GDT: Devils vs. Sharks - 10:30 PM MSG+

[NjDevsRR]

This isn't even debatable. Henrique is not a good center whatsoever. He is a good player when he is finishing his chances. His skillset is very limited especially for a center. But it is not his fault we do not have better options at center. He is a better fit at LW.

 

[Zippy316]

This isn't even debatable. Henrique is not a good center whatsoever. He is a good player when he is finishing his chances. His skillset is very limited especially for a center. But it is not his fault we do not have better options at center. He is a better fit at LW.

The problem with this logic is our strength isn't our centers. Our strength is in our LWs.

This team right now is built to have Hall and Cammalleri driving the offense. Both of them are out so we're left with what we saw the last few games. Plus, we saw the difference it makes once you have a 1LW like Hall in the line-up pushing everyone into their proper roles.

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

I would love to see Zacha center Henrique. Pavel has the size, the speed and the vision to run a line and Henrique needs to press the reset button as of today and just keep his game as simple as possible, to get back the confidence he kind of lost since the start of the season. Let him be what Palmieri was for us last year, a shoot first ask questions later, type of winger.

 

[Zippy316]

I would love to see Zacha center Henrique. Pavel has the size, the speed and the vision to run a line and Henrique needs to press the reset button as of today and just keep his game as simple as possible, to get back the confidence he kind of lost since the start of the season. Let him be what Palmieri was for us last year, a shoot first ask questions later, type of winger.

While this may sound nice, but then you're left with Josefson at 3C and a center trio of Zajac - Zacha - Josefson.

I'm not too sure the staff would be willing to do that. Henrique is at the very least reliable and trusted by the coaching staff at center. They seem to be a bit indifferent with Zacha there.

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

While this may sound nice, but then you're left with Josefson at 3C and a center trio of Zajac - Zacha - Josefson.

I'm not too sure the staff would be willing to do that. Henrique is at the very least reliable and trusted by the coaching staff at center. They seem to be a bit indifferent with Zacha there.

With 3 of our best players out of our lineup, we just don't have the depth to spread out the talent and that's understandable. Yesterday's game was a glaring example of that. We looked like we were all about defending and didn't generate squat offensively. If our plan is to win 1-0, in a shootout, then yeah, we should keep our lines the way they were yesterday.

We looked like crap yesterday, so just assuming we'll look better, without making any changes is pretty foolish IMO. We'll have the last change in our next couple of games, so I'd try a top 6 heavy lineup and match them up against the opposing's top lines.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I was actually in attendance at this hot mess yesterday.

I usually spend an inordinate amount of time defending some players on this board, but yesterday, it was pretty clear who belongs in the NHL and who does not.

Kalinin played a good game. His ceiling is 2008 Zubrus 4th liner.
Zajac is clearly a very good #3 C, and a good #2C in this league.
Henrique had a tough night but is still a good #2W or #3C
Zacha was great. He will be a #1C in this league someday.
Greene was our only decent Dman and will be great as 2nd pairing Dman on a good team.
Lovejoy and Moore are decent bottom pairing Dmen.
DSP can play 4th line minutes.
Lappin's ceiling is Steve Bernier. He might be an ok 4th liner for us.

Boucher doesn't belong in the league. I love his game, I've always supported him, but he is going the way of Pierre Dagenais and Nick Palmeri, very shortly.
JJ doesn't belong in this league. Can't win a puck battle, can't hold onto his stick, noncommital.
Bennett does not belong in this league. All of the good skating and occasionally flashy looking setups aren't really worth the failure to win puck battles, the poor passes, the inability to handle a pass, and the terrible shooting ability ... and worse, unwillingness to shoot. He's JJ+ with worse puckhandling skills and no defense. If JJ wasn't here he'd move into whipping boy status.
Quincey... ah.... I just don't have the words.
PaP is waiver wire garbage. The Isles were right. He is so many levels below Stempniak-journeyman that it is just ugly.
Fiddler can sometimes win a faceoff and do little else. He needs to be jettisoned. (sadly, we have no one better)
Merrill will never be a good defenseman in this league. Sorry. I just defended him as being young yesterday, but he simply doesn't have it.
Pietla was terrible. I'll give him a pass since it is game 4 for him, but he was terrible.

I pined away for Schlemko last night. Our team made it look like we could have used Stephen Gionta.

 

[NjDevsRR]

I was actually in attendance at this hot mess yesterday.

I usually spend an inordinate amount of time defending some players on this board, but yesterday, it was pretty clear who belongs in the NHL and who does not.

Kalinin played a good game. His ceiling is 2008 Zubrus 4th liner.
Zajac is clearly a very good #3 C, and a good #2C in this league.
Henrique had a tough night but is still a good #2W or #3C
Zacha was great. He will be a #1C in this league someday.
Greene was our only decent Dman and will be great as 2nd pairing Dman on a good team.
Lovejoy and Moore are decent bottom pairing Dmen.
DSP can play 4th line minutes.
Lappin's ceiling is Steve Bernier. He might be an ok 4th liner for us.

Boucher doesn't belong in the league. I love his game, I've always supported him, but he is going the way of Pierre Dagenais and Nick Palmeri, very shortly.
JJ doesn't belong in this league. Can't win a puck battle, can't hold onto his stick, noncommital.
Bennett does not belong in this league. All of the good skating and occasionally flashy looking setups aren't really worth the failure to win puck battles, the poor passes, the inability to handle a pass, and the terrible shooting ability ... and worse, unwillingness to shoot. He's JJ+ with worse puckhandling skills and no defense. If JJ wasn't here he'd move into whipping boy status.
Quincey... ah.... I just don't have the words.
PaP is waiver wire garbage. The Isles were right. He is so many levels below Stempniak-journeyman that it is just ugly.
Fiddler can sometimes win a faceoff and do little else. He needs to be jettisoned. (sadly, we have no one better)
Merrill will never be a good defenseman in this league. Sorry. I just defended him as being young yesterday, but he simply doesn't have it.
Pietla was terrible. I'll give him a pass since it is game 4 for him, but he was terrible.

I pined away for Schlemko last night. Our team made it look like we could have used Stephen Gionta.

Bennett does belong in this league, maybe not top 6 mins but he is a good forward to have and has arguably been our best forward during this tough stretch.

 

[Triumph]

Drawing conclusions from last night's game, which I also watched the entirety of, is a bad idea. Especially the idea that Bennett and Parenteau aren't NHLers - they had poor nights, both of them, but they are absolutely NHL players. Parenteau might not be for long, but Bennett is very impressive - he's never going to score a lot, and his lack of scoring right now is frustrating, but the rest of his game is very good and exactly what this team could use more of on the lower lines. Finally an American player who didn't go through the USNDP brainwashing system of north-south hockey.

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

Drawing conclusions from last night's game, which I also watched the entirety of, is a bad idea. Especially the idea that Bennett and Parenteau aren't NHLers - they had poor nights, both of them, but they are absolutely NHL players. Parenteau might not be for long, but Bennett is very impressive - he's never going to score a lot, and his lack of scoring right now is frustrating, but the rest of his game is very good and exactly what this team could use more of on the lower lines. Finally an American player who didn't go through the USNDP brainwashing system of north-south hockey.

Bennett is nothing special and should be no way near our top line. He's a bottom 6 forward, nothing more. You can't be that inept at offense and continue to play on our top unit.

 

[Triumph]

Bennett is nothing special and should be no way near our top line. He's a bottom 6 forward, nothing more. You can't be that inept at offense and continue to play on our top unit.

'Inept at offense'? Yeah, he's not scoring, but he is generating shots and chances for other people. And he will score. Just not a lot. That much should be clear from his career up to this point. I don't really differentiate a ton between the top 3 lines, especially now, but I agree that he's not some 18 minute a game player.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Bennett is one of our only forwards who can actually drive play forward, take the blinders off.

 

[Oneiro]

Not opposed to the idea of putting Henrique on the wing. At a time like this, maybe he should simplify his game. Plus, Zacha has played too tentative of a game as a winger, the center role suits his tendencies.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Bennett is nothing special and should be no way near our top line. He's a bottom 6 forward, nothing more. You can't be that inept at offense and continue to play on our top unit.

Aren't you the one who's always complaining about the negativity on this site?

 

[Devils Dominion]

When is Zacha going to start showing glimpses of a top-line producer?

 

[FooteBahl]

When is Zacha going to start showing glimpses of a top-line producer?

How did he look last night?

 

[MissMyDevs*]

Apparently Burns looked so good last night against this pathetic squad that he just got an 8 year extension. Bummer was hoping he'd come to NJ. :::eyeroll

@sanjosesharks BREAKING: #SJSharks sign @Burnzie88 to an 8-year contract extension. go.sjsharks.com/8HL8306qWYv

 

[TheUnseenHand]

I find your comments funny. You disagree but then point out that over the past 10 season this is true. I think so far both East and West are even as of now for this season to date but there is a long way to go in this season. As for the Devils over the years they struggle against the West coast as you said.

Well, the point to my comment is that the balance of power has shifted back to the East. But it was pretty poorly worded I suppose. I guess that's a function of commenting right after I woke up

 

[billingtons ghost]

How did he look last night?

Zacha can make the tough passes, makes great decisions with the puck and has the speed, shot and puck handling skills to be a top line producer. I thought he was the best player on the ice.

I'll agree Bennett played well for the last three games, and then last night he showed the same thing he showed in the first 5 or 6 games of the season. Nothing.

He absolutely has NHL-level talent, he simply does not have the rest of the game to be a full-time NHLer. I guarantee as soon as JJ is removed, BB will be the new whipping boy for this team. There's nothing more frustrating than talent that just isn't ever going to bear fruit - and that is exactly what this guy is.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

When is Zacha going to start showing glimpses of a top-line producer?

He looks like a guy that needs a finisher on his line. He clearly is one of the most offensively creative guys on the team. He has incredible vision and patience, and is one of the few guys on the team that knows how to pass to where a guy will be instead of where he is. I think he has been tentative to shoot, and while he has a very good shot, it doesn't look to be the strength of his game. It's really his hockey sense and ability to find the open man. That's why it makes so little sense to me to put him on wing. He is so much less effective there.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I wouldn't be so mad about the LA and San Jose loses if their heads weren't up their *****.

I can forgive tough losses like the Anaheim one, but guys need to be held accountable for the last two. Not expecting the lower line guys to light the world on fire, but the pee-wee mistakes and lack of hustle is inexcusable.

Rico is public enemy number 1 right now. He really needs to step the hell up. Palms too once he returns.

 

[billingtons ghost]

I wouldn't be so mad about the LA and San Jose loses if their heads weren't up their *****.

I can forgive tough losses like the Anaheim one, but guys need to be held accountable for the last two. Not expecting the lower line guys to light the world on fire, but the pee-wee mistakes and lack of hustle is inexcusable.

Rico is public enemy number 1 right now. He really needs to step the hell up. Palms too once he returns.

I'll agree with this.

What bothered me most, about seeing it in person, was it was CLEAR that only a small subset of guys came to play. Kalinin and DSP got their nose dirty like players should. Zajac and Zacha were fine...

But all of those guys 'competing' for spots were just plain terrible. Merrill, Bennett, Boucher, JJ, Pietla and even Lappin couldn't make simple hockey plays.

Watching guys like Couture skate around them like pilons and Thornton sweeping pucks off of their sticks as if they weren't there just magnified the disparity of:

This guy is an NHLer - this guy clearly is not.

I really thought that 3 guys being out of the lineup would make it so that these guys would really compete to seize a spot - but no one even looked somewhat interested in doing so.

 

[Triumph]

I'll agree with this.

What bothered me most, about seeing it in person, was it was CLEAR that only a small subset of guys came to play. Kalinin and DSP got their nose dirty like players should. Zajac and Zacha were fine...

But all of those guys 'competing' for spots were just plain terrible. Merrill, Bennett, Boucher, JJ, Pietla and even Lappin couldn't make simple hockey plays.

Watching guys like Couture skate around them like pilons and Thornton sweeping pucks off of their sticks as if they weren't there just magnified the disparity of:

This guy is an NHLer - this guy clearly is not.

I really thought that 3 guys being out of the lineup would make it so that these guys would really compete to seize a spot - but no one even looked somewhat interested in doing so.

With the caveat that obviously the team looked awful in pretty much all respects last night, it's unfair to single out guys like Kalinin and DSP for 'getting their nose dirty' because that's their game. If those guys are not doing that they are utterly useless. On the other hand, it's 'easy' for them to do that, because they know this. Pietila knows it too, that's why he made a useless and slightly dangerous hit on a guy with 1 minute left in the game. He did something similar last year when he was up.

Bennett and Merrill and Josefson and Boucher - this isn't their game. Merrill has to win more one on one battles for sure, but he's not going to start throwing hits. Boucher's strong on his skates for a guy his size but he rarely knocks people over. And so on. Their games are going to appear to vary in quality because what they do is less visibly obvious, and likewise their mistakes are more noticeable.

 

[billingtons ghost]

With the caveat that obviously the team looked awful in pretty much all respects last night, it's unfair to single out guys like Kalinin and DSP for 'getting their nose dirty' because that's their game. If those guys are not doing that they are utterly useless. On the other hand, it's 'easy' for them to do that, because they know this. Pietila knows it too, that's why he made a useless and slightly dangerous hit on a guy with 1 minute left in the game. He did something similar last year when he was up.

Bennett and Merrill and Josefson and Boucher - this isn't their game. Merrill has to win more one on one battles for sure, but he's not going to start throwing hits. Boucher's strong on his skates for a guy his size but he rarely knocks people over. And so on. Their games are going to appear to vary in quality because what they do is less visibly obvious, and likewise their mistakes are more noticeable.

I think you misunderstood me... I was praising Kalinin and DSP as the only players who were actually involved and undertaking their roles. Pietla's hit was stupid - but worse than that, he really looked lost - but I'll give him a pass because of youth.

I get your point that 'it isn't their game' for those other guys - but that is my point exactly:
This team needs high-energy, high-impact, tough-to-play-against players in order to play Hynes's style. I think for the first time, I believe that JJ/Boucher/Bennett are simply not cut out for that... 'it's not their game'... and as a result, I don't see a place for them on this squad going forward - whereas, I think someone like Lappin, who may not be as offensively skilled as any of those 3 above - might find success.

That's really bothering me - I thought that these kids could grow and use their skill to make us better - but I don't really see the fire there that will allow them to get enough icetime to make a difference.

I just don't see a path forward for those guys. Bennett maybe moreso than the others, because of Shero's draft love - but still.

 

[DerekDevils30]

Billington, appreciate the comments and mostly agree with your assessments.

But I strongly disagree with your assessment of Lappin. I think he can be a solid 2nd/3rd line tweener for us. He has a strong work ethic and has flashed some skill.

 

[MadDevil]

Bennett would be a good complimentary player on a line with an actual finisher. He does things well in transition and possession, but obviously has issues finishing. It's hard to really figure him out though since he's actually not even played 150 games in the NHL yet despite it being his 5th year in the league. Although now that I say that I realize I used to say the same thing about Josefson.