GDT: SSSSSSSSMOKIN'! Your New Jersey Devils vs. Detroit Red Wings, 1 PM, MSG+

[My3Sons]

And besides I am high on Bratt and think he's a top 6 player, however the lack of a 2nd line is going to hurt this team significantly in terms of the chances of making the playoffs. The team still has several holes including the defense.

I would not let last season fool you into thinking this team is better than it actually is, there is work to be done and the reality is this is another year for the rebuild.

While I agree with your stance, I think today was more of a lack of execution rather than a lack of talent. They got a goal from the 2C and a shorty. Maybe if Nico is playing they get a goal from the first line and they win but the depth scoring wasn’t the issue today in my view. They had some shots at another goal in regulation that they couldn’t convert and the personnel decisions in OT seemed to lack situational awareness which is on the coaches. Overall the team definitely lacks enough talent and yes talent can win a game like this but I don’t think that was the explanation today.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Yay! Sounds like we won, then right?

Nope. Had one job to do as a defenseman.

It would be so easy to love sevs and his game if these wonderful 23 minutes didn't include the mandatory one minute with costly bonehead error.

What a weird post. It's ok to say he had a great game and made a bad play at the end. This isn't politics. You don't need to be one extreme or the other.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Obviously nobody blames him FOR it. But to blame him on how he played it when it was a bad situation he had to adapt to - is not okay

What does that even mean? It was a basic 2 on 1.

The defenseman covering on a 2 on 1 is never the person who screwed up to create the 2 on 1. So by your logic you can never blame a defenseman for screwing up 2 on 1 coverage. Illogical.

As for what "caused" the 2 on 1 primarily. Why is Hall where he is? Where did he learn that? Was it just a brain fart? I was at the game, so I didnt get to hear Skeletor's presser, but I imagine someone must have asked that question.

 

[Maine Fan]

I've been saying for a long time that we have very, very little talent. We have a lot of guys that try hard, but that won't consistently beat talent.

I had posted previously that the Devils has a lot of players without talent. You would be surprised how many jumped down my throat because of the post. So I have change it to lack of skills. We have grinders but not too many with skills to compete with talent.

 

[BenedictGomez]

What a weird post. It's ok to say he had a great game and made a bad play at the end. This isn't politics. You don't need to be one extreme or the other.

You're correct on this. The problem is, Severson's mistakes tend to be very high-risk errors, completely preventable, and frustrating.

The other problem is (and I'm not accusing you of this), most people here dont notice (or remember) bad defensive errors unless they end up in the back of the net. Or sometimes they wont notice them at all (like the instance I pointed out at the start of the 3rd, where Severson's man is alone a good 20+ feet behind him at the red line, but Detroit didnt hit him with a pass for a lay-up 1 x 0 breakaway).

 

[Nocashstyle]

Positivity: Bratt’s 5 games back have showed he still has a ceiling as being the second best offensive played on this team (a long as Hall is here). I firmly believe his offensive peak can be better than Hischier’s. He’s just so slick and creative. IMO he’s a poor man’s Kane in his elusiveness and creativity with with the puck.

 

[Maine Fan]

We should make sure the sound system isn't too loud or it might blow Mojoke away

The loud noise didn't wake him up, he kept circling.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Yup, MoJo was terrible once again today.

The only upside to the Devils potentially missing the playoffs is ridding us of him at the deadline for a 3rd Round pick.

 

[tr83]

Detroit 3 - 2 New Jersey: Final OT | 2018-11-17 | National Hockey League | Yahoo! Sports

Check it out, we've been relegated to the NCAA

 

[Bleedred]

Yup, MoJo was terrible once again today.

The only upside to the Devils potentially missing the playoffs is ridding us of him at the deadline for a 3rd Round pick.

If we do end up in the lower half of the league in scoring at season's end, he's gonna be a BIG reason why. A perennial 40+ point guy, that's pacing for 24 points this season? He's the only player other than Zacha on this team that I see as massively underachieving right now (outside of Schneider, who has only started 3 games). Wood is also underachieving, but for what's expected, he's not in the same realm as Johansson. Johansson is probably the most underachieving player we've had here since Lou was still the GM. I'm thinking maybe since Michael Ryder (who was already close to mid-30's by then) or a very old, late 30's Dainius Zubrus.

Johansson is approaching Rolston (another old player) levels of underachieving.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Johansson isn't even mediocre at this point, he's just bad.

My current hypothesis is playing with Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Oshie must have really padded-up his stats.

 

[MadDevil]

Larkin himself said he didn't understand our setup on that faceoff, so I don't know what the hell we were doing. Although to be honest, I don't really know what we're doing in OT most of the time. Our general strategy seems to be to wait for Hall to do something.

 

[Nubmer6]

An example of a horrible mistake that didnt cost him? First shift of 3rd period, Severson lets his man get 20 to 25 foot behind him because he's lingering in offensive zone (as per usual). By the grace of god the Detroit defensemen didnt notice this & passes up ice to RW, rather than cross ice (behind Severson) to LW for a surefire 1 x 0 breakaway on Kinkaid.

I haven't seen the specific play you're talking about, but if he's lingering because he was pinching, it's the wing's job to swing back and cover.

 

[Bleedred]

Johansson isn't even mediocre at this point, he's just bad.

My current hypothesis is playing with Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Oshie must have really padded-up his stats.

I think it's one of two things. Actually, one of three things.

He's a product of those guys, like you were saying.

He really was better than this and now he's shot due to the concussions and declining.

Or he goes on a tear pretty soon and finishes the season with his production progressing to the mean of his career rate or at least somewhat closer.

Sadly, I think the last one might be the least likely.

 

[Bleedred]

Larkin himself said he didn't understand our setup on that faceoff, so I don't know what the hell we were doing. Although to be honest, I don't really know what we're doing in OT most of the time. Our general strategy seems to be to wait for Hall to do something.

I've never understood Hynes OT personnel decisions and I actually think Hynes is better than average when it comes to personnel decisions.

Lovejoy playing in 3 on 3 his first year here? He was getting a shift every time we went to 3 on 3 back in 16-17. Hynes might have stopped it later in the season.

Greene in 3 on 3 OT. WHY?!?! We need to score to win the game, Greene doesn't give us as good of a chance to score in OT. You have at least 2 defensemen (3 if Vatanen was in) better than him at scoring points/goals that you can use. Oh, what's that? We need to worry about defending? Then that's just playing not to lose right there. We need to play to win, and that means playing guys who are good at offense.

 

[Bleedred]

I thought Yakovlev had a good game, but it's Detroit. They looked like possibly the worst team we've played so far, outside of the Caps that game.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Without Nico and Vats it could have been a lot worse.