GDT: Canadiens @ Devils 7pm EST MSGSN, ESPN+

[Call Me Al]

Ruff is confused because pre-Twitter, there's no way you would get questions every day about the Devils' maybe 8th or 9th best forward when healthy.

this is surprisingly disingenuous. he’s a 7th overall pick where his mishandling last year was a big topic of discussion and acknowledge as such by the gm.

then he worked the offseason, he improved his game, he started to break out and find chemistry with mcleod, then found himself demoted after injuries to our top guys should have had the opposite result.

and now in a game where he scored a huge game tying goal and the team is struggling to score 5v5, where this player has actually done really well, he barely sees the ice as punishment for something that any other player would not be held accountable to the same standard.

 

[mdj12784]

Something must’ve happened. It’s truly bizarre. I hope something eventually comes out, to makes sense of it…

 

[Triumph]

this is surprisingly disingenuous. he’s a 7th overall pick where his mishandling last year was a big topic of discussion and acknowledge as such by the gm.

Again, pre-Internet, this is not a thing that would have happened. Maybe Fitz would've acknowledged what happened with Holtz, but that would've been it. There's not a forum for thoughts about a sports team to gather and coalesce before that. Before that, it's just left to the local beat writers to come up with whatever the narrative is about the team.

then he worked the offseason, he improved his game, he started to break out and find chemistry with mcleod, then found himself demoted after injuries to our top guys should have had the opposite result.

Crucially, no RWs have been injured, which is his position. That's why he hasn't moved up. The Devils have several forward injuries but they are all at LW or C. The trouble with Holtz is that while he has scored a lot, he is not a play driver.

and now in a game where he scored a huge game tying goal and the team is struggling to score 5v5, where this player has actually done really well, he barely sees the ice as punishment for something that any other player would not be held accountable to the same standard.

I do not think he was being punished and do not think it would be looked at as such if Novo hadn't asked the question.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Again, pre-Internet, this is not a thing that would have happened. Maybe Fitz would've acknowledged what happened with Holtz, but that would've been it. There's not a forum for thoughts about a sports team to gather and coalesce before that. Before that, it's just left to the local beat writers to come up with whatever the narrative is about the team.



Crucially, no RWs have been injured, which is his position. That's why he hasn't moved up. The Devils have several forward injuries but they are all at LW or C. The trouble with Holtz is that while he has scored a lot, he is not a play driver.



I do not think he was being punished and do not think it would be looked at as such if Novo hadn't asked the question.

Novo only said what a huge portion of Devils fans were thinking and wanted him to ask about. It was already being looked at like a punishment.

 

[My3Sons]

Another loss as a result of weak defense not the goalie.

Maybe a bit of both?

 

[TrufleShufle]

Maybe a bit of both?

 

[MartyOwns]

 

[forceten]

I don't think Ruff's answer was as truculent as the abbreviated reporting of it has made it out to be. Sure, the beginning was snarky and unnecessary, but Ruff has to be as frustrated as we are with the team slipping away again. [edit: FWIW: I agree that we should not be throwing pucks to middle of ice]

Holtz did make a bad pass there. Bahl was his intended recipient but the backcheck on Bahl was good and Bahl is not super strong for his size, so he did not get the puck, so it was a glorious turnover. Holtz needs to see that Bahl is being molested and make a different pass. Keep the puck and skate up, and be willing to take a hit and a board battle, or chip it up and out of the zone. That's a safer turnover.

That said, talk to him. And don't sit him every time he makes a mistake, because you'll end up having a player anxiety ridden about making mistakes. His production is pretty good for his ice time - 0.5 ppg for 8 minutes is excellent in this league.

There are plenty of Devils who turn the puck over. We have gaffes all the time that end up in the middle or a good rush. Nemec last night had a drop pass that led to a rush into our zone. Hughes we've talked about (both of them).

There are plenty of Devils who are struggling in general. Marino and Siegenthaler this year. I get that D is harder to deal with. Meier was on for the first two goals against if I'm not mistaken. I'm not thinking Meier should have been benched.

The team went to 3 lines after the tie too, if Holtz didn't play much, and that seemed to gas them. Not recognizing that is an issue.

My point I guess is that there's plenty of targets to shake fingers at, Holtz being held to a standard different from everyone else seems unfair.

 

[njdevils1982]

second shortest game of the season

 

[glenwo2]

i had hoped bratt and nico would step up in hughes’ absence, considering those two are about 1/5th of our cap. bratt is making $10m this season, and he should have left his mark all over a game versus the skidding habs.

even most of our wins aren’t all that impressive to me. i’m all on board for a coaching change, but like bleed said i don’t want green running the ship. at the same time, i’m starting to wonder if we were successful in spite of ruff last year, not because of him. all that said, i’m still hopeful that hughes’ return will be enough to string together some dubs.

Well...it's not for a lack of trying but you're correct.

Pretty disappointing.

 

[NjDevsRR]

second shortest game of the season


View attachment 805894

Interesting that the Ranger game attendance is listed over the capacity