Post-Game Talk: Devils 3, Pens 0L Thanks IcedCapp

[Dipsy Doodle]

Our PP has no triggerman. We've been missing one ever since Neal left.

E'eybody wanna pass.

 

[Al Smith]

Schultz does not seem to be afraid to shoot on the PP, and, like Malkin, he has a shot that goalies have difficulty controlling.

It seems that Schultz and Letang on the number 1 unit was a dud; would be interesting to see just Schultz without Letang on the number 1 unit, but that has 0 chance of happening.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Crazy hypotheticals being thrown around in this thread like facts.

That's like saying, Simon would have scored 9 goals in this game, so it's Hagelin's fault he was sent down and we lost. You can't disprove a negative after all.

 

[Greeneye]

No matter who is playing, who is behind t he bench, or who is in the front office - watching games against New Jersey is awful.

The Players change, the coaches change, the gm changes and the Devils are still the most boring team to watch.

 

[Shady Machine]

Our PP has no triggerman. We've been missing one ever since Neal left.

E'eybody wanna pass.

Geno is the triggerman. Was he traded when Neal left?

 

[ColePens]

I actually liked our powerplay when it was Daley/Schultz at the top, Crosby stayed out at the end of the extended PP1 shift. Those 2 up top were looking to shoot more. Put Hornqvist in the front of the net and we need a swing guy who will fight for the puck w/ speed. I'm cool if it's Hags. Good speed could help us back on defense, too.

Even weirder, and I would never actually do this as a coach, but I would let Letang be up top the umbrella and Schultz/Daley flanking for one-timers while Sid/Horny are down low. Daley/Schultz look like the only two guys who don't care about passing and Schultz jumps in down low all the time anyway. It'd be the weirdest set up, but somehow I think it would work. Typically I'm against when fans think it's easy for defenders to play an offensive role, because it isn't, but Daley/Schultz are just different breeds. They have that knack.

But it's a huge issue right now. If we were on fire w/ the powerplay, i'd feel good about a playoff run. We will not win a series if our powerplay isn't at least semi-clicking.

 

[ColePens]

And I found it a tad strange that for alllllll the crappy games Kunitz had played, he was demoted in the 2nd/3rd period after the previous good four periods he played. I'm not saying the demotion wasn't needed, but for the first time in a long time, I couldn't blame in for 4 straight periods and then he was moved. It was weird.

I think Hags/Sid together is a damn good thing. Their speed is great, but Sid has to stop deferring. Hags is not a trigger guy.

 

[Deport Ogie]

One thing Malkin will do, and Kessel used to do in previous years, was keep the PKers honest by taking available ice and driving aggressively from the half-wall if there was space. The current PP configuration doesn't really have that guy. There is obviously nothing negative to say about Sid's game lately but he doesn't really do that from the half-wall.

 

[DesertPenguin]

Pens P/O chances still at 96.8%. However, chance of home ice in the first round down to 14% and chance of staying in the top 3 in the conference down to 48%. Thats where this one hurts.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

The PP stinks, but they just didn't have it this game. The only particularly annoying things to me were the almost total lack of quality shots, at least the ones that hit the net, and those few minutes when we were pressing towards the end. We were supposedly opening it up at the expense of odd man breaks for the Devils, but they kept getting chances while we couldn't gain the blue line. So basically we would've been better off not pressing....

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Geno is the triggerman. Was he traded when Neal left?

Geno is not the triggerman Neal is. We slipped from 1st to 9th on the PP the year he left.

Whatever anybody else people might say about Neal, he was an exceptional weapon on the PP. And so far irreplaceable.

 

[Shady Machine]

Geno is not the triggerman Neal is. We slipped from 1st to 9th on the PP the year he left.

Whatever anybody else people might say about Neal, he was an exceptional weapon on the PP. And so far irreplaceable.

Even if I agree to that, what are you proposing? The PP is more than adequate with Geno in the lineup and Hornqvist has been a great player here.

 

[SEALBound]

Geno is not the triggerman Neal is. We slipped from 1st to 9th on the PP the year he left.

Whatever anybody else people might say about Neal, he was an exceptional weapon on the PP. And so far irreplaceable.

Geno used to the be the best triggerman in the league...well second behind Ovechkin. He was money at the point or on the half wall. What made Neal so good was that you were forced to respect both shooters. After Malkin's shoulder injury he was slightly less effective which gave the rise to Nealer.

That being said, Hornqvist adds an element to our overall team game that I feel is more important than what Neal brought.

 

[Shady Machine]

Geno used to the be the best triggerman in the league...well second behind Ovechkin. He was money at the point or on the half wall. What made Neal so good was that you were forced to respect both shooters. After Malkin's shoulder injury he was slightly less effective which gave the rise to Nealer.

That being said, Hornqvist adds an element to our overall team game that I feel is more important than what Neal brought.

Yup and I think Geno has been better this year as a triggerman. They just need to set him up for it. When Neal was triggerman, it was often Geno putting the puck in his wheel house. With Neal gone, you have Letang feeding Malkin pucks. He's gotten better but not on Geno or, of course, Gonch's level at it.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Maatta is out week to week, that's not good. I didn't even notice he got hurt.

 

[Malkinstheman]

Great now lovejoy will leapfrog over Poo and get into the line-up

 

[HandshakeLine]

Maatta is out week to week, that's not good. I didn't even notice he got hurt.

I didn't see the game, did he get injured during the game, or might it be some lingering issues with his medication that they're trying to sort out?

 

[deakka]

The PP sucks and we just so happens to have a natural PP QB who we picked 8 overall. Sitting in the press box. But ofc we put suckjoy right in there instead.... its not like Dumo isnt able to cover for Pouliot (i dont even know if Lovejoy is better defensively)

 

[Waffle Fries]

Maatta is out week to week, that's not good. I didn't even notice he got hurt.

Granted I wasn't paying too close attention to the game, but I didn't notice either. Does anyone have an idea of when it happened?

 

[HandshakeLine]

Maatta has looked like something was up the last few games I saw, if it's not medication, I wonder if it's a nagging injury and they're going to sit him for a week or two to see if it'll get better for the playoffs?

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

Day to day, week to week, month to month, we just say whatever we want now. Honestly at this point I wouldn't mind if they just labeled guys "Injured" with literally no other information.

 

[GarrettC]

Maatta hasn't been skating well all season. If this injury causes him to get any slower that contract may not look as great as we once thought.

 

[DesertPenguin]

Shoot, that stinks. What do you even do with the D pairs now? I'd hate to break everyone up 2 weeks before the playoffs.

LD: Dumoulin, Pouliot
RD: Letang, Schultz, Lovejoy
Either: Daley, Cole

If this were day one of the season I'd probably go:

Dumoulin - Letang
Daley - Schultz
Cole - Lovejoy

or

Dumoulin - Letang
Pouliot - Daley
Cole - Schultz
Lovejoy

But, do we really want to break up Dumoulin - Daley? Also, is Dumo still banged up? Would more minutes be a good idea? Maybe we roll 7D for a while and mix/match.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Great. Steigy or Errey said he was labouring to the bench at some point, but I thought it was the usual dramatic ****.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Even if I agree to that, what are you proposing? The PP is more than adequate with Geno in the lineup and Hornqvist has been a great player here.

This doesn't really apply to Hornqvist, because like you say, he's a great fit here. But if Kessel can't make himself a great fit here, I think he takes up a lot of cap space for not being "the answer" at ES or on the PP.

Not a commentary on his play last game or anything, just a general observation.