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

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Just got to Montreal.

Let’s ****ing go.

 

[DerekDevils30]

Just got to Montreal.

Let’s ****ing go.

Hell yeah. Gonna party hard this weekend?

 

[My3Sons]

Akira is playing so much better than Vitek. What's the plan here ?

Well according to @Bleedred it’s just randomly play one of the two meh goalies until Blackwood comes back to save the team.

 

[Guttersniped]

What’s an example of a one for one ?
Is someone like Boldy too much or too little to expect for a return?

Way too much because there’s zero chance Minnesota trades Boldy for Bratt.

 

[Guttersniped]

Lindy on Haula

“It’s climate change, he’s HOT HOT”


Mercer, 19 pts in his last 11 gms, OH MY

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Sharangovich and Lazar in there for MTL but who do you scratch besides McLeod on that fourth line? Wood's been playing his best hockey in like 4 months + Bastian's the best player on the line

 

[Lou Bloom]

Think people are getting way too crazy talking about trading Bratt. We're not even close to the offseason yet, there's no reason for either side to blink on negotiations at this time. The only time we see players with RFA status being traded is when they've made it clear they don't want to play in a specific area (Tkachuk with Calgary, Trouba wanting to play in the North East, PLD not wanting to play for Columbus) and there's been zero indication that Bratt doesn't want to stay in NJ for the long term.

Odds are they're probably slightly apart on the numbers and both parties are waiting it out to get the best deal possible, no reason to believe a deal won't eventually get done.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Bratt being in a mini slump and still finishing at about a point per game this year means we might have leverage to sign him at a lower cap hit.

 

[MasterofGrond]

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Sharangovich and Lazar in there for MTL but who do you scratch besides McLeod on that fourth line? Wood's been playing his best hockey in like 4 months + Bastian's the best player on the line

Bench wood anyway, his best hockey still isn’t good enough

 

[Whaddagoal]

Nico has overtaken Bratt in points.

(In one less game played )

Watch out!

 

[Buggsy]

Just got to Montreal.

Let’s ****ing go.

I am very jealous. As a Devils fan from east coast Canada, I have never seen the team play. Heck, I have never been to an NHL game.

For the past 3 years I have picked out the away game in Montreal to go see. Every year something comes up. This year my wife finally gave in and let me get a second dog, so I can’t really complain.

I would attach a picture if the file size limit wasn’t so small.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Vanecek against Mon and Schmid against Car. If we want any chance in that Carolina game Schmid needs to steal it on the tail end of back to back.

Carolina will also be on a back-to-back as they have Vegas on Saturday, so we’ll see if that plays any factor as well.

I’ll be there Sunday and I’m stoked. Should be a playoff-like atmosphere.

 

[Sdevils42]

W is a W but I'm starting to get concerned about dominating a team only to need OT or a close finish. Ran into some hot goalies but is this a deeper issue of not having enough true finishers around the goal.

Hughes is hurt, it's pretty evident. He has no zip on his passes or shots, puck rolls off his stick too frequently. That coupled with a few really bad decisions is a cause for concern. Guess we'll see.

 

[bigd]

Well according to @Bleedred it’s just randomly play one of the two meh goalies until Blackwood comes back to save the team.

LOL, now we are looking to Blackwood to save the team?
That's like asking pirates to save the people on a sinking ship full of gold.

I can't imagine Blackwood comes back unless he retakes the net and leads NJ to a finals appearance. Even then they might work out a trade instead.

Blackwood lives on IR, why would we ever want to resign him?

 

[Saugus]

Just got to Montreal.

Let’s ****ing go.

I went to Marty's last game in Montreal in 2014, the atmosphere was incredible in the Bell Centre, and the crowd was genuinely saluting their legendary native son. I believe we won the game 2-1 or something, I don't remember the details.

And then some drunk asshole swore at me in French the entire Metro ride back to Longueuil, where I was staying. Even though I was wearing my Brodeur sweater. Fun times.

 

[Clam Jensen]

W is a W but I'm starting to get concerned about dominating a team only to need OT or a close finish. Ran into some hot goalies but is this a deeper issue of not having enough true finishers around the goal.

Hughes is hurt, it's pretty evident. He has no zip on his passes or shots, puck rolls off his stick too frequently. That coupled with a few really bad decisions is a cause for concern. Guess we'll see.

Jack’s shot last night was fine. I had the Caps feed and they had a bunch of slo-mo replays of some of his chances, and the only reason Kempuer saved them was due to positioning, he had no idea where they were going.

 

[Devs3cups]

Hughes is hurt, it's pretty evident. He has no zip on his passes or shots, puck rolls off his stick too frequently. That coupled with a few really bad decisions is a cause for concern. Guess we'll see.

I get the sentiment that it’s sometimes frustrating facing hot goalies (lors knows I get frustrated about that lol), but scoring has been generally very good this year for us. We’re 4th in GF and 4th in GF/G with 3.5 goals per game.

 

[Capt Nico Poo]

Ah, morning coffee, opening the Finnish online news papers. Big title: RED HOT FINNISH FORWARD SCORES AGAIN

Click bait title had a picture of our lord and saviour, Mr. Erik Haula!

 

[guitarguyvic]

W is a W but I'm starting to get concerned about dominating a team only to need OT or a close finish. Ran into some hot goalies but is this a deeper issue of not having enough true finishers around the goal.

Hughes is hurt, it's pretty evident. He has no zip on his passes or shots, puck rolls off his stick too frequently. That coupled with a few really bad decisions is a cause for concern. Guess we'll see.

The devils score 3.55 goals per game, good for fourth best in the entire league. The highest scoring team in the league score 0.3 goals more per game…or to put it another way, one extra goal every three games. How much more finishing do you possibly think they could have?

I don’t understand folks who think this is a problem.

 

[NjDevsRR]

It is interesting that when there were multiple reports saying Fitz is actively talking to Bratts camp, he goes into a pretty bad slump. Happened in the Fall after the Zona home game, and again now. Hopefully he rebounds again.

The devils score 3.55 goals per game, good for fourth best in the entire league. The highest scoring team in the league score 0.3 goals more per game…or to put it another way, one extra goal every three games. How much more finishing do you possibly think they could have?

I don’t understand folks who think this is a problem.

Last 7 games, we are at 4.4 goals per game.

People looking to complain about anything, I really don’t understand either.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

The devils score 3.55 goals per game, good for fourth best in the entire league. The highest scoring team in the league score 0.3 goals more per game…or to put it another way, one extra goal every three games. How much more finishing do you possibly think they could have?

I don’t understand folks who think this is a problem.

Right now we’re getting great secondary scoring, awesome to see. My worry is that drying up and Hughes/Bratt/Meier continuing to slump. That period where Hughes was single-handedly keeping this team alive seemed like it went on a while, but Jack hasn’t been the same the last ten or so games.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Right now we’re getting great secondary scoring, awesome to see. My worry is that drying up and Hughes/Bratt/Meier continuing to slump. That period where Hughes was single-handedly keeping this team alive seemed like it went on a while, but Jack hasn’t been the same the last ten or so games.

The fact we are scoring the most goals we have had all season in this latest stretch without relying on Jack Bratt or DOUGLAS is great. Those three were being relied on way too much. Now, it will eventually turn back around and all three lines will be cooking again.

 

[Saugus]

Ah, morning coffee, opening the Finnish online news papers. Big title: RED HOT FINNISH FORWARD SCORES AGAIN

Click bait title had a picture of our lord and saviour, Mr. Erik Haula!

Did Haula stir your coffee too?

 

[guitarguyvic]

Right now we’re getting great secondary scoring, awesome to see. My worry is that drying up and Hughes/Bratt/Meier continuing to slump. That period where Hughes was single-handedly keeping this team alive seemed like it went on a while, but Jack hasn’t been the same the last ten or so games.

All three of those guys are established producers...the likelihood that all three of them slump for a continued extended period of time is very low.

This kind of "concern" is Chicken Little. Do any of you ever just relax?

 

[Better Call Sal]

"We need more scoring!"

"We've scored over 4 goals a game over the last 7."

"Not those guys!"

Depth scoring is vital to teams winning in the postseason. I'm not concerned about the top 6 being in a dry spell for very long, especially in the toughest part of our schedule all season while we've thrown Timo into the mix and are attempting to try out new combos.

Bank the points and keep moving. Still plenty of time in the season to fine tune our lineup.