinion. It's a patchwork team in my eyes. There seems to be no cohesion or reason to the lines other than Carter and Bernier. The team has struggled to find combos that work and to me it seems mainly because of the lack of skill in the top 6. The devils seem to have no primary scoring (with or without Kovalchuk). They simply need an infusion of skill into the lineup. A top 6 winger would go a long way on this team I think.

Chicken dinner for you sir. The defense on this team can be solid enough, but that depends greatly on having a forward corps who do work in all three zones of the ice and keep constant pressure on the opposition. Last year is a perfect example. It's pretty hard for a defense to look bad when your forwards are backchecking and forechecking the **** out of the other team.

As for the top 6 winger, well that falls right in line with those who say "this is the same team as last year minus one player". Too bad that player was arguably the best player on the team and a prime top line talent. This team will be much better when Zubrus and Kovalchuk return, assuming there is enough time to stay afloat, but still, something is missing. What's missing is a legit top line forward, or as you put it, some skill.

I think Loktionov has been a nice addition to the club and Dags / TK have been okay so far as well. It sure beats the AHL circle jerk they had going on to start the season. But these guys come no where close to replacing what was lost. I always personally felt that Parise was a tad bit overrated in these parts, but he's a solid player through and trough and this team misses the **** out of him.

 

[Oneiro]

The game's opened up since the lockout. And they no longer have Stevens/Nieds/etc. Lemaire was a defensive genius but there aren't many like him, and let's face it his style wasn't winning playoff games the last decade either.

I'll concede that Lemaire's style didn't win playoff games, but the teams that fizzled out in the first round could wrap up regular season wins. That's part of what has separated the Devils from other teams. Not just in the golden era, but the immediate past as well. The "professionalism" of the trap, I guess.

It doesn't have to be a choice between DeBoer's hard forechecking and playing conservatively later.

In general, I think the team has to take the same mentality they have on the PK, which is recognize when you can take advantage of a situation and when you need to play conservatively. And that's in part dependent on the intelligence of your players.

 

[glenwo2]

Knowing how to shut things down is a big part of this team's legacy and tradition. And it's been forgotten.

We need this guy back :

"PLAY DEFENSE! You remember what the word "DEFENSE" is, right?"

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

Well tomorrow is a big game for sure. Playoff implications and the last audition for the boys before the trade deadline. But then again, I don't think it will matter much because Lou is pretty handcuffed with this roster. I mean what value can he possibly offer at this point? I just don't want him to overpay for some spare part to try to salvage this group. It's not worth it as they've proven their worth the last 6 weeks. 4 regulation wins in 20 games. Let that sink in for a minute. Injuries or not, that is a major red flag imho. I know they have had some **** luck along the way, but those #'s are dreadful and all it points to is a team that cannot find ways to win games. Bottom line. Sad parts about it is that they were showing signs of this weeks ago. Now it's pretty much impossible to ignore.

Zubrus and Kovalchuk are huge losses for this team. That absolutely has to be taken into consideration, but I don't think their absence is an excuse for the brain dead defensive coverage and inability to close games down. The team will be better off when they return, but I don't know, the rest of the group appears very flawed imo and you have certain players who are simply not getting the job done.

Sneak into the playoffs for the sake of the revenue, but you couldn't possibly get me to bet on this group. If they make it, they will definitely be matched up against one of the top teams in the conference and it would be asking a hell of a lot for this team to upset anyone when they can't even close games down against teams like Tampa and Florida. These were two real ugly losses.

 

[GameSeven]

We need this guy back :

"PLAY DEFENSE! You remember what the word "DEFENSE" is, right?"

"It looked like they had lost their ability to play the game, which is very strange..."

 

[The Joker]

Lemaire for the regular season and Pete for the Playoffs and boom goes the dynamite

 

[captainscott]

We need this guy back :

"PLAY DEFENSE! You remember what the word "DEFENSE" is, right?"

devils fans need to stop comparing every devils team to those of the late 1990;s and early 2000's...do you people realize who we had on the blueline?? let me tell you

stevens/rafalski
neidermayer/danyko/
white/( in his prime)

oh and a guy named broduer who was in his twenties and early 30's.

you can't say its that they have forgotten their system... when your #1 goes from neidermayer or stevens to andy greene( no knock on greene) you may not want to expect the same results

 

[CerebralGenesis]

Lol Islanders are pretty good. I dunno if I expect a win until the Buffalo game with the way this team has been playing.

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

Lol Islanders are pretty good. I dunno if I expect a win until the Buffalo game with the way this team has been playing.

I think tomorrow has the potential to get real ugly. I don't find the Islanders to be all that good of a team but they're young, hungry, and their top end talent completely destroys anything NJ can shovel out there (as of this time). JT has made us his personal ***** this season and from what I can tell from tuning into the last few Islanders games, well they're hanging in there and playing some decent puck.

Maybe the Devils lay an Easter egg and beg Lou to help them before Wednesday is through. They certainly can't help themselves from what we've seen lately.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I think tomorrow has the potential to get real ugly. I don't find the Islanders to be all that good of a team but they're young, hungry, and their top end talent completely destroys anything NJ can shovel out there (as of this time). JT has made us his personal ***** this season and from what I can tell from tuning into the last few Islanders games, well they're hanging in there and playing some decent puck.

Maybe the Devils lay an Easter egg and beg Lou to help them before Wednesday is through. They certainly can't help themselves from what we've seen lately.[/QUOT

Spot on IMO.

Though, anything can happen in a NHL game.

 

[VaxjoDevil]

I am quite positive about this team collecting enough points to get to the playoffs. I don't think they have the manpower to make any serious damage there though, unless they have some crazy luck with peaks, bounces and who they play against (see last season).

They are playing fairly well without Kovy's 25 minutes, but have been sitting back on a one-goal lead which they just can't do. The offense seem to be so afraid to be caught on the wrong side of the puck in the neutral zone that they'd rather just let the other team waltz in. Once there there is only Sal, Zid and Greene (and yesterday I thought Tallinder could handle it too) that are good enough to read the plays and grind the puck away. Larsson, not so much. He gets caught in no mans land every so often.

If they manage to get to the playoffs, I think Kovy's injury has a definite silver lining, and that is that the team can find its identity without him. So shoot me, but I like their pp better without him right now. D-men at the point, healthy passing that keeps the other team guessing (not only to Kovy). Tallinder's only onetimer was on net and produced a goal, as opposed to Kovy's thirty onetimers going wide and rimming the boards down to our own zone.

This team is just about where we should expect them to be.

 

[Rob Nieds work ethic]

I think this team can do damage in the playoffs, because anything can happen in the playoffs, we just have to get there. It's just that I'm losing confidence in their ability to actually get there.

 

[glenwo2]

devils fans need to stop comparing every devils team to those of the late 1990;s and early 2000's...do you people realize who we had on the blueline?? let me tell you

stevens/rafalski
neidermayer/danyko/
white/( in his prime)

oh and a guy named broduer who was in his twenties and early 30's.

you can't say its that they have forgotten their system... when your #1 goes from neidermayer or stevens to andy greene( no knock on greene) you may not want to expect the same results

Captain, did you forget what Jacques did in his last(and final, I think) stint as a Devils Coach? If it weren't for the deep hole that Mr. Ya-know placed them in, the Devils would've come back to make the playoffs and troll the league.

Oh....and we didn't have Rafalski, Nieds, and Stevens then either....

So don't talk about Lemaire as if it was the 90's or early 2000's....He was here RECENTLY and did a marvelous job to salvage what was left of the devastation caused by Hurricane Maclean.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

Blowing late leads is not an epidemic I'm too worried about. A lot of it is bad luck, although the Devils didn't play very well tonight in general, so they probably deserved it.

 

[CerebralGenesis]

I grow less confident in reaching the playoffs every time we take the ice. Luckily I get more confident every time I watch the other teams in the conference play.

 

[Devils Trap]

I grow less confident in reaching the playoffs every time we take the ice. Luckily I get more confident every time I watch the other teams in the conference play.

Funny thing is our chances of making the playoffs actually went up 2% in these last 2 games

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Blowing late leads is not an epidemic I'm too worried about. A lot of it is bad luck, although the Devils didn't play very well tonight in general, so they probably deserved it.

So shootouts are luck, shooting percentage is luck, blowing leads is luck...everything is luck to you. Getting pinned in your zone for the last few mins of a game isn't luck it's poor play. They can't just sit back and let that happen.

 

[Bleedred]

It's not Pete's fault Lou goes to Woolworth's to replace Parise and the rest of the 50+ goals that walked out the door this offseason, or that he couldn't/wouldn't address the eight-D logjam. Not to mention breaking in a mostly new staff during a shortened season. For whatever issues I have had with Pete this year, if he gets canned in the near future I'd honestly be madder at Lou than I was when Larry got canned after two Finals runs. Or Julien before he even GOT a playoff run.

Yup this is on Lou and hucksterbeek more than Pete. Of course clarkson and Poni have been no shows for awhile too especially 23. One thing of many that boggles my mind is Lou wouldn't take back sykora but invited a guy just as old and way more washed up to camp. People can say darche was for a different role but we needed the role sykora brought more than a pk third or fourth line turd. We need a guy who plays a darche role as much as we needed all these defensemen. If sykora didn't work out this time then worst case scenario is we have another turd making peanuts.

 

[DatBoyJPP]

So shootouts are luck, shooting percentage is luck, blowing leads is luck...everything is luck to you. Getting pinned in your zone for the last few mins of a game isn't luck it's poor play. They can't just sit back and let that happen.

Never argue with stat guys. Can't win

 

[BrodeursCups]

I'm still excited to go to the game tomorrow night. Maybe I'm just a sucker for punishment. Lol

But a win would be huge and create some separation...

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

So shootouts are luck, shooting percentage is luck, blowing leads is luck...everything is luck to you. Getting pinned in your zone for the last few mins of a game isn't luck it's poor play. They can't just sit back and let that happen.

Yes, hockey is a lot of luck. That's a fact. You can choose to accept it or not. The Devils haven't been on the receiving end of many breaks the last 15-20 games.

As I said, the Devils didn't play very well in general last night, so they probably deserved the loss.

 

[Rhodes 81]

devils fans need to stop comparing every devils team to those of the late 1990;s and early 2000's...do you people realize who we had on the blueline?? let me tell you

stevens/rafalski
neidermayer/danyko/
white/( in his prime)

oh and a guy named broduer who was in his twenties and early 30's.

you can't say its that they have forgotten their system... when your #1 goes from neidermayer or stevens to andy greene( no knock on greene) you may not want to expect the same results

thank you

not to mention it's a completely different league now.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

thank you

not to mention it's a completely different league now.

The Devils have some of the most spoiled fans in sports.

The hissy fits that are thrown when this team goes on a losing streak are ridiculous.

The Devils are the 2nd best team at preventing shots in the NHL. How can anyone bash our defense with a straight face?

 

[NBC Hockey]

Still time to gel. As frustrating as these losses have been to watch, these games are still always so close. If we were getting blown out game after game, maybe I would lose all faith in this team.

LGD

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

The Devils have some of the most spoiled fans in sports.

The hissy fits that are thrown when this team goes on a losing streak are ridiculous.

The Devils are the 2nd best team at preventing shots in the NHL. How can anyone bash our defense with a straight face?

While they don't give up many shots we have an unacceptable amount of breakdowns. Stamkos was left wide open literally over 5 times. And he didnt get a shot off twice I believe, so shots don't say everything. The d has been ok. The offense is clearly more of a problem though.