the devils went from bottom 5 to top 5 in the league. i think it's fair to assume they were under-achiever last season and over-achiever this season. if they would be able to keep the team together, i think the young players growing and the general regression to the mean could cancel each other out for next season. but with a lot of roster turnover there is no guarantee for a seamless transition into another successful season. overall this is still not an experienced team.
Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part VI
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AfroThunder396
[citation needed]
Jack still looks dangerous and dominates shifts. The problem is that earlier in the season he was dominating every shift, and now it only seems like it's 2-3 per game. I'm not worried yet but it's definitely eyebrow-raising.
3.5 goals per game for the Devils in this 17 gm stretch. They are at 3.45 on the year which puts them 6th best in the league. So they literally scored at a higher pace in this 17 gm stretch than they did on the season.
Zippy316
aka Zippo
As the games have gotten tighter, there is so much interference, holding, etc. behind the play on every single shift to slow down the Devils speed. It was noticeable against the Lightning and the Wild did the same thing. Teams aren’t giving up space easily anymore.
Half of it is borderline penalty (exhibit A the slash on Hughes right before he hit the post in OT). He’s getting that treatment game in and game out both when he has the puck and doesn’t. It’s little things to throw off the rhythm or get him to bobble the puck etc.
Hughes has got to learn how to be effective through that and he is starting to. Hopefully he figures it out come playoff time.
The Devils are exactly middle of the pack in finishing. Jack is clearly hurt in some way, I wish they would sit him but instead they're playing him 23 minutes. Him going cold did not illuminate that, because even if he had just stayed lukewarm, the Devils would be having issues over this stretch.
it really depends on the deployment.
if the plan is to stop the opponents best lines with bahl / hamilton or hughes / hamilton you are most likely in trouble. but if you have the defensive depth to give them a sheltered role or pair them with a dependable defensive player like marino, i think you can survive. the problem is we only have one marino so far for next season.
Zajacs Bowl Cut
Lets Go Baby
I mean, hes averaging nearly 4.5 shots per game over that span...he never did that as a rookie. His shooting % is under 3% the last 17 games...that will correct itself.
Devils731
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- Jun 23, 2008
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And it’s not like all the shots are garbage. He’s had a few where goalies just got a piece of it and he put the puck in a good spot.
He may have lost some zip off his wrist shot right now which is giving goalies that fraction of a second to recover but that zip should come back as I assume whatever is bothering him heals up.
I know when guys bury shots, they just look better, but it sure seems like Jack is off his game. Think the shooting % is down because his game is off. Not we think his game is off because of the shooting %.
That said, yeah, this is not Rookie Jack.
I could see limiting his minutes a bit, but I'm not seeing anything that suggests he needs games off.
SteveCangialosi123
Registered User
And not just his individual shooting percentage. On ice shooting percentage of just over 6%. His play has dipped, but he’s also getting some horrible luck.
Even though we see some weakness in Hamilton's game(he's slow), which may become more of an issue later in his contract, I think that signing is still a win. We would not be as good as we are without him right now, and we really needed to get out of the mire of bottom 3rd finishes. I also think he is sure to be a high end player for the next 2-3-4 years. I'm pretty confident this is a good deal when it's all said and done.
Palat? This signing always had the element of what he brings to the playoffs. At this point he clearly looks overpaid for what he is bringing in the regular season. Truth be told, he just hasn't been that impactful. But again, it's about the playoffs with Palat, so I'll hold off making any judgements just yet. If he gives us 3 years of impactful playoff play, I think the jury weighs in favorably on his deal.
So do we think Foote earned himself another game? I thought that 4th line had a couple good shifts, but he only got 6 minutes of ice time.
Small sample for Foote obviously, but he is under 5 sog's/60. McLeod is not a guy who get's a lot of sog's, so he and Foote together would really be lacking in this regard.
My guess is Ruff is ready to get Wood back out there.
Small sample for Foote obviously, but he is under 5 sog's/60. McLeod is not a guy who get's a lot of sog's, so he and Foote together would really be lacking in this regard.
My guess is Ruff is ready to get Wood back out there.
- May 8, 2010
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I’d leave Foote for at least a few more games before going back to Wood.
Jack has definitely had absolutely no luck luck at all recently…whether it’s posts or miracle saves off of his own shots, or someone he perfectly sets up.
That said, he has definitely been floating around a lot more than he ever did earlier this season. I’m not sure what’s up with that. He’s missing that killer instinct right now.
That said, he has definitely been floating around a lot more than he ever did earlier this season. I’m not sure what’s up with that. He’s missing that killer instinct right now.
Good enough to allow Wood more time to get healthy, but I think that toi is indicative of a guy the coach is ready to swap out.
I edited above regarding shot rate for Foote. Kind of like Holtz in that his shot is a strength but has not been able to generate many sog's thus far.
Jack went into such an attack mode, and really this started last year, that he's having issues working with others imo. It's kind of become Jack doing his thing, and guys like Haula playing a structure game around him. Now that he may have a nagging injury which is limiting his want and ability to be an absolute assassin, I think his game might be in a bit of a no mans land.
I mean yeah, there has been some posts and some big save's, but his game does look pretty clearly off. #'s back it up. He legit has the worst sf% and gf% on the team in the last 25 games. 2nd worst xgf%.
NJDevils17
Going Up?
Hughes had 10 shots last night and an abysmal shooting % since returning from injury.
If it was even close to average, we wouldn’t be talking about him.
If it was even close to average, we wouldn’t be talking about him.
- May 8, 2010
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Exactly. Let’s hope the 2 days off and short trip to Buffalo do wonders.
2nd worst xgf% amongst fwd's on the team. Haula was the worst, so Hughes's line was not good. CF% was bad as well (though SF% was good)
Yeah, Hughes had a bunch of shots (how many were in OT? 5?) but his line was outplayed.
In general guys are having issues playing with Hughes.
Normally I would agree with this, but there's something beyond the poor shooting going on, he seems to be having trouble with the puck. Two big uncharacteristic turnovers last night and he's just kind of throwing the puck anywhere - I recognize that these are things in Jack's game even when he's going well, but he just doesn't look like himself right now.
- May 8, 2010
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He’s 4th in xGF% for forwards who have played the last 10 games (min 100 mins). Slightly under Bratt and Meier, slightly over Nico.
In that stretch:
Bratt has shot 17.86% on 28 shots
Nico 12.90% on 31 shots
Meier 10.26% on 39 shots
Jack is shooting 2.33% on 43 shots.
He’s not at the top of his game right now, this is evident and I’m not denying it (even though I’m not worried about it), but he’s also VERY unlucky.
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AfroThunder396
[citation needed]
I do think that there are times where the other guys on the ice will defer to Hughes, especially on the power play. A lot of times I feel like someone will get possession and then immediately start looking to get the puck to Jack.
Bratt and Meier will both show initiative when they have the puck and look to do things themselves, Mercer to some extent, but I'd like to see other players on Jack's line be a bit more selfish. The more you do things yourself the more room will open up for Jack.
Bratt and Meier will both show initiative when they have the puck and look to do things themselves, Mercer to some extent, but I'd like to see other players on Jack's line be a bit more selfish. The more you do things yourself the more room will open up for Jack.
I think that’s definitely true. Some many times he’s force fed the puck for no reason
I'm not overly worried about it either.
But last 10 games his on ice xGF rate(not %) is less then Boq, and barely above McLeod. There have been some posts, there have been some big saves, but he is not generating chances anywhere near where we expect from him.
And of course he has more offensive zone starts then any player during that stretch, and the least amount of d-zone starts.
And this has been going of for more then 10 games.
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