Post-Game Talk: Devils lose again... this time to Tampa Bay.

[Nick0930]

Soooo do you guyz like buyout Zajac this summer. I come in peace.

...I'm not gonna take a post like this seriously.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Holy panic batman!

No reason to think Zajac or Kovy need to be traded. Would a legit top line forward be a welcomed addition to this team right now? Yeah. Should we acquire this forward at the expense of another? No. Will a top line forward, top pairing D, or number 1 goalie turn this team around right now? No. The whole team is playing like garbage and a single trade is not going to change that. Pete has to get the guys playing with fire again to turn this thing around. Not ship someone off. That won't get them to play to their capability IMO.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

Salvador? We're back to him? Easy target I guess being the new Captain.

Add up all the blown 1 on 1 plays by the defense (don't count the 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 breaks because those are a team gaff, not the last guy back's fault) and now go back and add up all the shots wide in a scoring opportunity or shot put right into the goalie who was half out of position.

Scoring is the Baskin Robbins problem of the month (when goaltending is not).

Last 6 games;
Zajac 1g, 1a, -7
Elias 1g, 1a, -6
Henrique 2g, 0a, -4
Kovalchuk 1g, 2a, -7
Clarkson 0g, 1a, -6

Totals 5g, 5a, -30
Goals against: 25

Even with only allowing 2 goals against per game, we only win 1 of them.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

Holy panic batman!

No reason to think Zajac or Kovy need to be traded. Would a legit top line forward be a welcomed addition to this team right now? Yeah. Should we acquire this forward at the expense of another? No. Will a top line forward, top pairing D, or number 1 goalie turn this team around right now? No. The whole team is playing like garbage and a single trade is not going to change that. Pete has to get the guys playing with fire again to turn this thing around. Not ship someone off. That won't get them to play to their capability IMO.

I fully agree, but it's the hardest thing to do when you're being bounced from line to line. We need to find some chemistry between our forwards and fast cause it's looking like bingo ball night all over again and that's never a good thing when your team is in a slump.

We also need to get some type of consistency from our netminder cause Moose is just deflating everyone by letting one or two stinkers a game.

 

[glenwo2]

...I'm not gonna take a post like this seriously.

Somehow I don't think he put down that post as something to be taken seriously in the first place.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Salvador? We're back to him? Easy target I guess being the new Captain.

Add up all the blown 1 on 1 plays by the defense (don't count the 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 breaks because those are a team gaff, not the last guy back's fault) and now go back and add up all the shots wide in a scoring opportunity or shot put right into the goalie who was half out of position.

Scoring is the Baskin Robbins problem of the month (when goaltending is not).

Last 6 games;
Zajac 1g, 1a, -7
Elias 1g, 1a, -6
Henrique 2g, 0a, -4
Kovalchuk 1g, 2a, -7
Clarkson 0g, 1a, -6

Totals 5g, 5a, -30
Goals against: 25

Even with only allowing 2 goals against per game, we only win 1 of them.

Sal is the whipping boy because he makes 3 million for 3 years, which is CLEARLY the root of our scoring issues. Shouldn't you know better RG?

 

[MartyOwns]

I fully agree, but it's the hardest thing to do when you're being bounced from line to line. We need to find some chemistry between our forwards and fast cause it's looking like bingo ball night all over again and that's never a good thing when your team is in a slump.

We also need to get some type of consistency from our netminder cause Moose is just deflating everyone by letting one or two stinkers a game.

how can you finally understand the chemistry problem, yet still be so opposed to trying kovy on the left? why is that the one thing nobody will touch with a 10 foot pole?

I had a loooonng back and forth with TG on this through twitter a few weeks back during our ‘sunshine and rainbows’ time period, where he defended kovy on the RW to the bitter end…and yesterday, he finally relented and said it was worth a try to put him on the left. i figure if i can make a believe out of him...

 

[NJDevs26]

They're still short a top six winger anyway, whether Kovy is on the right or left. And that has nothing to do with 'others' not producing. Or Kovy being overplayed for that matter.

He shouldn't line up on the right side on the power play 'ever', but he scored 100 points last year as a RW. That isn't the reason he's not producing.

 

[RandoDoomer]

how can you finally understand the chemistry problem, yet still be so opposed to trying kovy on the left? why is that the one thing nobody will touch with a 10 foot pole?

I don't see any downside to trying him at LW. I mean, he can't score less than the zero goals he's scoring now, and who knows maybe it'll click.

I still suspect he's having lingering back problems, too.

 

[MartyOwns]

I still suspect he's having lingering back problems, too.

could be part of it. I also heard his hands are going numb, due to either back problems or multiple ‘stranger’ sessions on the couch

 

[MartyOwns]

he scored 100 points last year as a RW. That isn't the reason he's not producing.

Automatic Message One One Zero Four Zero

Hello. This is an automated message. Key word: "points". Kovalchuk was on a line with Zajac and Parise last year.

Automatic Message One One Zero Four Zero

beep

*disconnect*

 

[NJDevs26]

Zajac's struggling without Zach too, can't exactly bring him back. Besides, last year people complained about having Kovy and Zach on the same line. Now it's the cause of his issues at RW?

And 'points' are somehow a bad thing? Kovy had 37 goals in the regular season, another 8-9 in the playoffs. That's not too shabby.

 

[MartyOwns]

Zajac's struggling without Zach too, can't exactly bring him back. Besides, last year people complained about having Kovy and Zach on the same line. Now it's the cause of his issues at RW?

And 'points' are somehow a bad thing? Kovy had 37 goals in the regular season, another 8-9 in the playoffs. That's not too shabby.

people complained? who the hell would complain about that? parise, kovy, and elias were all bonafide LWs. put two on a line, ok. kovy was a real sport about it. but now parise’s gone- whats the excuse?

points aren’t bad at all, but youre bound to get more when youre on a line with 2 people who click so well, and you happen to be one of the best offensive players in the game. parise leaving hurt zajac, and in turn is now hurting kovalchuk. maybe then let zajac carry in and feed kovy for his one timer more often? you start doing that, he’ll get more goals. people start paying more attention to kovy at that point, which frees up that line’s RW (henrique? clarkson?) who is there to clean up the garbage. and it trickles downward.

 

[Chessarmy]

Kovy at RW is the most mind-boggling decision and DeBoer is being so stubborn about it. The guy is a natural LW, let him play there and admit your little RW experiment isn't working. Kovy has never looked more useless than he has over the past couple games, and that's saying something. He doesn't skate well, he's back to being a turnover machine, and his goal scoring has gone out the window. Instead of doing NOTHING, put the guy back on the left side where he is more comfortable and see what happens.

I watched the Devils/Maple Leafs game from a few years ago when Kovy was first acquired. It was sad to see how much quicker he was back then, and it was only a few years ago. I don't know what happened to his speed and tenacity, but its long gone

 

[Volodya Krutov]

He's kinda slumping and If he wasn't so unlucky this season Kovalchuk'd be around 23 or 24 pts by now already. He hit posts, his shooting % is unsustainably low and his linemates couldn't bury a lot of glorious chances his playmaking skills developed. Is 19 pts in 23 that bad for someone who's been slumping AND unlucky ? No.

We've a lot of problems here but Kovalchuk's definitely the least of my concern and putting him back to his all by myself sniping highlight LW wouldn't solve any f'ing thing. He's not the skater he used to be anyway. Guy's perfectly fitting on the RW now. It's time to accept that.

 

[CerebralGenesis]

I could make an argument that Kovalchuk on the RW is the biggest problem as he is the star player on our forward corps and is being used incorrectly. It isn't that he will go by himself because that is a mindset that he seems to be out of anyway. The issue with his skating is that Pete is playing him 26 minutes a night.

Watch the first period last game where he wanted to rip the puck but had to reload since he is a righty giving Lindback time to set up and take away the net. Not saying I disagree but there are many areas of the game where Kovy has had to defer a play or wait because he is facing the wrong way or has the wrong stick hand. This includes his own end.

 

[NJDevs26]

Kovy playing FOUR extra minutes a game compared to last year, having utter crap on the wing opposite him because Elias and Clarkson are elsewhere and lining him up on the right side on the PP (which Oates did 'not' do last year) all have a part to do with Kovy not producing.

 

[Chessarmy]

We've a lot of problems here but Kovalchuk's definitely the least of my concern and putting him back to his all by myself sniping highlight LW wouldn't solve any f'ing thing. He's not the skater he used to be anyway. Guy's perfectly fitting on the RW now. It's time to accept that.

Kovalchuk is a sniper, its time we all realized this. Putting him on LW is not going to suddenly neuter his ability to back check.

DeBoer ruined Kovy by playing him 40 minutes a night, its the only explanation I can come up with for his severe decline in speed.

 

[CerebralGenesis]

Ya i still wish we could get another top LW guy. Maybe this offseason, or draft the way the team is trending.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

Kovalchuk is a sniper, its time we all realized this. Putting him on LW is not going to suddenly neuter his ability to back check.

DeBoer ruined Kovy by playing him 40 minutes a night, its the only explanation I can come up with for his severe decline in speed.

Yes it makes 3 years now that he's a sniper who's going to look for the pass unless his teammates throw their stick away to force him to take that shot.


OTOH I'm as pi**ed as anyone to see Kovalchuk being double shifted on the 4th line just to see him getting another -1.

 

[MartyOwns]

all by myself sniping highlight LW

this is my favorite argument as to why he shouldn’t be on the LW. I’ve been told for over a month now that ‘we are a team, dammit! there’s no I in team! I don’t care if kovy scores 3 goals all year, as long as we’re winning, that’s what matters!’

here’s the problem with that- nobody is advocating putting kovy on LW to turn him into Atlanta, ‘forget-about-defense’ kovy, scoring goals and getting a minus-89 for the year. nobody wants that. what we DO want is more creativity offensively, and for our best players to start putting the puck in the net.

and by the way-we aint winning anymore. anyone could’ve seen that coming- we got all the bounces, great goaltending, and clarky played out of his mind. fast forward to now- we are 2 points from being out of the playoff picture, people are getting moved up and down (loki on the first? zajac on the THIRD??!?) people are getting inexplicably scratched, and some people, deboer especially, seems unwilling to do the only move left remaining that makes sense. I just don’t get it.

btw, since I did convince TG I asked him to please ask the question to deboer…so we’ll see. maybe he will. if nothing else, I just want to hear his answer on it.

 

[apice3*]

I really don't see how Kovy on the LW is going to be that big of a difference, but I'm down for anything at this point.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

how can you finally understand the chemistry problem, yet still be so opposed to trying kovy on the left? why is that the one thing nobody will touch with a 10 foot pole?

I had a loooonng back and forth with TG on this through twitter a few weeks back during our ‘sunshine and rainbows’ time period, where he defended kovy on the RW to the bitter end…and yesterday, he finally relented and said it was worth a try to put him on the left. i figure if i can make a believe out of him...

Now that we've hit rock bottom, I wouldn't mind seeing Kovy on the left side... at all. Can't be any worse then the crap we're seeing ATM.

Another thing I'd like to see is his icetime reduced by like 5 minutes.

 

[MartyOwns]

I wouldn't mind seeing Kovy on the left side

 

[CerebralGenesis]

We won't need to worry cause we'll have Drouin on the left side soon.