GDT: #35 | Devils @ Panthers | 7:30 ET

[JackHughes86]

they really need to win these games against the panthers and the lightning

 

[yakitate304]

Marty at this point is back to the level he was from 2008-2011 where he would make some miraculous saves but also let in some terrible goals. He escaped that pattern last season and was very solid, even when he wasn't spectacular. When teams know they can shoot from anywhere and have a chance of scoring, it makes our defensive structure futile for two reasons. One, because teams WILL shoot from anywhere, no matter how bad the angle and sometimes will get rewarded. Two, because our players recognize that fact and over-adjust to close down anyone who gets near the net, no matter how bad the angle, leaving players open on the far side. Remember the ****ing awful Carolina series? How many times did they exploit us on the backdoor because we closed down too aggressively to prevent nearside shots? Over and over. We're back to that point.

TL;DR our defensive coverage is bad, but part of that is because they're trying too hard to prevent the opposition from taking shots that Marty should be saving but isn't.

 

[NJDpassantino]

This team is really missing Parise.

 

[yakitate304]

This team is really missing Parise.

He who must not be named.

 

[apice3*]

One thing lost in this mess is that icing before the goal was kind of weak. Thought the D-man should have had it.

 

[yakitate304]

One thing lost in this mess is that icing before the goal was kind of weak. Thought the D-man should have had it.

We can't start looking at that. If our forwards could put themselves in reasonable positions to take an outlet pass, or our defensemen could play weighted clearances off the glass, it's not a problem.

 

[Bleedred]

I hope Bleedred didn't kill himself after tonights game

I'm kinda worried about him...I mean half-kiddingly and half-not. I'd like him to check in just to let us know he's okay but he really should stay away from here for a while too, this board ain't gonna help

Thanks for your concern guys, but it's a long long long long and boring (At night at least) drive back from Sunrise. 4 hours with almost half of it through Alligator Alley which is real boring at night! At least TB Times Forum is only 40 minutes (Hour after the game with traffic) and much more convenient for me.

Again I can write a novel. This loss tops last night. Really bad loss to a team of half AHL players that we should have been able to beat even without Kovy, and we almost did before bad play for the last few minutes of the 3rd. So we pretty much lost to the San Antonio Rampage tonight. As much as I wanna complain about not being able to score on Mr Posturepedic Panther tonight, he wasn't the problem. The tale of Florida liberally counting shots was legit tonight. No way we got 26 shots through to the goaltender. It was more like 20-22 tops. Garon could have been back in there tonight and we wouldn't have scored more than 2. We actually outplayed Ottawa when Bishop was in net.

Once it was tied I was hoping for a quick OT ending to get it over with, so I could get a head start on the road. I have no confidence in the Devils in OT, nor a shootout. Marty was amazing tonight in the 2nd period particularly, but really? What the **** was that in OT? I didn't stick around for the replay nor the stupid high school pep rally PANTHEERRSSSS WIINNNNN announcement from their amusement park ride PA announcer. So my buddy and I got the **** out of there and headed for the parking lot as fast as we could. Did that go off Sal and change direction? If not that was very weak. Marty looked asleep there. Just a piss poor game against the leagues bottom feeders who are icing half an AHL team due to injuries.

 

[RandoDoomer]

I can't even be mad anymore. This is getting comical anyway.

And please Coach DeB, if I hear "We did some good things" after another bad loss I'm gonna lose it.

 

[Robert Theodorson]

And please Coach DeB, if I hear "We did some good things" after another bad loss I'm gonna lose it.

Isles are up next, and they are highly motivated. New York is that much better than Florida/Tampa.

 

[captainscott]

you can't be overly wrecked over these last three games...

they could easily have been 3-0 on this mini road trip and we would be praising them as cup favorites.

a recent poster commented about the dzone coverage.. and if i had one negative to take away from the past three gtames it was bad dzone coverage

 

[leftwing]

I don't blame him at all for the 1st or 3rd goals. Second, maybe.. but still hard shot to stop. I mean the guy was practically on the doorstep. Marty should have cut down the pass, maybe.

In OT: Stick was knocked to the side, he wasn't able to bring it back in time. It beat him clean 5-hole.. typically where the stick is because shot speed > speed any goaltender drops to his knees with.

Marty was not the problem tonight. Last night, part of it. Tonight? Poor defensive coverage led to every single goal.

I walked in - thankfully - only late in the third as my kids were watching the game.

The first comment I had on the tying goal was 'WTF is Bernier doing'. It looked like he was rushing toward the weak point with the puck going the other direction, leaving a 5-4 with the puck deep in our zone. Not good. Kids then told me he had the first two goals......

I haven't bothered to go back and watch the replays to look more closely but if it is the case he was moving hard away from the play in our zone it is an inexcusable lazy/selfish mentality to go for setup for the EN hatty. And IMO a not a small factor in the loss. Get your butt into the zone coverage and seal the win first. Especially after the loss against TB.

Granted, we wouldn't have been there without his two first goals but still.

 

[RandoDoomer]

you can't be overly wrecked over these last three games...

they could easily have been 3-0 on this mini road trip and we would be praising them as cup favorites.

a recent poster commented about the dzone coverage.. and if i had one negative to take away from the past three gtames it was bad dzone coverage

And if if's and but's were candies and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas.

What astounds me is that, even after this horriffic last 6 weeks, the Devils are still, somehow, in 7th place. Thank the good lord that the bottom half of the conference sucks just as bad as us.

So it's not too late to right the ship. I'm just not convinced we have the right crew to do it (to belabor the nautical analogy).

 

[captainscott]

And if if's and but's were candies and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas.

What astounds me is that, even after this horriffic last 6 weeks, the Devils are still, somehow, in 7th place. Thank the good lord that the bottom half of the conference sucks just as bad as us.

So it's not too late to right the ship. I'm just not convinced we have the right crew to do it (to belabor the nautical analogy).

i know i feel like they wine a game about once every two weeks yet somehow remain..

but the fact is hockey is a sport where for the most part the teams are never as good or bad as a fan thinks. even when the devils started 8-1 they were getting timely scoring, good breaks etc.. those fortunes have turned but there truly is such a fine line between being a playoff team and not. this team has some big flaws, yet i think they will make playoffs. i don't feel nearly as good about this group as i did about last years team but it is still a solid team

 

[captainscott]

I walked in - thankfully - only late in the third as my kids were watching the game.

The first comment I had on the tying goal was 'WTF is Bernier doing'. It looked like he was rushing toward the weak point with the puck going the other direction, leaving a 5-4 with the puck deep in our zone. Not good. Kids then told me he had the first two goals......

I haven't bothered to go back and watch the replays to look more closely but if it is the case he was moving hard away from the play in our zone it is an inexcusable lazy/selfish mentality to go for setup for the EN hatty. And IMO a not a small factor in the loss. Get your butt into the zone coverage and seal the win first. Especially after the loss against TB.

Granted, we wouldn't have been there without his two first goals but still.

he saw zidlicky get control and thought he would whip it hard around for a deflection out of zone...for some reason ..forced or unforced zidlicky did not get good wood on the hard around or decided to shoot it around softly ....they just misread each other but you are correct in saying that was the play that caused the goal...not sure which guy to pin that one on

 

[JimEIV]

This forward group lacks and the defensive corp is mediocre that depends largely on forward support that without it they are exposed.

It's not the fault or weakness of any individual, it's the composition of the team in my opinion. It's a patchwork team in my eyes. There seems to be no cohesion or reason to the lines other than Carter and Bernier. The team has struggled to find combos that work and to me it seems mainly because of the lack of skill in the top 6. The devils seem to have no primary scoring (with or without Kovalchuk). They simply need an infusion of skill into the lineup. A top 6 winger would go a long way on this team I think.

 

[glenwo2]

This is the type of stretch that usually gets Coaches canned when it comes to Devils coaches.

Of course, the only thing that saves Pete from this fate is his run to the Finals last year. Although, if things continue at this pace, Lou will begin to lose his patience and we all know what happens when Lou loses his patience.

And yes, I know the Devils are still in the playoff hunt. But that's only because the LEAST-ERN conference has been so mediocre which is what is keeping the Devils from falling out of the race altogether.

 

[NJDevs26]

It's not Pete's fault Lou goes to Woolworth's to replace Parise and the rest of the 50+ goals that walked out the door this offseason, or that he couldn't/wouldn't address the eight-D logjam. Not to mention breaking in a mostly new staff during a shortened season. For whatever issues I have had with Pete this year, if he gets canned in the near future I'd honestly be madder at Lou than I was when Larry got canned after two Finals runs. Or Julien before he even GOT a playoff run.

 

[glenwo2]

As I said above, I doubt Pete gets canned because of that Finals run last year but - and let me add to that - also because of the lockout-shortened season that threw everything out of whack. Lou cannot make an honest assessment on Pete's coaching this year because of that and the injuries to key players, along with the new coaching staff you brought up.

We just have to hope they continue to find ways to at least get a point the rest of the way until Kovy and Zubrus return, although I question Stevens effectiveness as an Assistant Coach at this juncture considering how below-average our 'D' has been.


Although that could just be Volch/Harrold sucking...

 

[Saugus]

I'm just unhappy with the late blown leads that come back to bite us. We should be able to bear down and hold the lead.

 

[NJDevs26]

As I said above, I doubt Pete gets canned because of that Finals run last year but - and let me add to that - also because of the lockout-shortened season that threw everything out of whack. Lou cannot make an honest assessment on Pete's coaching this year because of that and the injuries to key players, along with the new coaching staff you brought up.

We just have to hope they continue to find ways to at least get a point the rest of the way until Kovy and Zubrus return, although I question Stevens effectiveness as an Assistant Coach at this juncture considering how below-average our 'D' has been.


Although that could just be Volch/Harrold sucking...

I don't know if Stevens is a bad coach per se, but Larry was a freaking genius as an assistant. They do miss him, Stevens or no Stevens.

 

[Oneiro]

I'm just unhappy with the late blown leads that come back to bite us. We should be able to bear down and hold the lead.

Knowing how to shut things down is a big part of this team's legacy and tradition. And it's been forgotten.

 

[guitarguyvic]

This team has had no cohesion of chemistry because there has just been too much turmoil with the roster. First they lose their top forward and captain and replace him with Bryce ****ing Salvador. Say what you want about Zach, but he brought leadership through example onto the ice. You can't have a mediocre D-man be your captain, especially to replace someone like Zach. An average player cannot lead a team - how do they hold higher skilled guys to task when they can't even keep up. It makes no sense, and I disagreed with it at the time he was named just like I do now.

Secondly, the D core is completely unstable because of the constant rotation of personnel. I can't say if that is the primary reason for the awful defense this year, but I know it can't possibly help.

Third, the injuries to key players has added to the instability of the roster, not to mention missing key components of our D and offense (Marty, Zubrus, Kovy).

I'm not sure what coach and GM have been thinking with my first two points above. I understand that the shortened season causes unforeseen challenges, but naming Sal captain is inexcusable, and they have failed to recognize and correct the 8 d-man issue. Even if you are not happy with the possible trade returns on one of them, then cut the **** and just stick with your six best defenseman for most games unless somone gets injured.

I still think this is a decent team, but once this trade deadline passes, Lou and Pete need to keep the d-core stable and hope the injured players coming back can be the difference.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Knowing how to shut things down is a big part of this team's legacy and tradition. And it's been forgotten.

I generally like Pete as our coach, but this is one of those things that does bother me as a longtime fan. These last two seasons this team has not been good at all shutting other teams down. Even in the playoffs several times they let teams back into the game when we were up 1 or 2 goals. I understand and accept that he runs a primarily forechecking system, but D has been this team's identity for decades and he never calls it out when it sucks (like for so many games this year). He always pins it on the offense.

This is where I miss Lemaire. He would have put an end to all that crappy positional D-zone play right quick.

 

[davebenj]

I was actually at this game (visiting some relatives) and man, this was the worst loss of the season. At least they didn't lose in the last seconds

 

[NJDevs26]

Knowing how to shut things down is a big part of this team's legacy and tradition. And it's been forgotten.

The game's opened up since the lockout. And they no longer have Stevens/Nieds/etc. Lemaire was a defensive genius but there aren't many like him, and let's face it his style wasn't winning playoff games the last decade either.