GDT: 1/25/18 vs. Nashville (Rage.)

[NJDevs26]

Just hypothetically speaking here, two more years of this and you have to question Shero. It shouldn't take 5 years to get a playoff berth, especially when at least two of those years (assuming we miss this year) we held a playoff spot at Thanksgiving time (don't 75%-78% of teams that are in a spot at Thanksgiving make the playoffs?) and as late as all star break in another season, where we also spent the entire season up until around the start of February in a playoff spot.

And a team like Vegas makes the playoffs in year one? Although I am skeptical that this is sustainable for them and they'll do this again next year. It does make some of the perennial loser teams (which we would undoubtedly be apart of now) look pretty bad.

Maybe Hynes is feeling the burn right now. This was the first time he went out of his way to critique the goalie play, without being asked about his goalie's performance on a particular game night. I don't think he's done that at all in almost 3 years. He's only said ''We need a save there'' after a particular game.

To be real for a second, I think it's gonna be the end of next year before Shero feels any heat at all. I think most 'experts' figured we'd be at best a bubble team this year, but if they can't make the playoffs by the end of next year then it's absolutely fair to start asking questions, especially since not making the playoffs by then will also get Hall antsy. The worst thing that happened to the other 30 teams is Vegas's success this year, their ability to win in year one is going to make every other front office antsy and expecting a quicker turnaround to be possible.

 

[glenwo2]

But he also adds nothing, he doesn't really have a ceiling. He's got little skill.

I'd rather have skilled guys up and I know there's not many, but JQ has a ceiling. Rooney doesn't.

Don't watch the games these days. Who is Rooney?

The only Rooney I know is an official.

 

[sabremike]

It is your team that put this hex on us in the first place.

I don't think Phil Housley is smart enough to put a hex on anyone. It would be like that Far Side cartoon where the Indians do the rain dance wrong and it's raining hand mixers instead.

 

[Bleedred]

To be real for a second, I think it's gonna be the end of next year before Shero feels any heat at all. I think most 'experts' figured we'd be at best a bubble team this year, but if they can't make the playoffs by the end of next year then it's absolutely fair to start asking questions, especially since not making the playoffs by then will also get Hall antsy. The worst thing that happened to the other 30 teams is Vegas's success this year, their ability to win in year one is going to make every other front office antsy and expecting a quicker turnaround to be possible.

Well I don't think he should be on the hot seat yet, but if we're still not in the playoffs next year, then you gotta start questioning him somehow.

I really think if Hynes is back after this year (assuming it's a playoff miss) you can't give Hynes more than one more year and one more try after this.

You just can't. And you really gotta think about canning an assistant (Ward) because that usually happens in a year preceding a head coach being on the hot seat. Didn't that happen with the Rangers this year for whoever they brought Ruff in for? It happened with one of the Hawks assistant's after last year.

 

[Killing Joke]

But he also adds nothing, he doesn't really have a ceiling. He's got little skill.

I'd rather have skilled guys up and I know there's not many, but JQ has a ceiling. Rooney doesn't. JQ has a better chance of projecting to be an NHL player, even Lappin does over Rooney, Pietila, and the other guys we've called up over the last several years. Most of whom are no longer around.

Rooney is pretty much like Coleman, but bigger. He seems like he's got a high motor, could be a solid bottom line grinder that could help with possession and maybe pot a few goals in like Coleman has. He's good on the PK, speaking of which, this this staff didn't even use him on it aside from just a measly 14 seconds haha.

So it really makes that call up over JQ a bigger head scratcher than it originally came across as. His strength you don't use, and they just added another body of the same type of player we already have enough of on the current roster. It was pretty much a team full of 3rd and 4th liners for the most part, with the majority of the offensive talent being rookies and second year players.

Though I doubt they would have utilized JQs shot on the PP. They don't utilize Zachas either.

Both guys have a track record (Juniors for Zacha, Juniors be AHL for JQ) of scoring on their off wing on the PP and being dangerous because of their power in their shot on one timers, so naturally Ward and Hynes will use them as a strong side winger / point men, which they're already doing with Zacha.

The 1-3-1 pp set up isn't working. It's horrendous, and it also plays a part in why things like that short hander against tonight, or past short handed 2-1s against , happen way too frequently.

One man is at the point, the d can sit on the pass and wait for it, then take off against one dman before anyone else can get back.

And when two of those guys trying to get back are Boyle and Zajac, well, usually they're not gonna get back in time.

And if the guy trying to thread the needle with a pass on that pp set up is Zajac, well, we saw what happened.

 

[Emperoreddy]

But he also adds nothing, he doesn't really have a ceiling. He's got little skill.

I'd rather have skilled guys up and I know there's not many, but JQ has a ceiling. Rooney doesn't. JQ has a better chance of projecting to be an NHL player, even Lappin does over Rooney, Pietila, and the other guys we've called up over the last several years. Most of whom are no longer around.

He isn't playing well. Why should they reward someone who isn't giving an honest effort?

 

[Emperoreddy]

You are out to lunch to start throwing blame at Shero with how much progress this team made.

Nonsense hypothetical talk

 

[Bleedred]

He isn't playing well. Why should they reward someone who isn't giving an honest effort?

Why isn’t he playing well? Sounds like another false narrative.

 

[Bleedred]

You are out to lunch to start throwing blame at Shero with how much progress this team made.

Nonsense hypothetical talk

And that’s basically all it is right now is hypothetical. I wasn’t the one who brought it up, but if we haven’t made the playoffs in 5 years (and we’re only at 3 with him now) that’s enough to question if the GM is doing a good job here.

This is just like the goalie stuff, where people here laugh at guys who aren’t as bad as Kinkaid, but when a goalie on our team is worse, he gets absolved of all blame. It’s the same thing with when Lundqvist had a poor start in 13-14, some of our fans laughed at him, said he was done, said the pad reduction was the end of his dominance, then defended Marty's play that season in the next sentence.

And it’s the same with GM’s, and I’ve seen a lot of it around here. I’ve seen you do it too, and I’ve also done it. We’ve made fun of GM’s from other teams that miss the playoffs 4-5 years in a row with that GM. So it’s only fair that we have a legitimate gripe when we go 4-5 years without the playoffs under a GM/coaching staff.

But you are right that it is purely hypothetical at this point. But next year is year four, and we should at least be making the playoffs by next year, if we don’t get in this year. If we don’t, I think it’s fair to at least throw criticism at Shero (not fire him, but give him criticism) and absolutely time to get rid of this staff if we don’t make the playoffs after 4 years and at least 2 of those years in a playoff spot at Thanksgiving and as late as all star break in another.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Why isn’t he playing well? Sounds like another false narrative.

This comes from Tao who watches Bingo, and Kowalksi publicly called JQ out for being inconsistent.

Two bad signs.

 

[Emperoreddy]

The two Flyer games are the worst. Coming off two good wins against the Isles and Caps just to lay two eggs?

There wasn’t really any outside issues there’s too. You need to get something out of those. Especially with the luck we have had.

 

[markog]

And before tuesday Buffalo is on a roll lmao.

 

[tjules25]

So my two cents. Tbh idt you can put this on hynes or Shero yet. So far Shero has brought us this far but there's only so many things that can be done. Three draft classes isn't enough to turn this franchise around yet. I'd say once next year is over then we should expect bigger things. Yes hynes has made some questionable decisions at certain points but noones perfect and he's still a young coach learning from his failures. There just has not been enough opportunity in free agency to aquire pieces that we need. Obviously depth is an issue and this team is in dire need of at least one more goal scorer/ play making forward(zajac just isn't cutting it anymore) and multiple pieces for defence. One more year than we can start raising concern.

 

[The 29th Pick]

I watched the game with the sound turned off last night just to "watch" the game, how come all our players fall down so much? Its not the ice, Nashville skaters looked fine

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

They haven’t been playing well, true. And they were never as good as their first half suggested either. Thing is, I have a real hard time trashing a team that is really banged up and has been tremendously f***ed over by this league for a month now. That’s not homer talk. We’ve all seen what’s been going on and it’s extremely disheartening. It’s gotten to a point where the players aren’t even being protected. Other teams are taking liberties with our players and it’s like whatever. Then throw in all the goal shenanigans. It’s brutal for us, just imagine being in that locker room. If they simply weren’t good enough, it would be disappointing but you could live with that. It’s a far different feeling when you can see that the team also isn’t being treated fairly.

 

[Devils731]

I watched the game with the sound turned off last night just to "watch" the game, how come all our players fall down so much? Its not the ice, Nashville skaters looked fine

I commented earlier in the year that it seems crazy but whomever sharpens the Devils skates may not be doing a great job. The Devils have been having their skates slide out from under them more than their opponent all year, imo.

 

[guitarguyvic]

They haven’t been playing well, true. And they were never as good as their first half suggested either. Thing is, I have a real hard time trashing a team that is really banged up and has been tremendously ****ed over by this league for a month now. That’s not homer talk. We’ve all seen what’s been going on and it’s extremely disheartening. It’s gotten to a point where the players aren’t even being protected. Other teams are taking liberties with our players and it’s like whatever. Then throw in all the goal shenanigans. It’s brutal for us, just imagine being in that locker room. If they simply weren’t good enough, it would be disappointing but you could live with that. It’s a far different feeling when you can see that the team also isn’t being treated fairly.

I agree with this completely. Only thing that makes me aggravated with the team itself is that they show no push back against it. Hynes just stands there blankly looking at the officials as they screw up over game in and game out. He says nothing. He does nothing. The players get their lunch money taken regularly and not one ounce of defiance comes from it. Somebody needs to step up and take a fine for the team or go out there and lay out a guy to at minimum let other teams knows that even if the stripes are gonna let them run rough shod the team will not stand for that shit.

I for one as a fan despise the NHL. But I don’t even know what I can do about it because I love my team and I generally I like the talent on the ice. It’s like loving a band but hating their record label. I’d hit them where it hurts their bottom line but then it’s like I’m punishing myself in the process. Really infuriating. What else can be done...a strongly worded letter to the commissioner? Lol

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

I agree with this completely. Only thing that makes me aggravated with the team itself is that they show no push back against it. Hynes just stands there blankly looking at the officials as they screw up over game in and game out. He says nothing. He does nothing. The players get their lunch money taken regularly and not one ounce of defiance comes from it. Somebody needs to step up and take a fine for the team or go out there and lay out a guy to at minimum let other teams knows that even if the stripes are gonna let them run rough shod the team will not stand for that ****.

I for one as a fan despise the NHL. But I don’t even know what I can do about it because I love my team and I generally I like the talent on the ice. It’s like loving a band but hating their record label. I’d hit them where it hurts their bottom line but then it’s like I’m punishing myself in the process. Really infuriating. What else can be done...a strongly worded letter to the commissioner? Lol

I'm also waiting for someone on the team to go absolutely ape shit but it's a tough situation because it will likely only make things worse. Hard to believe that it could get worse but it actually can so I see the hesitation there. Personally, I would have lost it a long time ago if I were the coach. I understand keeping your composure and being professional but at what point have you had enough? And I'm right there with you in despising the league. I'm turned off. Stopped going to games a long time ago and now it's getting to the point that I don't even want to invest the time to watch. I've been following the team for so long that it would be weird not to but that's literally the only thing keeping me involved, along with shooting the shit here with you guys. With the circus this league is (rules, officiating, standings, lockouts), I honestly don't understand how they attract any new fans. I skipped the game last night and it takes a lot for me to do that. Even with the depleted roster, I'd normally be excited for a couple of rookies to get their first games. But why bother? It's a really shitty product.

 

[NJDevils17]

The team outperformed expectations at the wrong time. This was always a rebuilding/transition year.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

ok man i’ve been on your side of this “we still have tje advantage” thing for a couple weeks now but seriously, speaking for myself, i have zero reason to believe they will win those three games in hand right now.

maybe they win one of them and take pittsburgh down to the wire in late march but now this is getting troubling.

I mean, all I did was state a 100% true fact. I never said that I expect them to go 0-3 or that I expect them to go 3-0 in those games in hand.

However, stating "TEAM X PASSED US!!!!" without giving the full context is not being truthful

 

[Burner Account]

Can no longer live off of the points banked earlier in the season. The rest of the metro woke up while we were sleeping.

That we can have this kind of tailspin and still be in a good position is a blessing.

 

[Billdo]

Can no longer live off of the points banked earlier in the season. The rest of the metro woke up while we were sleeping.

That we can have this kind of tailspin and still be in a good position is a blessing.

I’d rather the slump now than in March for sure.

 

[MartyOwns]

- lol at blaming shero
- lol at people justifying the decision to call up rooney
- lol that kinkaid is still getting trashed in GDT’s when he didn’t even dress for the game
- lol at flat earthers
- lol at travis zajac
- lol at pissing away a great start to the season
- lol at smothering my kids because we lost
- lol at hiring an attorney
- lol when the oilers win the draft lottery
- lol at managing expectations
- lol when we lose to the sabres
- lol when the trans-siberian orchestra comes to prudential center
- lol at concussions, thumb traumas, taffy groins, and the movie ‘deliverance’

lol lol lol lol lol

 

[tr83]

What bothers me is that there is zero creativity. We're back to the same old; throw the puck to the point and shoot. There is zero creativity on odd man rushes and it seems to have affected our rookies too.

Hynes would be gone at the end of the year if it wasn't for Hall

 

[Camille the Eel]

I actually felt we played a good game last night with what we had to ice as a lineup and should have had a better result. Good structure to our game until we got behind by two goals and I liked the changes in line combinations.

They are a superb team - they remind me of us, actually, in the Marty years - and if you get behind them, it's really tough. They are very comfortable playing you a scoreless game and waiting for a chance.

Another deflection goal against us, off our own stick, puts us down 2 - 0 in the third period and then you're done. But up until then, if we get a bounce or if Nico's shot goes in, instead of hitting the inside of the post . . .