Devils 2021 team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part XXII

[JrFischer54]

I mean I’d think they’d both rate atop the untouchable scale fairly equally but yeah you don’t make a guy you signed for 6+ years your C if you’re even thinking of ever trading him. Unless you’re Paul Holmgren.

If a letter on the jersey is keeping someone from getting traded then management needs to be fired immediately. I don’t care if he was just named captain

 

[The Wumpus]

There are only three times that we have two nights in a row off this season, and two of them were before the Covid break. Absolutely brutal.

 

[Billdo]

Now now.. in the divorce you said you'd take him only on the weekends!!

I'm no part time dad, damn it!

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

 

[The Wumpus]

Half of Buffalo's wins this season are against us.

 

[Bologna 1]

Half of Buffalo's wins this season are against us.

Let's see if they can humiliate themselves and lose to them again tomorrow

 

[glenwo2]

So someone has to win....

Predict another OT loss 'cause someone has to win.


Though if possible, Both teams would lose at the same time.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Two teams that Covid ruined face each other.

 

[Emperoreddy]

If a letter on the jersey is keeping someone from getting traded then management needs to be fired immediately. I don’t care if he was just named captain

There are many more reasons why Nico is pretty much untouchable.

They happen to be the same reasons they gave him the C. He isn't untouchable because of the C

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Buffalo is in scorched-earth mode right about now. They’ve been shut out in 4 of their last 5 games, and tonight was one of the most pathetic efforts I’ve ever seen.

I swear to ****ing God if we lose tomorrow...

 

[SKNJD9]

Buffalo is in scorched-earth mode right about now. They’ve been shut out in 4 of their last 5 games, and tonight was one of the most pathetic efforts I’ve ever seen.

I swear to ****ing God if we lose tomorrow...

We seem just to be a horrible match up against them for w/e reason.

Kinda like how Boston can't seem to play well against us...we're the same vs Buffalo

 

[Blackjack]

I mean, losing is one thing, but what absolutely ripped me was they way they were smirking and laughing that one game as they ripped shot after shot off the crossbar and post.

 

[Blender]

At the end of the game tomorrow:

 

[TheDuke93]

I think it's more of a style thing than a size thing. Pavel Zacha is easier to defend than Blake Coleman was. That said, Hughes, Bratt, and Johnsson are all fairly lightweight and easy to handle down low, so I know what you mean. Sharangovich and Maltsev have added size to the forward group, but they don't really play heavy games either.

Mercer should help in this area, I think Foote is pretty solid along the boards, so he may help as well.

Nico is also excellent along the walls and Kuokkanen is not bad either. Hughes will never be outstanding against the wall but he will improve much like Kane did over his career.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Nico is also excellent along the walls and Kuokkanen is not bad either. Hughes will never be outstanding against the wall but he will improve much like Kane did over his career.

Kane had a 72 point season when he was 19. We can only hope that Jack eventually gets there but he has a longer way to go than Kane did.

 

[TheDuke93]

Kane had a 72 point season when he was 19. We can only hope that Jack eventually gets there but he has a longer way to go than Kane did.

Yeah literally said NOTHING in regards to point production. I only commented on board play between the two...

 

[EnglishDevil]

Kane had a 72 point season when he was 19. We can only hope that Jack eventually gets there but he has a longer way to go than Kane did.

Not trying to detract from your point because I do agree with the sentiment that he's a bit behind the level Kane was at in his 19 year old season; but that was the first year I lived in Chicago and became a Hawks season ticket holder, to apply some additional context it's probably worth pointing out that he played most of the season on a line with Toews & Sharp who were both fantastic players in their own right, I'm pretty sure Sharpie potted like 35 goals that year.

Hughes hasn't had a single line-mate in the same stratosphere as guys like Toews & Sharp, so judging them entirely on point totals is likely a little disingenuous. I think Jack at times has struggled with frustration at the inability of his line-mates to execute offensively at anywhere close to the same level he can, Johnsson is a literal plug and Bratt has been extremely poor at points this year too. I'd like to see Hughes with some wingers that he can actually utilize, I honestly think his point total this year is pretty good all things considered. I constantly see him trying to do everything himself and unfortunately those kind of flashy one man plays are a lot harder to pull off in the NHL.

 

[TheDuke93]

Not trying to detract from your point because I do agree with the sentiment that he's a bit behind the level Kane was at in his 19 year old season; but that was the first year I lived in Chicago and became a Hawks season ticket holder, to apply some additional context it's probably worth pointing out that he played most of the season on a line with Toews & Sharp who were both fantastic players in their own right, I'm pretty sure Sharpie potted like 35 goals that year.

Hughes hasn't had a single line-mate in the same stratosphere as guys like Toews & Sharp, so judging them entirely on point totals is likely a little disingenuous. I think Jack at times has struggled with frustration at the inability of his line-mates to execute offensively at anywhere close to the same level he can, Johnsson is a literal plug and Bratt has been extremely poor at points this year too. I'd like to see Hughes with some wingers that he can actually utilize, I honestly think his point total this year is pretty good all things considered. I constantly see him trying to do everything himself and unfortunately those kind of flashy one man plays are a lot harder to pull off in the NHL.

My only real gripe with Jack is when he does makes a good entry the entire team collapses on him and instead of just firing the puck deep or at the goalie is throws it across ice and the other team can just grab the puck and start the counter attack. I think part of that is learning limits of his teammates. On the USNDT he could do a lot of stuff like that because he was throwing pucks to first rounders anyway and they understood how to fill when hes entering the zone.

 

[Guttersniped]

We seem just to be a horrible match up against them for w/e reason.

Kinda like how Boston can't seem to play well against us...we're the same vs Buffalo

Well the last three games with the Sabres were during the 5 game stretch where our shaky PK imploded and we gave up nine PP goals. (There was a win vs Bruins & a loss vs Caps also in that stretch.)

It’s their Power Play that killed us. While the Caps going 3/4 against us was the low point, the Sabres were 7/16 overall and that looks better than it should because it they went 1/5 in the first game (they were 4/7 in the three games during the nightmare streak). Our improved PK will get a real test here as the Sabres have the 6th ranked PP (26.8%).

Well, not too much of a test because they haven’t scored a power play goal in 9 games. I’m kind of amazed they still have the 6th ranked PP, it might be due to fewer opportunities they’ve been getting recently.

The Sabres are pretty broken, don’t forget we took out their only good goalie for maybe a month. Eichel, who’s been battling all sorts of injuries all season, is out for the foreseeable future.

The two top lines are Hall-Sheahan-Thompson and Olofsson-Staal-Reinhart. No one else notable is out except Jake McCabe but that messes up their top defensive pair. They will be desperate for a win but so will we.

Losing streaks this season don’t compare to normal seasons, Buffalo’s streak has one OT loss to us, three smack downs from the rolling NYI, two smackdowns from the rolling Pens, a 2-3 loss to the Rags and two shutouts from the Flyers but also a SO loss last Tuesday to them. They should have maybe pulled a win out somewhere at least but sometimes a team is just f***ed.

 

[njdevils1982]

Half of Buffalo's wins this season are against us.

bleagh!

 

[njdevils1982]

Two teams that Covid ruined face each other.

uh, the sabres have always been ruined

 

[Billdo]

If we lose tonight heads need to roll. There is no justifying a loss to the Sabres. Truly embarrassing if they lose.

 

[aero8279]

Fans that show up tonight deserve to have their money refunded as a thank you.

 

[ninetyeight]

I mean they've beaten us more than us them. They are extremely desperate, so I'd say the odds are in their favor. At this point losing shouldn't be a shock to anyone here. I do feel pretty good about the game though, they are missing some key players, and the Devils are coming from a pretty good game against the isles. But I really just want the youngsters to succeed, winning is secondary.

 

[Better Call Sal]

didn't he leave saint louis after a year?

Yeah he hung around for a while and they must’ve never made much of an offer to him in St. Louis that summer because he didn’t sign with Tampa until almost September. And it was again only a 1 year deal.

Clearly made the right call though, back to back years with the Cup.

Loved Maroon and what he brought. He had nothing but great things to say about the organization and Shero especially.