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Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - season begins!

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PizzaAndPucks said:
Jack is also coming off the shoulder surgery which some of us tend too forget.
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Well is it "he is coming back from surgery" or "he has bad shoulders"?

Maybe that's a little bit of a dummified take, and at least last night I thought we saw a glimmer of ascending Jack, but it's been awhile since we've seen him be a truly dynamic player.

He definitely seems intent on avoiding contact along the boards. Which is smart I guess, but keeps him from winning loose pucks, and probably keeps him from skating the puck into traffic areas. Is this a long term thing, or just short term as he comes back from the injury? I'd say the latter is probably the more common theme with players returning from injury, but he still needs to prove it.

WhiskeyYerTheDevils said:
I like Casey's ability to draw defenders in and then either dish or pull it in for a wrister (we've seen that he won't hesitate to shoot the puck). Dougie doesn't have that ability, so he's not really creating time and space for the guys operating on the halfwall. I think Casey is even better at that than Luke, and is definitely more sure-handed with the puck. It's pretty remarkable how rarely Casey bobbles the puck considering how dynamic he is while moving with it - both Hughes brothers have dynamic hands but it seems like they mishandle it a ton.
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This is definitely a thing, and I caught a glimpse of Jack's stick last night, and his toe curve is ridiculous. I wonder if that plays into the mishandles. Especially on the back hand.
 
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tailfins said:
I don’t understand this. It feels to me like one has nothing to do with the other.

The 6D they are running now can handle 60 minutes. Why would they cut people’s ice time with a 7th D?

7D generally sucks. You’re reducing ice time for all the D and creating inconsistent pairings. 7D is what you want if a) you’ve got Brendan Smith as your 12th forward and PK specialist; or b) you’ve got someone on D to whom you want to give limited ice time (because they are injured, working back from injury, or inexperienced and you are sheltering them).
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Because they want to get 7 D into the lineup and they don't have a forward worth playing. Pesce will be back soon, and that means scratching either Casey or Nemec, and they don't want either of those guys to sit much. They also don't really have a minutes-eating D worth playing 25 minutes a game.
 
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Triumph said:
Because they want to get 7 D into the lineup and they don't have a forward worth playing. Pesce will be back soon, and that means scratching either Casey or Nemec, and they don't want either of those guys to sit much. They also don't really have a minutes-eating D worth playing 25 minutes a game.
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Have to figure Casey goes down to Utica if he comes out of the lineup no?

It's an interesting call as he has been very impressive with the puck, but they definitely don't feel comfortable playing him significant or difficult minutes.
 
devilsblood said:
Have to figure Casey goes down to Utica if he comes out of the lineup no?

It's an interesting call as he has been very impressive with the puck, but they definitely don't feel comfortable playing him significant or difficult minutes.
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Do they need to though? The minutes shouldn't be spread evenly. Some guys play PP, some PK some when our goalie is pulled, some when theirs is, etc...We should be good enough to protect him/anyone when the situation calls for it.
 
BostonDevil said:
Do they need to though? The minutes shouldn't be spread evenly. Some guys play PP, some PK some when our goalie is pulled, some when theirs is, etc...We should be good enough to protect him/anyone when the situation calls for it.
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Casey is currently playing 13 minutes per game. If we go 7 D, that drops even lower. And eventually, when Luke get's back, Casey does go down to Utica.

I could see a small stretch of 7D, but I doubt it's much more then a couple games.

I could also see a Casey/Nemec 3rd pair/street clothes rotation for a small stretch. See how much the team values the internal competition between those 2.
 
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do ya think Palat’s just not happy here? Maybe he’s sick of the regular season and misses coasting through the first 60 games being carried by a line full of superstars that don’t need him to skate hard? He’s looked noticeably worse to start this season and the ol’ “numbers” arent too kind to him.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1846526405628064002
 
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Hockey Sports Fan said:
do ya think Palat’s just not happy here? Maybe he’s sick of the regular season and misses coasting through the first 60 games being carried by a line full of superstars that don’t need him to skate hard? He’s looked noticeably worse to start this season and the ol’ “numbers” arent too kind to him.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1846526405628064002
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He’s probably just cooked.

MasterofGrond said:
Yeah Palat is, uh, bad this year. I thought he was a good bit better than most last season, but this is f***ing undeniable. woof.

he's got plenty of runway to remember how to play f***ing hockey, but if he doesn't, he's gotta go
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Yeah, it’s still early. He might not be nearly this bad all season, but he’s pretty bad right now.
 
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Hockey Sports Fan said:
do ya think Palat’s just not happy here? Maybe he’s sick of the regular season and misses coasting through the first 60 games being carried by a line full of superstars that don’t need him to skate hard? He’s looked noticeably worse to start this season and the ol’ “numbers” arent too kind to him.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1846526405628064002
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Judging by ice time, I'm not sure Keefe trusts Tatar either.
 
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devilsblood said:
Have to figure Casey goes down to Utica if he comes out of the lineup no?

It's an interesting call as he has been very impressive with the puck, but they definitely don't feel comfortable playing him significant or difficult minutes.
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I don't think they want to take him out of the lineup. He played 15 minutes last night because the Devils were behind in the 3rd period - I think they will want the ability to play someone like Casey more in games they are trailing in, and Nemec more in games they are ahead in. Plus they have 4 forwards that can probably handle playing 20 minutes a game, so they can double shift those guys instead of dressing a 12th forward.
 
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My3Sons said:
This game was frustrating and disappointing but it didn’t seem inevitable and pathetic like last season. They were in this one until the end at least.
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This is exactly my feeling. You get the feeling the Devils are aware of the shortcomings and working on them.

Plus i REALLY appreciate that the powerplay looks to have a purpose and direction now, even if the results aren’t there yet. If last night was feb/march of last season, my only thought during that late 5v3 would be “please don’t get scored on.”
 
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Triumph said:
Because they want to get 7 D into the lineup and they don't have a forward worth playing. Pesce will be back soon, and that means scratching either Casey or Nemec, and they don't want either of those guys to sit much. They also don't really have a minutes-eating D worth playing 25 minutes a game.
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The forwards have nothing to do with the D.

By playing 11 forwards, you’re double shifting someone up front. Which, fine. I think we’d all be ok with that now.

But, by playing 7 D, you’re reducing everyone’s ice time. If you feel someone’s ice time should be cut, then that’s reasonable. But that 7th d normally gets very little time.
 
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Hockey Sports Fan said:
This is exactly my feeling. You get the feeling the Devils are aware of the shortcomings and working on them.

Plus i REALLY appreciate that the powerplay looks to have a purpose and direction now, even if the results aren’t there yet. If last night was feb/march of last season, my only thought during that late 5v3 would be “please don’t get scored on.”
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The other thing that stands out to me is where does Carolina go from here? It’s game two and BrindAmour is coaching like it’s game seven of thr finals. Hard matching full forecheck and setting up everything to get a first line fourth line shift. This is peak Canes. They had days of practice for a divisional opponent and actually prepared a specific gameplan and worked on it. They had the last change and the fresh legs. And NJ was one open net shot from tying the game late. Oh and let’s play that game with Luke instead of Nemec and see how it goes. I just don’t see this as a great Canes team if it took this much effort to beat NJ.
 
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guitarguyvic said:
I am concerned that the pec injury has impacted Dougie’s shot. Didn’t what’s his name in Minnesota have the same injury and he was never the same again offensively? If Dougie loses that part of his game he will become a replacement level player.
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I’ve noticed this too. We’ll see if it takes some time to get back to form.
 
Where. Pesce.

I thought Fitz said there was a strong possibility he'd be ready last Thursday, now it's been radio silence.
 
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Hockey Sports Fan said:
do ya think Palat’s just not happy here? Maybe he’s sick of the regular season and misses coasting through the first 60 games being carried by a line full of superstars that don’t need him to skate hard? He’s looked noticeably worse to start this season and the ol’ “numbers” arent too kind to him.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1846526405628064002
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There are players coasting and waiting for the playoffs. If you want the cup, playoffs is where you have to peak. Palat doesn't seem to be too excited of the regular season, but might boost his efforts now that the ice time has gone down. Last season he was quiet as well, but in the playoffs he has been a decent performer. Obviously expensive player to keep if we miss the playoffs, but the merited and experienced players come with a cost.
 
tailfins said:
The forwards have nothing to do with the D.

By playing 11 forwards, you’re double shifting someone up front. Which, fine. I think we’d all be ok with that now.

But, by playing 7 D, you’re reducing everyone’s ice time. If you feel someone’s ice time should be cut, then that’s reasonable. But that 7th d normally gets very little time.
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The 7th D will switch off from game to game. In games where the Devils are ahead, Casey would be the 7th D. In games where the Devils are behind, Nemec would be the 7th D. They could even use Casey at forward for some shifts, too.
 
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