Devils 2018-19 team discussion (news and notes) - part IX

[StvBroDan]

Next Discussion Thread after other is full.

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[NJDevs26]

Bump, now open

 

[NjDevsRR]

Continuing conversation from last thread:

Ward ran a top 10 PP last year and it was consistent. I always never understood the hate he and the PP got last season. Would kill to have that back. He got the best out of Hall on the PP by having him play the left side. Hall on the right side on this years PP has been abhorrent and the over reliance on Kyles one timer from the left side just doesn’t work.

I think it started out hot, but only for the first couple weeks. It’s been really bad since late October probably. I was surprised to see it was 18th in the league and not 23rd or worse.

I think that was due to Palms shooting at a high percentage to start the year. That came crashing back down to Earth which was expected. The structure has just been a joke. I pay to watch hockey and I know that the only time Hall was good on the PP in his career is when he works from the left dot. These boobs get PAID a ton of money to run a PP with their best player on the side where he has a demomstrated history of struggling. Soooo infuriating...​

 

[Call Me Al]

hall hasn't really been playing the right side though, they've more or less kept the formation from last year except for switching it up a little bit in the past few games. they rotate during the pp sometimes but it's funny how a few games ago Hynes specifically mentioned that they can't enter the zones but haven't really changed anything up as far as zone entry either

 

[Bleedred]

Continuing conversation from last thread:

Ward ran a top 10 PP last year and it was consistent. I always never understood the hate he and the PP got last season. Would kill to have that back. He got the best out of Hall on the PP by having him play the left side. Hall on the right side on this years PP has been abhorrent and the over reliance on Kyles one timer from the left side just doesn’t work.




I think that was due to Palms shooting at a high percentage to start the year. That came crashing back down to Earth which was expected. The structure has just been a joke. I pay to watch hockey and I know that the only time Hall was good on the PP in his career is when he works from the left dot. These boobs get PAID a ton of money to run a PP with their best player on the side where he has a demomstrated history of struggling. Soooo infuriating.​

​

Yeah, I was gonna say, it was hot to start because of Palmieri’s hot start.

I think Kowalsky is the worst assistant since Foligno and the worst PP coach since Johnny Mac. Matt Shaw was bad, but we hadn’t been good on the PP in years anyway when he was here.

 

[Call Me Al]

and as far as the conversation in the old thread - I'm glad that the devils aren't that far out of it after all of this, but there isn't really any indication that this team is capable of rattling off a huge winning streak. they really haven't been good. if they win tonight is it really worth getting hopes up? they are playing the other worst team in the league and then have another incredibly tough run of games ahead.

the advanced stats might say that this team is playing well, but when you look at the defensive breakdowns and types of chances that they let up, the blown late leads, ineptness in overtime and sloppy goaltending then it will take a complete turn for this team to be competitive. not just eking out wins but actually shoring up the huge deficiencies in their game consistently

 

[Patrik26]

and as far as the conversation in the old thread - I'm glad that the devils aren't that far out of it after all of this, but there isn't really any indication that this team is capable of rattling off a huge winning streak. they really haven't been good. if they win tonight is it really worth getting hopes up? they are playing the other worst team in the league and then have another incredibly tough run of games ahead.

the advanced stats might say that this team is playing well, but when you look at the defensive breakdowns and types of chances that they let up, the blown late leads, ineptness in overtime and sloppy goaltending then it will take a complete turn for this team to be competitive. not just eking out wins but actually shoring up the huge deficiencies in their game consistently

Other than those points, what's not to like about their play?

 

[Call Me Al]

on paper it says that the number of high danger chances they let up and get themselves is really not that bad!

 

[Call Me Al]

basically if you don't watch them play but digest it through a stat sheet there's a lot to like

 

[OmNomNom]

RE: McLeod and his sending down, since it was an issue we discussed

Why Michael McLeod went back to AHL after 1 game with Devils

TL;DR - mcleod said himself he needs to be on another level, and is reportedly self motivated

good job by Chris Ryan

 

[mtnet]

McLeod reportedly had more to say but they limited his interview to only 5 minutes

 

[zharkenby]

RE: McLeod and his sending down, since it was an issue we discussed

Why Michael McLeod went back to AHL after 1 game with Devils

TL;DR - mcleod said himself he needs to be on another level, and is reportedly self motivated

good job by Chris Ryan

Yet another article that makes Hynes look like a f***ing idiot. I can’t take him seriously anymore, every time he speaks or I read one of his quotes it pisses me off

 

[OmNomNom]

Yet another article that makes Hynes look like a ****ing idiot. I can’t take him seriously anymore, every time he speaks or I read one of his quotes it pisses me off

it's prob only bc we suck (though he seems to have lost his effectiveness)

it's like when you take off the rose-tinted glasses and see your wife and are like "gee, how did i like her before"

 

[Call Me Al]

don't really find anything objectionable about that article and I'm not really a fan of hynes these days

 

[Alex NJD]

Ward's PP
1st unit seemed unstoppable early and late in the season. Dry stretch in late December - January - Early February
2nd unit was pretty invisible most of the year

 

[TrufleShufle]

it's prob only bc we suck (though he seems to have lost his effectiveness)

it's like when you take off the rose-tinted glasses and see your wife and are like "gee, how did i like her before"

Ok if there was ever evidence this team needs to start winning it's this, things are getting dark around here.

 

[zharkenby]

it's prob only bc we suck (though he seems to have lost his effectiveness)

it's like when you take off the rose-tinted glasses and see your wife and are like "gee, how did i like her before"

I like this analogy. But yeah Hynes has just gotten fully exposed this season. I think it’s really time to make a change, but that’s me

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

I find it hilarious that Hynes is getting most of the blame for our awful start.

Cory Schneider hasn't won a game in like 20+ starts, our roster isn't anything special and yet we're expecting Hynes to turn this team into legit contenders 2 years after selecting 1st overall?

We can sign Joel Quenneville and the results wouldn't be any better.

 

[Call Me Al]

there's a difference between being legit contenders and taking steps forward. the idea that the team should be expected to take steps backwards is silly.

hynes can't create talent out of nothing but he can create systems, he can make sure fundamentals are sound (like stringing together more than 1-2 passes on a breakout), the team is prepared to play every night, they don't have collective mental gaps that result in flurries of goals against in short time or give up games late, i dont think i need to go on.

they preach about being "hard to play against" but this team is one of the softest i've ever seen for a devils squad. if they just played like they did last year (even without hall being MVP caliber since I know that is an inevitable response, nevermind his ppg+ pace) they would be near the top of the division.

 

[Call Me Al]

i mean the rangers and islanders are below us talent wise but their coach has them prepared to play hard every night and they are above us in the standings. let's not act like coaching has no impact on a team's performance

 

[mtnet]

No one expected us to be a contender this year, but there's plenty of space to be occupied between legit contender and the basement. We took a free fall through all of that space rather quickly and we're not seeing much out on the ice to suggest we're pulling out of the bottom 5 anytime soon.

Our power play has been completely ineffective and our defense is prone to utter stupidity. It's unconscionable to see the sheer number of power plays squandered, including a 5 minute major and I'm pretty sure a 5 on 3 somewhere in the mix too. Young kid takes a questionable hit and where was the alleged brotherhood they were preaching during preseason? Where's the urgency to get to the net? Why are they so unprepared to play so often?

I'm not sure they've completely tuned out the staff but the buy-in has certainly faded to some degree. They're getting embarrassed out there on a nightly basis. Even if one concedes we have a lackluster roster, an average roster with sound coaching should be able to stay out of the bottom 5 in the league.

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

We suck because Taylor Hall isn't playing like he's the second coming of Jesus Christ, Schneider blows, Greene is regressing each and every year, Wood isn't even playing close to what we saw from him last year and the same can be said about Butcher, Bratt was injured for a long period of time, Zacha was sent to Bingo because nothing was going his way offensively, etc, etc, etc...

When looking at the big picture, it still puzzles me that Hynes is getting all the heat for our crappy start to the season. Coaches are always the easy targets when they have little to no say in what happens on the ice.

I doubt he changed his system from last year to this year, so the heat IMO should be pointed at the players and not a guy in a suit standing on the bench.

 

[NJDevs26]

We suck because Taylor Hall isn't playing like he's the second coming of Jesus Christ, Schneider blows, Greene is regressing each and every year, Wood isn't even playing close to what we saw from him last year and the same can be said about Butcher, Bratt was injured for a long period of time, Zacha was sent to Bingo because nothing was going his way offensively, etc, etc, etc...

When looking at the big picture, it still puzzles me that Hynes is getting all the heat for our crappy start to the season.

Except when so many guys (and in particular younger players like Wood, Butcher and Zacha) are playing far below what they're expected to be and show no progress, that at least to a degree falls on the staff. When the effort level ebbs from game to game let alone period to period that's on the staff too. Having zero notion of a system is definitely staff-related.

I'd probably be more willing to give Hynes this as a hiccup year if they didn't have the bad year two seasons ago. Hynes has only been able to get the most out of the team every other year, when they have something to prove.

 

[Call Me Al]

hall has 27 points in 26 games! he's not our problem. schneider has started 5 games.

when all of these players are having issues, sometimes you have to question if a coach, whose job is to get the most out of his roster, is making the right decisions, pushing the right buttons and helping players reach the next level.

 

[AfroThunder396]

It's not fair to expect Hall to be playing at an MVP level every shift of every game for the rest of his career, that's just not reasonable.

I think he's been fine, not great, but fine. He has room for improvement. We're looking to him to be the leader of this team and to take the next step and he hasn't done that.