GDT: Rangers at Devils part II

[NBC Hockey]

I was in section 5 and surrounded by Devils fans. I heard a faint attempt at a 'Let's Go Rangers' chant high in the stands for about three seconds before it was smothered with 'Rangers suck.' But hey, if cracking our attendance makes them feel better about their team, that's weird, and good for them.

 

[Bleedred]

I know this sounds weird, but I think I liked the season we missed the playoffs (aka the MacLean era) better than Brent Sutter's first year here. At least when we missed, we made a valiant effort and nearly pulled off a miracle under Lemaire. Sutter's first year here was a disaster, the way it ended....I don't even want to remember it.

EDIT: And his second year ended pretty miserably as well. hah. Poor guy

**** him guys a tool. I think his decline is funnier than Gomez's ever was. Left to go home, and coach a team that was making the playoffs. Missed the playoffs every year he was there, was not brought back when his contract expired. After that he has to fire the guy coaching the junior team he owns, in order to get a coaching job somewhere. I feel worse for the guy he fired in order to make himself important, and relevant somewhere.

I still don't understand why he felt the need to play Madden, and Pandolfo like it was 2003 all over again. Especially since his arrival he actually started giving first line minutes to first line players, and not the checking line(Madden, Pandolfo) like the coaches who came before him.

 

[NJDevs26]

What Ranger fans fail to realize is that a Devils/Rangers game at Prudential is generally the most expensive ticket we see all year. That same ticket is one of the cheapest the Rangers will see all year. That's why so many Ranger fans go to Devil games. They get to see one of the more important games of the regular season for a discount, pretty much.

Even given all that, the fan ratio's improved dramatically over the last couple years. The Fan Experience team helped a bit with that last year, but yesterday the momentum carried over for the most part. Wasn't quite as Devils red as it was during the postseason, but it also wasn't anywhere near the previous 'normal' Ranger fan contingent either.

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

I know this sounds weird, but I think I liked the season we missed the playoffs (aka the MacLean era) better than Brent Sutter's first year here. At least when we missed, we made a valiant effort and nearly pulled off a miracle under Lemaire. Sutter's first year here was a disaster, the way it ended....I don't even want to remember it.

EDIT: And his second year ended pretty miserably as well. hah. Poor guy

I completely agree. That 08 team was coached by an idiot and they were easily the worst team the Devils had iced in the last 20 years. Not that they were absolute ****, but based on NJ's standards, that was a pretty poor team. Marty basically continued his ridiculous play from 07 and just dragged that team into the postseason. 40+ wins and he was the starter for a team that got shutout 11 times. Think about that.

The 2011 team got really really ugly those first few months, but I can honestly say that they will go down as one of my favorite Devils teams ever. To fight back the way they did when there was really no incentive to, well I'll always respect the hell out of them for that. I have a soft spot for that group.

 

[Bleedred]

I completely agree. That 08 team was coached by an idiot and they were easily the worst team the Devils had iced in the last 20 years. Not that they were absolute ****, but based on NJ's standards, that was a pretty poor team. Marty basically continued his ridiculous play from 07 and just dragged that team into the postseason. 40+ wins and he was the starter for a team that got shutout 11 times. Think about that.

Quoted for truth. Marty should have gotten the Hart Trophy that year. I would have been okay with him not getting the Vezina if they gave him the Hart. This is why I can't stand the ''Clemmensen won all those games while Brodeur was injured for you guys'' crowd.

The 08/09 team scored 40 goals more than the 07/08 team the year before. That's like just about a half a goal more per game. As well as Clemmensen played that year, he didn't play as good as Marty the year before. If Marty goes down injured in 07/08 and Clemmensen and Weekes take over, this team finishes in 9th place or maybe 10th that season.

 

[Saugus]

Not sweating Kovy's play.... because we are winning. And he's playing OK by his standards. But I'd really like to see Kovy Dynamo for a stretch. And that goes beyond just putting up points.

I think we probably won't see super intense Kovy like that until it's playoff time again.

 

[Sir Fenwick Corsi]

Quoted for truth. Marty should have gotten the Hart Trophy that year. I would have been okay with him not getting the Vezina if they gave him the Hart. This is why I can't stand the ''Clemmensen won all those games while Brodeur was injured for you guys'' crowd.

The 08/09 team scored 40 goals more than the 07/08 team the year before. That's like just about a half a goal more per game. As well as Clemmensen played that year, he didn't play as good as Marty the year before. If Marty goes down injured in 07/08 and Clemmensen and Weekes take over, this team finishes in 9th place or maybe 10th that season.

Yeah, it was night and day between the 07 - 08 and 08 - 09 teams. I thought Clemmensen did a pretty good job, all things considered, but he was playing in front of a deeper team playing an aggressive style (until April, of course). He gets a little too much praise for his work that year, but he was definitely serviceable and a nice story.

Man... looking back at that 08 roster, that was a really thin team. Can't complain too much though. Not all that bad for a down year when you compare it to some of the other teams in the league. But again, Marty really carried that group. They're not a playoff team that year without the season he had.

 

[Bleedred]

Yeah, it was night and day between the 07 - 08 and 08 - 09 teams. I thought Clemmensen did a pretty good job, all things considered, but he was playing in front of a deeper team playing an aggressive style (until April, of course). He gets a little too much praise for his work that year, but he was definitely serviceable and a nice story.

Man... looking back at that 08 roster, that was a really thin team. Can't complain too much though. Not all that bad for a down year when you compare it to some of the other teams in the league. But again, Marty really carried that group. They're not a playoff team that year without the season he had.

Yeah that 07/08 team was piss poor. I remember Marty struggling that year very early on. I think this was the year he came to camp a little out of shape, and struggled the first month. After a month into the season though you couldn't take him out. I remember Weekes playing maybe 3 games after November, and we lost all of them pretty much cause he was in net. Not because he was an awful backup, just because he was no Marty.

I remember a few nice games that year, but our inability to beat the Rangers, and the fact we were allergic to scoring, and Mike Mottau and Oduya getting lots of ice time, that year was a joke. Losing Gomez, and Rafalski didn't help either.

 

[Emperoreddy]

So glad last year made 08 so moot. It really made the The Rock home for this team. I remember how we were talking just after Game 6 against Florida (and the guys on MSG saying the same stuff) that the was the first great playoff memory in the building and that alone was worth something. Of course we had no idea how much more was in store after Trav Trav's running man OT thriller.

The ratio definitely wasn't helped the other night by Miller bringing basically his entire family up for the game. Deb was sitting in a sea of blue with all his relatives (and I still can't understand why they even bothered to talk about it).

 

[Bleedred]

So glad last year made 08 so moot. It really made the The Rock home for this team. I remember how we were talking just after Game 6 against Florida (and the guys on MSG saying the same stuff) that the was the first great playoff memory in the building and that alone was worth something. Of course we had no idea how much more was in store after Trav Trav's running man OT thriller.

The ratio definitely wasn't helped the other night by Miller bringing basically his entire family up for the game. Deb was sitting in a sea of blue with all his relatives (and I still can't understand why they even bothered to talk about it).

Me neither, that kinda annoyed me. I thought she was gonna interview them too, but she didn't. I even said **** that guy, let the Rangers crew talk about him.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Me neither, that kinda annoyed me. I thought she was gonna interview them too, but she didn't. I even said **** that guy, let the Rangers crew talk about him.

It was so stupid, isn't he from Nebraska or something? Definitely not from Jersey so you don't have that story angle. I get spending as much time as they did on Nash, because well it is Rick Nash and adds a new wrinkle to the rivalry. Miller is a no one, and isn't worth talking about on our broadcast. No clue what the hell she was doing there, was such a stupid cut away.

 

[Bleedred]

It was so stupid, isn't he from Nebraska or something? Definitely not from Jersey so you don't have that story angle. I get spending as much time as they did on Nash, because well it is Rick Nash and adds a new wrinkle to the rivalry. Miller is a no one, and isn't worth talking about on our broadcast. No clue what the hell she was doing there, was such a stupid cut away.

Yup isn't that what the Rangers crew is for? At least we got a couple good Pittsburgh games this weekend. Always nice to hear a random story. Like the Dan Bylsma flying to Minnesota to ask Paul Martin what he thinks!

 

[Emperoreddy]

Yup isn't that what the Rangers crew is for? At least we got a couple good Pittsburgh games this weekend. Always nice to hear a random story. Like the Dan Bylsma flying to Minnesota to ask Paul Martin what he thinks!

I'd wager we spend at least 10 mins talking about how Sid took a puck to the nose yesterday. Hell ESPN issued a spot on Sportscenter to talk about it.

 

[Bleedred]

I'd wager we spend at least 10 mins talking about how Sid took a puck to the nose yesterday. Hell ESPN issued a spot on Sportscenter to talk about it.

''Well Steve you gotta feel for a guy like Crosby. He's been through so much and he's truly the face of this league. I mean he's a classy guy, he's a dominant player. He's the kinda player any team wants, and when something as devastating as he's been through happens then you gotta...''

10 minutes later

''Danny Bylsma was telling me this morning Steve. He's never seen a player better than Crosby. That says something, because he's been in this business 25 years. He got to play with Gretzky briefly in LA, Paul Kariya in Anaheim. He even played with Brian Rolston, and Sergei Brylin on the Albany River Rats(Fun fact) for a few games Steve''.

 

[JerseyGuy276]

I'd wager we spend at least 10 mins talking about how Sid took a puck to the nose yesterday. Hell ESPN issued a spot on Sportscenter to talk about it.

No, ESPN did because the Islander fans cheered his injury. That's why they suddenly paid attention lol

 

[One7nine]

What Ranger fans fail to realize is that a Devils/Rangers game at Prudential is generally the most expensive ticket we see all year. That same ticket is one of the cheapest the Rangers will see all year. That's why so many Ranger fans go to Devil games. They get to see one of the more important games of the regular season for a discount, pretty much.

And even at that, it's 70-30 at the absolute most. If I walk around the concourse, there is no way I see 1 Ranger fan every three people.

It's closer to 80-20, IMO. When the Devils are losing, we're quiet and they're loud which gives the illusion that there's more Ranger fans than there actually are.

And see it in a nicer arena

 

[Wingman77]

 

[Bleedred]

How the **** Marty still has the reflexes of an 18 year old, I will never understand.

 

[apice3*]

No, ESPN did because the Islander fans cheered his injury. That's why they suddenly paid attention lol

Overblown drama in a hockey game? Time to cover hockey.

ESPN is garbage. I haven't watched much of it since the lockout ended. Been watching NHL Tonight which triumphs.

 

[apice3*]

I know this sounds weird, but I think I liked the season we missed the playoffs (aka the MacLean era) better than Brent Sutter's first year here. At least when we missed, we made a valiant effort and nearly pulled off a miracle under Lemaire. Sutter's first year here was a disaster, the way it ended....I don't even want to remember it.

EDIT: And his second year ended pretty miserably as well. hah. Poor guy

The 2nd half of season is the most fun I've ever had watching hockey at any point in my life time.

It was like you knew the Devils were gonna win in dramatic fashion, you just wanted to see how. Kind of like a Rocky movie.

 

[Bleedred]

I was confident the whole month of February of 2011 that we were gonna win every game. We lost one in OT to Florida, and then one to TB late that month. Then we had a couple crazy games in early March with the Isles. A shootout win, and then the Salmela OT winner. Then we lost to the Sens who were awful that year too, like two weeks in a row. Once with their backup goalie in net too which I think was at home.

I really thought we were gonna make the playoffs too until those losses. Looking back on it making the playoffs was unrealistic. We were already basically eliminated by the time we started winning. We almost did it, but ran out of gas at the end. The two Ottawa losses, and the retro night shutout from the Caps pretty much ended it.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

Those losses to the Senators were dreadful to watch. Didn't Butler score against us one of those games? Ottawa was a much better team by the time we played them, though. They were going through their kids and finding a lot of the depth that eventually got them to the playoffs last season.

 

[Bleedred]

Those losses to the Senators were dreadful to watch. Didn't Butler score against us one of those games? Ottawa was a much better team by the time we played them, though. They were going through their kids and finding a lot of the depth that eventually got them to the playoffs last season.

According to the score sheet no. Condra scored both at the home game. The one in Ottawa was Shannon, and 2 by Neil. I was wrong about the goalies too. Anderson played the game in Jersey. The backup McElhinney played in Ottawa.

The best part about that season was I stopped working in September, and was ready to move down here that Winter. I think I was supposed to come down here in January or February cause I had the house all ready by then. I had a lot of cash saved up to where I didn't need to be working for a year if I lived conservatively, and the Devils insane run inspired me to stay for the rest of the season. I finally moved in September of 2011, but it was worth staying for.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

Ahh yeah, it was Condra. I wanna say Butler was on his line with Greening, but I confused Greening and Butler a lot in the past for some reason so I don't know what to think anymore.

 

[Bleedred]

Ahh yeah, it was Condra. I wanna say Butler was on his line with Greening, but I confused Greening and Butler a lot in the past for some reason so I don't know what to think anymore.

I remember Butler almost scoring one game. I think it was in Ottawa, and it was earlier in the season. I just remember Chico talking about how he hasn't scored a goal yet in his career, and how great would it be to score his first on Marty.