GDT: Devils v.s. Wild: Blazing Saddles Edition

[Comparison Ford]

I'm actually pretty surprised we wound up winning this game, even if we were the better team.

Seems like even when we do play better we wind up losing these games 2-1 or 2-0.

I'm glad they pulled it out, but one thing I think they need to add is the toughness. Just adding a player like Santini or Gadzic to the lineup once in a while would be great.

I really want to see Santini in their but who comes out? Our right side is pretty set right now. The only person I can really see being scratched is Moore.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Great crowd last night, restless but definitely opened up once PAP's goal snuck in.

I was in 102 behind the goal, and like others, we had no idea that the puck even went in. I assumed it got stuck in Dubnyk's pads.

Though I thought the top line did look good, I really want Hall and Henrique together. Rico needs whatever it takes to get going and I think Hall can help him get to where he needs to be. When they started double shifting him in the 3rd and he got out there with Rico, they had a near chance almost right away. And yes I know 3-on-3 makes it easier, but that give and go was perfectly done and Rico did a nice job collecting the puck on the pass before dishing it over.

Just my thought there. Overall, thought that they competed well but puck play was not very crisp. Still, they battled in another tight game and came away with the win so I have no complaints.

Was great to see Scotty and Marty again, loved the acknowledgement they got during the game.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Splitting up the treacherous Moore-LJ pairing was wise by Hynes.

LJ should be scratched a game IMO for Santini.

Or send Steven to Albany already.

 

[John Pedro]

He got a ton of points on the PP from just that last year. He clearly have a very good one-timer from that spot. No reason not you use arguably your best PP weapon they way its supposed to be used.

I agree, but they barely gain the zone and immediately throws it to him without any puck movement or screen on the goalie. Really hard to score that way unless it's a perfect placed shot.

Won't hurt to move the puck low, wait for the best opportunity then set him or anyone else up.

I'd rather see Boucher get a real chance first before we bring up a kid who hasn't looked ready for the NHL since his first month. He's even been meh in the AHL. But as long as DSP is in the top nine and they're playing Bennett at 3LW I don't see room for Boucher or Blandisi.

I'd be okay with it, but Boucher is just another shooter. This team needs guys who can do good tape to tape passes, that's why Josefson gets PP time. The lack of capable passers is mindblowing. Most of the time they just throw the puck at skates.

 

[John Pedro]

Splitting up the treacherous Moore-LJ pairing was wise by Hynes.

LJ should be scratched a game IMO for Santini.

Or send Steven to Albany already.

Not a big LJ guy, but I though he made his best game as a Devil last night.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Great crowd last night, restless but definitely opened up once PAP's goal snuck in.

I was in 102 behind the goal, and like others, we had no idea that the puck even went in. I assumed it got stuck in Dubnyk's pads.

Though I thought the top line did look good, I really want Hall and Henrique together. Rico needs whatever it takes to get going and I think Hall can help him get to where he needs to be. When they started double shifting him in the 3rd and he got out there with Rico, they had a near chance almost right away. And yes I know 3-on-3 makes it easier, but that give and go was perfectly done and Rico did a nice job collecting the puck on the pass before dishing it over.

Just my thought there. Overall, thought that they competed well but puck play was not very crisp. Still, they battled in another tight game and came away with the win so I have no complaints.

Was great to see Scotty and Marty again, loved the acknowledgement they got during the game.

I would not split up Hall-Zacha-Palmieri. They looked great. Henrique had a lot of success with Cammy last year, they'll get it going.

Hall-Zacha-Palmieri
Cammy-Henrique-PAP
Boucher-Zajac-Bennett
Kalinin-Fiddler-DSP

Greene-Severson
Moore-Lovejoy
OV2-Santini

 

[Devils Dominion]

Not a big LJ guy, but I though he made his best game as a Devil last night.

He almost cost us a point late with an unwise pinch.

 

[tr83]

I'd be okay with it, but Boucher is just another shooter. This team needs guys who can do good tape to tape passes, that's why Josefson gets PP time. The lack of capable passers is mindblowing. Most of the time they just throw the puck at skates.

I agree that the passing on this team is abysmal.

But Boosh is not just another shooter. He's got the best wrist shot on the team and one of the best in the NHL. I just don't think he's fast enough for Hynes and Shero (though I kinda laugh at that since there are stretches in games where no one is moving their feet). It doesn't help that the poor passing doesn't allow him to feature that shot of his.

The problem with this team the last couple years is that no one would shoot

 

[Bear12Good]

How Kalinin play?

 

[MartyOwns]

for the 'it's never even crossed his mind' club...

"It's very frustrating and makes you almost second guess yourself when a goalie's playing like he did," left wing Taylor Hall said. "For the whole year, we're really struggling to score more than two goals, and it's hard not to have that in the back of your mind. But we stayed focus on the process and ended up squeaking out a win."

 

[Emperoreddy]

Everyone needs to understand Cory is a legit top 5 goalie in this league.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

for the 'it's never even crossed his mind' club...

Yup...Do people think these guys are robots? Hall's job is drive offensive play. When we're at bottom of the barrel offensively, that's gotta be incredibly frustrating.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Nothing in there about being unhappy in Jersey or any of the other trite being implied or out right spewed in the last thread

 

[Better Call Sal]

for the 'it's never even crossed his mind' club...

I believe the quote was that we were confirming his first impression of us being boring and sucking the offensive talent out of everyone.

You can look at it any way you choose, but as long as he's driving the play and looking at himself to be a solution and not be bummed about being a boring, old New Jersey Devil, then I am quite alright with that.

 

[SansaStark]

went to the game last night.

i have a strong feeling the crowds this year are going to be good.
there is a bit of buzz around the team right now even though they've had a mediocre start.

Hall - he is great player. I see why people want to criticize the occasional give-aways he makes. I think most of us understand thats him pressing trying to make a play. He is literally that skilled where other players often get caught in the wrong spot and can't include themselves in the heady play taylor is trying to make. Other times its him flying down the ice and trying to make a good pass.

#9 vs former #9? Umm i didn't see parise do much last night but he had couple nice chances, specially that one shot that cory robbed him on. I think i still take 24 year old Hall vs. 24 year old Parise.
I've been very impressed with hall, and i love his passion. I erupted more when i saw his reaction to the winning goal as opposed to when the goal was actually scored.

But i left the rink last night absolutely giddy about Zacha. Its a damn shame he is going to be criminally underrated cause the dirtbag flyers are stacking points and his forever comparison with konecney is going to make zacha look like a lesser player.

Zacha is the real deal folks. His game is fantastic. He battles the boards like a veteran, and his ability to make quick decisions and change angles with his stick and get a pass off is unbelievable. He knows how to get the inside leverage right off the bat when engaging in a board battle which is really hard to teach younger guys until their bodies mature. But Pavel is a grown man and he does so many things well its inevitable that he's going to be a good one. His offensive IQ is right on par with Taylor and probably outmatches everyone on this roster. His ability to settle the puck and get a shot off is impressive as well. I can't say enough about him. Where are all his detractors now? come out come out….

Beau - He is taking some heat but i saw two plays last night that stuck with me.
Defensively, he was able to fight off a guy on the boards behind the net and make a really slick play with his stick and nice outlet pass to get the puck out. It was Zajac-ish and i liked it. I see he has the stick handling skills to be successful. I know he didn't get any chemistry going but i can see some potential with him. Plus he is a bit bigger than realized after watching him live. And i saw him utilizing it on some streaks where he was able to maintain puck control.

Palms - He doesn't look as bad as everyone says. He is definitely pressing right now. but he still flys down the side of the ice and pushes hard to break a check. He got laid out last night, but he recovered and the hit looked worse than it was. he is still a little shaky with puck control but i still see a very skilled player with good wheels. i have faith he will start showing up on the scoreboard once the team starts scoring as whole more often. (even though he has some goals already - id like to see some better passes from him) Im getting tired of the force feeds to him on the PP. He is very inaccurate right now with those one timers. They should change it up and have him make a pass.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Nothing in there about being unhappy in Jersey or any of the other trite being implied or out right spewed in the last thread

I never said he wasn't happy in Jersey. Just that I'm sure he assumed we were a team with very little offense (every year announcers and analysts talk about our conservative defensive system and such regardless of our roster). Hall said as much in interviews by making reference to our "defensive system" after the trade. And our first few games didn't shake that perception is all I'm saying.

Not saying Hall is a cancer or however that was interpreted. Star players should be frustrated when their teams don't score. I'm glad he's frustrated, he plays with a fire in his belly.

edit: I will say the "beating the offense out of great players" or whatever was an exaggeration. But I stand by everything else I said.

 

[MartyOwns]

I never said he wasn't happy in Jersey. Just that I'm sure he assumed we were a team with very little offense (every year announcers and analysts talk about our conservative defensive system and such regardless of our roster). Hall said as much in interviews by making reference to our "defensive system" after the trade. And our first few games didn't shake that perception is all I'm saying.

Not saying Hall is a cancer or however that was interpreted. Star players should be frustrated when their teams don't score. I'm glad he's frustrated, he plays with a fire in his belly.

exactly. people strawman'd a downright reasonable thing you said, that's not your fault

 

[Lou is God]

I believe the quote was that we were confirming his first impression of us being boring and sucking the offensive talent out of everyone.

You can look at it any way you choose, but as long as he's driving the play and looking at himself to be a solution and not be bummed about being a boring, old New Jersey Devil, then I am quite alright with that.

Yeah, I don't get this obsession with Hall and his "frustration", he concerns me as much as the weather on Mars.

 

[Lou is God]

exactly. people strawman'd a downright reasonable thing you said, that's not your fault

What on earth is reasonable about what he said?? It's a non-issue, what's Hall going to do? Take his hockey stick and quit and go home?

 

[NJDevs26]

Yeah the hypothesis in the other thread made it out like Hall was unhappy being here and already was assuming we were an offensive black hole that was going to drag down his numbers which was a silly assumption after four games. And even if all that was true, he's signed for four years, what's he going to do - go to Canada and play in a semipro league?

Of course every hockey player goes through slumps and second-guesses themselves. That's normal. The other stuff is just fan projection. Hall hasn't watched this offense for the last four years, he's not going to be as negative as fans are. And unlike fans, Hall can actually DO something about the anemic offense. All great players feel they can be the catalyst to turn it around or they wouldn't be great players.

 

[Devils090]

Zacha is going to be amazing, kid is a stud

 

[Cheddabombs]

Woke up this morning still excited from Zacha's game last night. Him and Hall were fantastic. Keep them together.

 

[Whaddagoal]

How Kalinin play?

The consensus from last night is that he was decent, but a little rusty. He had a couple of strong hits and board play, and a little bit of PK time here and there. Had one attempted deflection that went wide.

Not bad for first game back, but it looks like for now he'll be on 4tth with Fiddler/DSP.

I hope he sees a little more ice time like he had last year, we'll see what Hynes thinks. Looks like Hynes will use him in the PK rotation.

 

[StnTwnDevil]

Hall - he is great player. I see why people want to criticize the occasional give-aways he makes. I think most of us understand thats him pressing trying to make a play. He is literally that skilled where other players often get caught in the wrong spot and can't include themselves in the heady play taylor is trying to make. Other times its him flying down the ice and trying to make a good pass.

#9 vs former #9? Umm i didn't see parise do much last night but he had couple nice chances, specially that one shot that cory robbed him on. I think i still take 24 year old Hall vs. 24 year old Parise.
I've been very impressed with hall, and i love his passion. I erupted more when i saw his reaction to the winning goal as opposed to when the goal was actually scored.

But i left the rink last night absolutely giddy about Zacha. Its a damn shame he is going to be criminally underrated cause the dirtbag flyers are stacking points and his forever comparison with konecney is going to make zacha look like a lesser player.

Zacha is the real deal folks. His game is fantastic. He battles the boards like a veteran, and his ability to make quick decisions and change angles with his stick and get a pass off is unbelievable. He knows how to get the inside leverage right off the bat when engaging in a board battle which is really hard to teach younger guys until their bodies mature. But Pavel is a grown man and he does so many things well its inevitable that he's going to be a good one. His offensive IQ is right on par with Taylor and probably outmatches everyone on this roster. His ability to settle the puck and get a shot off is impressive as well. I can't say enough about him. Where are all his detractors now? come out come out….

Im really excited about Zacha as well. He's done everything right minus putting up points. But the amount of chances he's created by either making great passes or getting off quality shots, it's inevitable that he will start producing. His defensive play looks like that of a veteran as you said. It's funny, he even drew 2 penalties in the last 2 games that went completely unnoticed by the officials. He's pretty close to doing it all.

As for Hall, he's a game changer, but he's still a bit rough around the edges. He has a habbit of forcing passes from time to time. I'm not seeing a player with a ton of poise at this point. I think he needs to slow the game down much like Kovalchuk needed to. Cut back, create a little more time if there isn't a play to be made. Actually that's something I'm impressed Zacha is doing. Edmonton has been a go-go-go team which definitely shows in Hall. Hall isn't a risk taker like Kovy, but I think like Kovy, Hall needs to show more patience in his game.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Zacha is going to be amazing, kid is a stud

Yep, he looks like a 25 yr old a lot, already.

I don't think he's ever gonna rack up a ton of points that fans expect out of a 6th overall but he's a gamer that can be a key cog on a Cup winning team.

I was hoping he would shoot on the PP late in the 3rd but he instead tried to make a cross ice pass.

Unleash that shot Pavel!