Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - 2022-23 season thread part III

[Slew Footed by Holik]

I think the Devils are playing fine despite losing but also need to add a plan B.

Opponents are bypassing their defensive blue line and dumping pucks in more often. This is skipping the part of the ice the Devils are strongest and getting the puck to where the Devils are the weakest more frequently.

Opponents are also baiting the Devils into forechecking all the way down to the goal line which is stretching the Devils out too far, limiting support. When engaging at the blue line the Devils would have 1 or 2 players supporting the attacking player.

When teams start to play this way, I would probably drop the Devils line of engagement back to the red line, counterattack if the opponents try to skate/pass through, and provide a forward to help with the recovery and breakout on dump ins.

Excellent observations

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

they shaved 4 games off their division with one and a half bad weeks. their next week looks even tougher, that’s why some people have these takes.

mixed in with the bad takes are valid concerns. not that we can do anything about it as fans; the reality is them still being in first is a miracle, but their play doesn’t inspire confidence that they can hold onto it. there’s a lot of hockey left, more than enough to fall out of the playoffs if they can’t figure it out

Teams make up ground quickly when they win, literally, every single game. That doesn’t have much to do with our own rough *five game* patch. We can win the next five while they all lose their next 5. We’ve probably played better on our L streaks than the Rangers have during their winning streak.

Their play is slightly worse than it was during the winning, it does inspire plenty of confidence they can win more than enough games. Things look worse when you shoot 5%.

 

[MartyOwns]

mcleod is dishing the puck pretty damn well. i’d try him on nico’s wing so there’s some size or i’d have him center bratt.

 

[guitarguyvic]

the thing is you absolutely want to participate because you’re always in here saying the haters are wrong and there’s nothing to worry about because these things happen. it’s just as antagonizing.

there is absolutely cause to worry. sure good teams have these stretches all the time, but throw away the spreadsheet and you can see this team is sinking. they can absolutely turn it around, sure, but they’re a far cry from the “best team in hockey” that they were a month ago. they have a 3-4 game buffer for the playoffs. that can disappear in a week, and we have a hellish week coming up (pun intended lol!), it’s 4 games we can easily lose if we play the way we have been.

- the power play is bad

- no lines have any chemistry lately and the coach is just throwing combos out there. hopefully some click

- the team has no fight when they get pushed around, they just watched their captain get mauled all night. that should make everyone angry

- it looks like they lost all their confidence

- no consistent scoring threats and no one fights for dirty goals

None of those things you listed are the sign of a team that is going to lose more game than they win.

The PP has been pretty much mediocre from the start of the season. If it's looking a bit worse now, it's probably for the same reason 5v5 offense looks a bit worse - they are in a slump. Our best players have like 0 points in the last three games...is that something we should expect to continue for an extended period of time? Seems kind of unlikely.

Same thing applies to the "lines not having chemistry" and "no consistent scoring threats and no one fights for dirty goals". I have a hard time believing that players who had chemistry for 25 games and were scoring 4 goals per game for a third of an entire season will all of a sudden be incapable of getting it back for a long enough stretch to sink the team.

I'm not sure what the deal is with them getting pushed around yesterday. They aren't a particularly physical team. This is a legit concern as far as where their weaknesses lie...but again, is this really enough of a problem to believe they are not going to be competitive for the remainder of the season? This seems more like something that would have a bigger impact on how they perform in the playoffs rather than if they can get there in the first place.

Confidence in sports is a delicate thing. But not nearly as delicate as the feelings of fans. You just have to hope they can battle through this stuff. If their play continues to deteriorate to the point where they are truly getting outplayed by the competition, then it's a bad sign that lack of confidence has impacted their ability to play up to their potential. But they aren't even there yet - they aren't getting outplayed to any major degree, they simply aren't playing at the insanely high level they were before and they're in an offensive slump. There's still plenty of reason to believe they can turn it around. There's quite a few people here that are really over-exacggerating how poorly they've played through this stretch.

I listen to the NHL radio network regularly, and most of the guys on there that watch almost every game/team seem to agree, one of them even go as far as saying "I'm not worried about the Devils in any way. They've lost these games while still playing well enough to win." The folks that don't have any emotional investment in this team seem to believe there's no reason to panic yet, for whatever that might be worth to you.

 

[Forge]

Oh, losing streak and certain posters return. Imagine that.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

mcleod is dishing the puck pretty damn well. i’d try him on nico’s wing so there’s some size or i’d have him center bratt.

That is definitely not something I would do. He’s a decent 4th liner.

 

[guitarguyvic]

And for people saying this is looking like last year again…I legit have no idea what you’re watching. Even during this worst stretch of the season so far they aren’t getting below .900 goaltending and they aren’t constantly allowing opposition players wide open looks from the slot for easy tap in back door plays. Those are the two main reasons last year’s team was trash. Even the PP as mediocre as it’s been still doesn’t look quite as bad as last year’s.

 

[Oneiro]

I just think the execution has been a little off for a bit, even when we were winning, and that mutes our best asset which is our speed.

Maybe it’s fatigue, maybe we really are paper tigers but I don’t think it’s going to persist. They’re still getting their shots and very few of the goals were super egregious saves-wise. Just need to clean up the breakouts and get in the paint when the plays aren’t coming.

 

[MartyOwns]

That is definitely not something I would do. He’s a decent 4th liner.

good call, let’s stick with what’s working and keep one of our best forwards over the past few games in the bottom six.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

mcleod is dishing the puck pretty damn well. i’d try him on nico’s wing so there’s some size or i’d have him center bratt.

man WHAT?!

 

[Bad Goalie]

I didn't read all of the NJ threads, but Vancouver posters are at it again.

Get this trade proposal:
- Quinn Hughes to NJ
For
- Nemec +
- 2023 1st +
- 2024 1st

That's the baseline with cap coming back with other picks/prospects.

You guys looking to find that deal super appealing? Ha-h-a-ha-ha-ha all through the day and nights to come!

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

good call, let’s stick with what’s working and keep one of our best forwards over the past few games in the bottom six.

I would stick mostly with what has us at the top of the division, yes. We don’t need to put our worst finisher, who’s a center, with Nico. Or with our best playmaking winger.

 

[Bleedred]

I would stick mostly with what has us at the top of the division, yes. We don’t need to put our worst finisher, who’s a center, with Nico. Or with our best playmaking winger.

Yeah, that just seems a little too much like Kalinin or Tootoo with Zajac and Cammalleri.

Or when Pete DeBoer put Dainius Zubrus with Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton for a stretch of games on the Sharks back in 15-16.

 

[Forge]

mcleod is dishing the puck pretty damn well. i’d try him on nico’s wing so there’s some size or i’d have him center bratt.

 

[RememberTheName]

Holtz has been playing great hockey as of late. In my opinion, he deserves a shot alongside the wing of Hughes/Hischier, and I'm probably the biggest Holtz critic on the board. McLeod has also been playing awesome and should absolutely be the third-line center for the foreseeable future until we get more healthy. On the flip side, Tatar has been comically awful lately as has Bratt, both pretty much being disappearing acts when the physicality gets ramped up. I'd say now would be a great time to bench Tatar and get some new energy into the lineup. but I don't think we have the facilities for that right now.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I didn't read all of the NJ threads, but Vancouver posters are at it again.

Get this trade proposal:
- Quinn Hughes to NJ
For
- Nemec +
- 2023 1st +
- 2024 1st

That's the baseline with cap coming back with other picks/prospects.

You guys looking to find that deal super appealing? Ha-h-a-ha-ha-ha all through the day and nights to come!

tbh I might do it.

then trade Sevs for the best offer you can get

 

[Forge]

Holtz has been playing great hockey as of late. In my opinion, he deserves a shot alongside the wing of Hughes/Hischier, and I'm probably the biggest Holtz critic on the board. McLeod has also been playing awesome and should absolutely be the third-line center for the foreseeable future until we get more healthy. On the flip side, Tatar has been comically awful lately as has Bratt, both pretty much being disappearing acts when the physicality gets ramped up. I'd say now would be a great time to bench Tatar and get some new energy into the lineup. but I don't think we have the facilities for that right now.

I thought the same last night. I feel like the last two games have probably been Holtz's best that I have seen from him... at least in a decent long while. I'm ready to at least give that a shot while we wait for Palat and Bastian to get back. I know that a Holtz / Hughes line will likely get cratered every now and again, but Jack is still a possession monster.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Bratt has cooled off and isn’t doing enough offensively, but he’s been out there for 1 GA in this stretch and his lines have still controlled play significantly. Boqvist and Siegenthaler have been the big let downs in this L streak, though there aren’t many expectations for “other Jesper”.

We really need Palat back.

 

[JrFischer54]

I didn't read all of the NJ threads, but Vancouver posters are at it again.

Get this trade proposal:
- Quinn Hughes to NJ
For
- Nemec +
- 2023 1st +
- 2024 1st

That's the baseline with cap coming back with other picks/prospects.

You guys looking to find that deal super appealing? Ha-h-a-ha-ha-ha all through the day and nights to come!

Nah pass devils have all the leverage knowing this is where Quinn is going to end up in a few years. I would give them 23 and 24 first for him and holtz

 

[billingtons ghost]

Bratt has cooled off and isn’t doing enough offensively, but he’s been out there for 1 GA in this stretch and his lines have still controlled play significantly. Boqvist and Siegenthaler have been the big let downs in this L streak, though there aren’t many expectations for “other Jesper”.

We really need Palat and Bastian back.

Fixed it for ya

 

[Bad Goalie]

EXCLUSIVE: London Police investigators say they have reasonable grounds to believe that 5 members of the 2018 world junior hockey team sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada fundraising gala, a recent court filing indicates.

 

[NjDevsRR]

EXCLUSIVE: London Police investigators say they have reasonable grounds to believe that 5 members of the 2018 world junior hockey team sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada fundraising gala, a recent court filing indicates.

Was posted with link in the Around the League thread.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Fixed it for ya

That is true, but I’m proceeding as if he’s done for the year. If he’s back at any point, I’ll be happy.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Was posted with link in the Around the League thread.

I posted it here because it can certainly affect the Devils.

 

[devilsblood]

EXCLUSIVE: London Police investigators say they have reasonable grounds to believe that 5 members of the 2018 world junior hockey team sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada fundraising gala, a recent court filing indicates.

what was the perceived number prior to this? Thought there was a dozen or so guys?