Post-Game Talk: Devils vs. Isles. Still winless but Brunner rules. Now hit the road Jack!

[JK3]

I mentioned it earlier but BG or GIC gave a good breakdown of todays f ups. Slugs like Volch are constantly caught up ice, pinching and fumbling at the blue line leading to horrible breakdowns, odd man rushes and breakaways. Lots of poor choices on when to pinch, everyone seems to be getting caught flat footed plus the big gaps in the neutral zone will kill you against speedy teams like the Pens and Isles.

They need to tighten it up and move as a 5 man unit. It killed us all last year and it's the same **** all over again, nothing has changed. It doesn't mean **** if you give up a minimum number shots when those shots are constantly 2 on 1's or breakaways. I'm not sure if it's a product of Pete's heavy forcheck or what but it has to stop. I'm OK with offense for now but this a glaring weakness.

 

[NJDevs26]

I've given Pete hell for benching Fayne in favour of Volchenkov as much as anyone. But taking a step back and looking at it, this idea that Stevens is whispering into Deboer's ear about this might hold some weight. The first year Deboer took over, Fayne played in all 82 games that season and all post-season games. Exit Robinson, and enter Stevens. Next year, Fayne is scratched in 17 of 48 games and is off to a perfect start this year. I'm not saying it's entirely true, and Deboer ultimately holds the final say, but the idea does have some merit to it.

It's not just Fayne that's gotten worse/shafted since the Larry/Stevens switcheroo. Larsson played his best hockey in his first year and his since regressed. Which says Stevens might not be good for younger defensemen, at least at this point in his coaching life...with all of our young defensemen coming up soon that makes me worried.

 

[Devils Dominion]

We need more data. Hopefully tonight was a fluke in terms of poor attendance, but it's definitely concerning. Heck, they drew better than this on a Friday night Opening Night in 2008 against a non-rival (Dallas Stars).

Pricing is higher now with the flex model. Crowd was good tonight, they have announced sellouts in the past for similar size. New owners may not want to.

I called the non Gomez this morning.

 

[guyincognito]

Pricing is higher now with the flex model. Crowd was good tonight, they have announced sellouts in the past for similar size. New owners may not want to.

I called the non Gomez this morning.

They've been fudging their attendance for years. I don't see what the big deal is if new management decides to be honest and not have to have a random 10K thrown in there at some game where 13-14K are in the building, in order to balance the books

 

[Holtz My Bahls]

And yes, I do believe Stevens has been a negative influence on the defense.

Robinson was a big loss to this team.

No doubt about that.

 

[Garbage Goal]

I'm very happy with the signing. In fact I thought our overflow on forward might have caused us to cut him after training camp, but we wound up signing him after just 2 preseason games.

As far as Volchenkov goes, I'm sure Lou would trade him to you guys for nothing. Even despite the divisional factor. He'd probably look at it as a way of making a rival bad.

We already have a roster full of overpaid defensive D, thanks though. =P

 

[Devils Dominion]

Our defense is scary bad.
Needs major improvement in personnel and in the gameplan.

 

[Benedict Parisechuk]

It's not just Fayne that's gotten worse/shafted since the Larry/Stevens switcheroo. Larsson played his best hockey in his first year and his since regressed. Which says Stevens might not be good for younger defensemen, at least at this point in his coaching life...with all of our young defensemen coming up soon that makes me worried.

I wasn't crazy about the Stevens hire to begin with so I wouldn't be all that surprised if hes negatively influencing things at this point.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I was at the game. What I learned:

- There is no way in hell this is a last place team. And we will definitely be a pain in the ass for teams to play against on a nightly basis.
- Say what you want about Pete's decisions, but his system is damn effective. That being said, the problem in these early games (and I think last season as well) is that some of our d-men are either making poor decisions in the o-zone and/or are too slow to get back after pinching. We don't need a great defensive d-men in this system, we need guys with speed and who will make the right decisions on when/when not to pinch. I think the coaching staff will recognize this. I guarantee that Volchenkov will not be on this team or at least not a regular starter within at least a few weeks.
- I think the Jagr signing was a mistake. Not because I think these first two games are an indication he will be awful, but I definitely don't know if he is really gonna bring all that much to the table at this point. I think his spot would be better used on Josefson or Olesz.
- Marty didn't look focused at times during the game. Could be the recent death of his father. I wonder if this will affect Marty's desire to continue playing any longer? I hope it doesn't affect is play this season (in addition to his continued aging).
- The new goal song is awful (and this is coming from someone who was open to the idea of a new song).
- The negativity on these boards through the first two games is not representative of how the fanbase at large feels about this team.

Overall being at the game was awesome. It was playoff atmosphere throughout...great time.

 

[BenedictGomez]

They've been fudging their attendance for years. I don't see what the big deal is if new management decides to be honest and not have to have a random 10K thrown in there at some game where 13-14K are in the building, in order to balance the books

I suppose that's another way to look at it. But most years the home opener was a legitimate sellout, not a Dolan pixie duster.

 

[Buckingham Claude*]

Bad defenseman have problems generating offense too. They can hurt in so many ways. DeBoer needs to fix this area. Volchenkov looks really choppy out there.

 

[Uli Hiemer]

I watched some of the replays, and there are breakdowns everywhere. Offense did it's job, I guess. Everything else "meh"

 

[BrodeursCups]

Some pics from the game:

 

[BrodeursCups]

Some pics from the game:

 

[BenedictGomez]

Some pics from the game:

BC was hanging from the catwalk like a bat.

 

[PWiz30]

So Ryder and Clowe on same line not a good idea or did I just post at a bad time??? Still cant believe one of your posters told me Fayne was a healthy scratch!!!

They practiced on a line in training camp and maybe the first preseason game or two, I can't remember for sure. I liked the idea at the time though. What ever happened to Ryder's brother though. I used to have a roommate from Grand Falls and he used to say the younger Ryder was going to be better.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I suppose that's another way to look at it. But most years the home opener was a legitimate sellout, not a Dolan pixie duster.

Agree.
It was a good crowd tonight overall, loud and a sea of red. Team made money tonight with those high ticket prices.

No
discounts compared to prior home opener (groupon, living social, from Devils with F&b card).

Only fan club balcony promo that was limited to about 80 seats.

I had a good time aside from not winning the SO.

 

[BrodeursCups]

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Just got back from the game. It was a good time despite the loss. We all had fun and the Isles fans weren't obnoxious at all.

Now, Volch needs to sit and Fayne needs to play. I'd love to get Josefson and Tedenby into the lineup as well to infuse a bit more speed. Man is this team slow. I know working them in would be tough though.

 

[BrodeursCups]

BC was hanging from the catwalk like a bat.

I'm usually not a huge picture guy but my Samsung Galaxy S4 on HDR shooting mode takes an incredibly clean picture. Love the clarity on it...

 

[BenedictGomez]

I'm usually not a huge picture guy but my Samsung Galaxy S4 on HDR shooting mode takes an incredibly clean picture. Love the clarity on it...

They really are gorgeous pictures. Beats the crap out of my SG S2.

 

[Holtz My Bahls]

I'm usually not a huge picture guy but my Samsung Galaxy S4 on HDR shooting mode takes an incredibly clean picture. Love the clarity on it...

At least it's giving me a workout flipping upside down to view them.

 

[BrodeursCups]

They really are gorgeous pictures. Beats the crap out of my SG S2.

I used the "night" mode on the pics during the intros/anthem when it was dark in the arena and I'm pleasantly surprised with how good they turned out. Samsung killed the camera on this one.

 

[ThePSEGPowerPoster]

Random aside.

Is this the first year the Devils Den had zero premade jerseys? I asked an employee who told me that the jerseys hanging with premade names are jerseys in which the printer made a mistake.

99% of the jerseys were blanks. And there was a long wait for print (like "it will be ready for the next game!" long).

Follow-up question: If teams do this how does the team report jersey sales to the NHL? I'm sure we wont have a guy in the top 10 in the league but I'm just curious.

 

[MountainGoat]

Bad defenseman have problems generating offense too. They can hurt in so many ways. DeBoer needs to fix this area. Volchenkov looks really choppy out there.

I agree but how can he fix that though? our D is on the slow side and no one on our blueline can shoot

I think we'll be seeing Gelinas sooner than later