GDT: Preseason Hockey! Game #4 - Your New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers, 7 PM, MSG

[Japam]

The comments about doing this at a pre-season game are rough, if this is any of you here then don't read them lol...

This comment was the best

"If you told me two devils fans got engaged but didn’t tell me their names I would have guessed Nick & Gina."

 

[njdevils1982]

l

"If you told me two devils fans got engaged but didn’t tell me their names I would have guessed Nick & Gina."

Gina works the diner all day working for her man
She brings home her pay, for love, for love

 

[glenwo2]

Johnsson isn't bad, but he's reached a point for me personally where frustration just washes over my body when I hear his name. I can't help it.

Just seeing his stupid face makes me frustrated right now.

Just look at him :

 

[Lou is God]

I think most of us knew that the lineup combinations were terrible even before the game, hopefully now Ruff knows it too. The 1st line was a bit off and the rest were terrible. Chase Stillman is the most disappointing devils draft pick in the last decade. Even guys like Quenneville and Matteau showed more. If he doesn't figure things out, I don't think he's even good enough for AHL. He made 1 pass, and the rest of the time he gave the puck away. Boqvist is for sure gone, there's nothing he can do playing next to guys like this. Unless this is all some 4D chess move to make Boq look terrible so he clears the waivers.

I was at the game last night and focused on Stillman and he was just.......there. Seriously, I didn't see him do one damn thing what made me think he has NHL potential. And I'm still a bit peeved with the lines that were put out there last night, I get you have to play some of the camp fodder in the lineups but almost two lines worth??

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

there was a game last night?

 

[Triumph]

If the Devils hadn't already signed Stillman, it would not be unreasonable to question whether they should sign him or take the compensatory 2nd round pick (which would be at like 57)

 

[Bleedred]

Devils score ONE goal and get badly out-shot and this board is blaming Geertsen, Johnsson and 19-year-old Chase Stillman?

Really?

Because by all metrics, these players were the WORST players on the ice (among the other scrubs and bums) and having two lines full of them was a big reason why we were outshot so badly by a Rangers team that didn't even have a lot of its good players dressed last night.

Who would you blame? Hughes and his line? Bratt and his line? Okay, I gotta say, Bratt and that line wasn't good either. I'll say that much.

I mean, it's preseason and most teams do have a ton of scrubs like that in their game lineups for the first 3 or 4 preseason games.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Devils score ONE goal and get badly out-shot and this board is blaming Geertsen, Johnsson and 19-year-old Chase Stillman?

Really?

Well, ok, if you really want to know... it's only one game but you asked for it.

I watched the whole game.
Mb29 was very good. There were still some wobbly moments but he looked healthy, poised, quick, and he made all of the saves he should have. The Panarin shot looked 'stoppable', lol, but in reality it was Panarin, alone with time, picking his spot. The deflection just sucked.
Stillman, Garbagedella, Wotherspoon, Pinho, Senshyn, Hickey were all out to prove that any real depth the organization has is a myth. That said, we are talking about guys who are in the 40th through 60th best players in our organization so I'm not terribly worried. It would've been nice to see guys like Luke Hughes and Mook and the variety of other forwards who scampered back to college or whatever but, yeah, when you'd hoped someone would do something, they did nothing. Hickey made me wonder why we somehow got Ty Smith back, but he is just an AHL plug. That's almost half of our skaters there.

Bratt was God awful. Worst I've seen him. When he touched the puck he gave it away or skated into traffic, and he made little effort to touch the puck. I hope Fitz can force him to sign a contract today.

Johnsson was worse than Bratt. If there was a training video on how NOT to play hockey - by being positioned badly, losing all puck battles, throwing the puck away in our zone when we needed a clear, passing when you should shoot, shooting when you should pass, being outskated, outhustled, outplayed in every facet of your game.... it was all on display.

Geersten was good for Geersten, which means he wasn't good. He made a couple of bad errors - one that led to Panarin being wide open cross-ice for the goal. He hit people, you noticed him on the ice, which is more than I can say for much of the team.

Hughes was electric but still had his couple of bad giveaways that got them penned in. Palat was very good as advertised. Holtz got involved in front of the net on the first goal, and had an OK game. Certainly not as good as he's had during this preseason. This was his worst and it wasn't that bad but it was kinda like we saw during his cups of coffee - but bigger, faster, stronger. This line was the only glimmer of anything.

Rango tried, but was held down by the stink of his linemates. I think the reality is that he's just not a good enough player to make things happen on his own. Last night was an example of that. It was pretty much what you saw out of him all early season last year when he was struggling along with the team.

Boqvist could not have been more invisible. This game should have destroyed his chance of making the big squad. Maybe his linemates are more than paritally to blame, but I'm sure the coaching staff was giving him a shot to prove he could help carry others. Fail.

Defensively- Graves and Severson were ok. They got caved in from time to time but I think it was more the forward coverage. Graves did his patented 'get lost for a little bit' move. Severson did his patented: Look absolutely fabulous most of the night moving the puck and then perform a wonderful bonehead maneuver at center ice with no one back to create a 2-on-1 move. I know you guys all love them, but their departure will mark when this team is good enough to have a roster of reliable defensemen and is ready to compete for a Cup.

Nemec is a kid. Flashes of great vision, flashes of using his stick to break up plays, flashes of understanding. Not ready to play with the big boys quite yet, even in a sheltered role, as I'd have nightmares of him getting walked nightly. But the good thing is he's going to be a good player for us I think after watching him this preseason. (he says after falling in love with Gelinas, Urbom, Scarlett, Santini, yaddayaddayadda)

Walsh on a good day is Peter Harrold. I cannot in the least get excited about him ever playing in the NHL.

Count me as one of those who wants Okhotyuk on this team at some point as a 6-7th Dman. He might not have all of the tools but he's a poorman's Charlie McAvoy as far as being a pain in the ass. And he skates well. Occasionally lines someone up, but at least knows how to pin opposing forwards against the boards violently and have his Dpair pick the puck up. Right now it is his solid physical play vs Bahl's reach to determine who might be 7th D.

Thar ya go.

The push they made in the beginning of the 2nd kept me from turning the TV off. They at least responded for a bit.

 

[Bleedred]

I was at the game last night and focused on Stillman and he was just.......there. Seriously, I didn't see him do one damn thing what made me think he has NHL potential. And I'm still a bit peeved with the lines that were put out there last night, I get you have to play some of the camp fodder in the lineups but almost two lines worth??

It's kind of funny that he was part of the first round of cuts right after this game.

Looking at the other names that were cut, how many of them actually got into a preseason game? That list is full of names that I honestly thought were already cut days ago, outside of Stillman who played last night.

 

[Lou is God]

It's kind of funny that he was part of the first round of cuts right after this game.

Looking at the other names that were cut, how many of them actually got into a preseason game? That list is full of names that I honestly thought were already cut days ago, outside of Stillman who played last night.

I would have been fine if it mostly prospects playing last night (like Filmon) instead of hockey bust Senyshyn or career minor leaguers Pinho and Gambardella.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

It's kind of funny that he was part of the first round of cuts right after this game.

Looking at the other names that were cut, how many of them actually got into a preseason game? That list is full of names that I honestly thought were already cut days ago, outside of Stillman who played last night.

I had low expectations for Stillman purely from reading some of the game threads from Sudbury games last year. I’m thinking this guy will super bust and barely carve out an AHL career.

 

[Bleedred]

I had low expectations for Stillman purely from reading some of the game threads from Sudbury games last year. I’m thinking this guy will super bust and barely carve out an AHL career.

I don't follow prospects closely enough anymore and definitely not at the pre-pro levels, but he's one guy that most of the fanbase is extremely underwhelmed with. I thought he might have been one of the worst players out there last night.

 

[Japam]

I had low expectations for Stillman purely from reading some of the game threads from Sudbury games last year. I’m thinking this guy will super bust and barely carve out an AHL career.

I was trying to be optimistic about the pick but yeah I dunno about there being any potential. I saw a highlight of a fight he had and he pummeled the guy so maybe Dat grit? Idk.

 

[glenwo2]

Bratt was God awful. Worst I've seen him. When he touched the puck he gave it away or skated into traffic, and he made little effort to touch the puck. I hope Fitz can force him to sign a contract today.

Me too

 

[Call Me Al]

i take any prospect pile ons with a grain of salt, but based on watching him and his stats after the draft it looks like we drafted a dime-a-dozen third line winger at best. not at all good use of that pick

 

[glenwo2]

I want McLeod gone. He sucks and the other shit.

The "other shit" is why I would rather he be gone.

 

[RNCDevil]

My Marino comments were a reflection of his replacement value vs. Ty Smith / PK. He did not panic like Ty and he seems to be a "faster" player than both (mentally and physically in the case of PK).

 

[NJDfan86]

I had low expectations for Stillman purely from reading some of the game threads from Sudbury games last year. I’m thinking this guy will super bust and barely carve out an AHL career.

Preface: I think Stillman was a poor pick and would be surprised if he is anything better than a 4th line grinder.

BUT:

He is still way too underdeveloped physically to play the type of game he plays against NHLers, he spent more time on his back than his skates. Hard to really take anything away from this game other than he needs to spend a lot of time in the weight room.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Well, ok, if you really want to know... it's only one game but you asked for it.

I watched the whole game.
Mb29 was very good. There were still some wobbly moments but he looked healthy, poised, quick, and he made all of the saves he should have. The Panarin shot looked 'stoppable', lol, but in reality it was Panarin, alone with time, picking his spot. The deflection just sucked.
Stillman, Garbagedella, Wotherspoon, Pinho, Senshyn, Hickey were all out to prove that any real depth the organization has is a myth. That said, we are talking about guys who are in the 40th through 60th best players in our organization so I'm not terribly worried. It would've been nice to see guys like Luke Hughes and Mook and the variety of other forwards who scampered back to college or whatever but, yeah, when you'd hoped someone would do something, they did nothing. Hickey made me wonder why we somehow got Ty Smith back, but he is just an AHL plug. That's almost half of our skaters there.

Bratt was God awful. Worst I've seen him. When he touched the puck he gave it away or skated into traffic, and he made little effort to touch the puck. I hope Fitz can force him to sign a contract today.

Johnsson was worse than Bratt. If there was a training video on how NOT to play hockey - by being positioned badly, losing all puck battles, throwing the puck away in our zone when we needed a clear, passing when you should shoot, shooting when you should pass, being outskated, outhustled, outplayed in every facet of your game.... it was all on display.

Geersten was good for Geersten, which means he wasn't good. He made a couple of bad errors - one that led to Panarin being wide open cross-ice for the goal. He hit people, you noticed him on the ice, which is more than I can say for much of the team.

Hughes was electric but still had his couple of bad giveaways that got them penned in. Palat was very good as advertised. Holtz got involved in front of the net on the first goal, and had an OK game. Certainly not as good as he's had during this preseason. This was his worst and it wasn't that bad but it was kinda like we saw during his cups of coffee - but bigger, faster, stronger. This line was the only glimmer of anything.

Rango tried, but was held down by the stink of his linemates. I think the reality is that he's just not a good enough player to make things happen on his own. Last night was an example of that. It was pretty much what you saw out of him all early season last year when he was struggling along with the team.

Boqvist could not have been more invisible. This game should have destroyed his chance of making the big squad. Maybe his linemates are more than paritally to blame, but I'm sure the coaching staff was giving him a shot to prove he could help carry others. Fail.

Defensively- Graves and Severson were ok. They got caved in from time to time but I think it was more the forward coverage. Graves did his patented 'get lost for a little bit' move. Severson did his patented: Look absolutely fabulous most of the night moving the puck and then perform a wonderful bonehead maneuver at center ice with no one back to create a 2-on-1 move. I know you guys all love them, but their departure will mark when this team is good enough to have a roster of reliable defensemen and is ready to compete for a Cup.

Nemec is a kid. Flashes of great vision, flashes of using his stick to break up plays, flashes of understanding. Not ready to play with the big boys quite yet, even in a sheltered role, as I'd have nightmares of him getting walked nightly. But the good thing is he's going to be a good player for us I think after watching him this preseason. (he says after falling in love with Gelinas, Urbom, Scarlett, Santini, yaddayaddayadda)

Walsh on a good day is Peter Harrold. I cannot in the least get excited about him ever playing in the NHL.

Count me as one of those who wants Okhotyuk on this team at some point as a 6-7th Dman. He might not have all of the tools but he's a poorman's Charlie McAvoy as far as being a pain in the ass. And he skates well. Occasionally lines someone up, but at least knows how to pin opposing forwards against the boards violently and have his Dpair pick the puck up. Right now it is his solid physical play vs Bahl's reach to determine who might be 7th D.

Thar ya go.

The push they made in the beginning of the 2nd kept me from turning the TV off. They at least responded for a bit.

Some great points.

Which kind of lends credence to my original post.

There are certain players on this team that can do no wrong to some of the posters here - despite them playing far more prominent roles than guys who likely won't be on the roster, or if so will play a lot smaller roles.

 

[NJDevs26]

LOL preseason is about the fringe guys and prospects while the regulars are just trying to get their timing down...nobody else cares how Jesper Bratt or whomever among the regulars (aside from a goalie) plays in a preseason game.

 

[NjDevsRR]

LOL preseason is about the fringe guys and prospects while the regulars are just trying to get their timing down...nobody else cares how Jesper Bratt or whomever among the regulars (aside from a goalie) plays in a preseason game.

Get out of here with your logic. Who do you think you are?

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

The comments about doing this at a pre-season game are rough, if this is any of you here then don't read them lol...

I proposed to my wife in our apartment entrance. Sometimes you just pull the trigger when you want to.

 

[The Wumpus]

I proposed to my wife in our apartment entrance. Sometimes you just pull the trigger when you want to.

My friend proposed to his wife on the sidewalk while walking home in Brooklyn. He then looked over and noticed they were right next to a big overflowing trash can. They laugh about it.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Sometimes you just pull the trigger when you want to.

What's that like? Sounds amazing.