Post-Game Talk: Devils win a game AND score six goals?!

[LeedsMonster]

Did Boqvist get moved back to wing in the 3rd?

 

[TheDuke93]

Did Boqvist get moved back to wing in the 3rd?

Yes playing with Johnsson and Mikey.

 

[glenwo2]

If we're doing these after losses we better do it after a win

@tr83
The reason I did not do it is because I was in the hospital due to having severe pain in my abominal and lower back area.

Apparently, I have Kidney Stones so to see the Devils score 6 goals, makes me feel a bit better. lol.

Thank god that Jack scored a goal finally!!

And Zacha played well as usual. (2 goals...hell yeah!)

Also great to see Boqvist get on the scoresheet.

 

[ninetyeight]

Seeing Sharangovich one time a Hughes pass warms my heart.

Hughes! Here's your f***ing trigger man! Woo!

Also love that in that Hughes goal he once again had that pass fumble, but didn't give up on it. Shows him that no matter how unlucky he might be if he just keeps trying he'll eventually get it done.

 

[Zippy316]

I know it’s going to sound like a broken record cause we say it year after year, but with the right moves in the off-season, I can’t help but be excited for next season.

Kuokkanen and Sharangovich have solidified top nine wing spots. Zacha and Bratt are producing like top six forwards so far this season. Hughes has shown flashes of dominance. Maltsev, McLeod, and Bastian look like they can be terrific role players. Add Hischier to that group and the right veterans to compliment them and they should go off next year.

Similarly for Smith on the back end. Hopefully Kulikov sticks around for a few years as well. Still need a couple more bodies ideally, but not as bad as it’s looked in past years.

 

[Devils731]

Did Boqvist get moved back to wing in the 3rd?

I think Merkley got hurt by McLeod so the lines needed to be jumbled.

 

[Clam Jensen]

I know it’s going to sound like a broken record cause we say it year after year, but with the right moves in the off-season, I can’t help but be excited for next season.

Kuokkanen and Sharangovich have solidified top nine wing spots. Zacha and Bratt are producing like top six forwards so far this season. Hughes has shown flashes of dominance. Maltsev, McLeod, and Bastian look like they can be terrific role players. Add Hischier to that group and the right veterans to compliment them and they should go off next year.

Similarly for Smith on the back end. Hopefully Kulikov sticks around for a few years as well. Still need a couple more bodies ideally, but not as bad as it’s looked in past years.

They have legit secondary and tertiary pieces now to accompany Hughes/Hischier, and Smith has been a revelation on D. I’m excited to see what the off-season brings.

Edit: And as much as I’m attached to all the youngins on the team and in Bingo, we have a ton of trade pieces too...

 

[Better Call Sal]

After a trade that could be viewed as demoralizing and placing further pressure on the younger guys to step up, nearly every single one of them had a strong game tonight.

Yes, while it’s against the Sabres, we’re not in a position to be considering any game an easy win at all.

I went with Hughes, Ty, and McLeod but Bratt, Zacha, Sharangovich, Kuokkanen, and Boqvist all had strong games in their own right as well.

Games like this give you hope that the energy the kids can bring will be something to tip the scales in the right direction for us in the future. Can’t wait for Nico to get back full time.

 

[Zippy316]

They have legit secondary and tertiary pieces now to accompany Hughes/Hischier, and Smith has been a revelation on D. I’m excited to see what the off-season brings.

Edit: And as much as I’m attached to all the youngins on the team and in Bingo, we have a ton of trade pieces too...

Someone is going to get dealt. I have a feeling it’s going to be Boqvist as he should have the highest value and doesn’t need to be protected for expansion. Probably best to use Boqvist as an asset to acquire a defender to protect in the expansion draft.

 

[Its Always Sundstrom]

They have legit secondary and tertiary pieces now to accompany Hughes/Hischier, and Smith has been a revelation on D. I’m excited to see what the off-season brings.

Edit: And as much as I’m attached to all the youngins on the team and in Bingo, we have a ton of trade pieces too...

Tertiary, huh? Someone get this person a drink on the house.

Someone is going to get dealt. I have a feeling it’s going to be Boqvist as he should have the highest value and doesn’t need to be protected for expansion. Probably best to use Boqvist as an asset to acquire a defender to protect in the expansion draft.

Agree with you here. I think that’s part of the thinking of keeping JB at center, more value all around to the team. He might the best piece to pickup a similarly aged Dman ready to break. I like him as a player but someone has to go. Just nice to be able to have these discussions.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

I think Merkley got hurt by McLeod so the lines needed to be jumbled.

Lindy addressed shortening the bench in his post-game comments. Guys who were going well were rewarded - thus the use of three lines.

Have to chuckle about the McLeod "role player" comment.

Similarly, for all the (sometimes deserved) criticism that Andreas Johnsson has received this season, he had a strong two-way game and was a key factor on both PP goals.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Tertiary, huh? Someone get this person a drink on the house.



Agree with you here. I think that’s part of the thinking of keeping JB at center, more value all around to the team. He might the best piece to pickup a similarly aged Dman ready to break. I like him as a player but someone has to go. Just nice to be able to have these discussions.

Think the other Jesper B with his experience might bring a better return and has a skillset that is redundant with some of the other forwards the Devils already have.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

Ancillary to the tertiary components, it's a you got your chocolate in my peanut butter, no you got your peanut butter in my chocolate dream mashup to have Hughes on a line with Sharangovich because not only does he have a quick release but he has NO PROBLEM with firing the puck where some of these guys just want to overpass to find the perfect slam dunk goal. Keep feeding the shooter.

 

[Devils731]

Lindy addressed shortening the bench in his post-game comments. Guys who were going well were rewarded - thus the use of three lines.

Have to chuckle about the McLeod "role player" comment.

Similarly, for all the (sometimes deserved) criticism that Andreas Johnsson has received this season, he had a strong two-way game and was a key factor on both PP goals.

Agreed but Merkley was in the middle of a shift, McLeod runs into Merkley after driving the net, Merkley leaves the ice while hunched over and clutching his arm, and then Boqvist finishes the shift with McLeod.

So I don’t think Ruff decided to shorten the bench mid-shift.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Think the other Jesper B with his experience might bring a better return and has a skillset that is redundant with some of the other forwards the Devils already have.

Yeah I’d imagine Jesper Bratt would bring a better return than Jesper Boqvist considering he’s 22 and the best player on the team when Nico is out. Definitely the kind of player we should be trading for no reason.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Think the other Jesper B with his experience might bring a better return and has a skillset that is redundant with some of the other forwards the Devils already have.

Ridiculous

the only forward who can do most of the things that Bratt does is Hughes

 

[Triumph]

Agreed but Merkley was in the middle of a shift, McLeod runs into Merkley after driving the net, Merkley leaves the ice while hunched over and clutching his arm, and then Boqvist finishes the shift with McLeod.

So I don’t think Ruff decided to shorten the bench mid-shift.

Was that on the same shift? I thought the bench had already been shortened by that point. But it appears from the shift chart that you are right - Maltsev and Thompson were already benched but Merkley had not been.

 

[Bleedred]

Perhaps the tease of a face turn for Tony P? Or maybe he’s a tweener now? He’s at least suggesting Bratt may deliver a better return than Jesper Boqvist.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

just need 2 legit wingers for Hughes. I would HOPE that at least one can come internally between Holtz, Foote, Mercer, Clarke, etc....and we will probably need to acquire one via trade or UFA

I think the rest of the forward lineup can be built out from what we have

XXX-Hughes-XXX
Zacha-Hischier-Bratt
Sharangovich-Boqvist-Kuokkanen
Wood-McLeod-Thompson

something like that for next year

 

[Unknown Caller]

just need 2 legit wingers for Hughes. I would HOPE that at least one can come internally between Holtz, Foote, Mercer, Clarke, etc....and we will probably need to acquire one via trade or UFA

I think the rest of the forward lineup can be built out from what we have

XXX-Hughes-XXX
Zacha-Hischier-Bratt
Sharangovich-Boqvist-Kuokkanen
Wood-McLeod-Thompson

something like that for next year

I don’t see why they would break up Sharangovich-Hughes-Kuokkanen unless something changes. They are putting up insane numbers. Like one of the top lines in the league quality numbers.

Obviously they’re bound to regress at some point, but to the extent they keep producing at even a slightly reduced rate than they are now, I would keep them together.

 

[Devils731]

Was that on the same shift? I thought the bench had already been shortened by that point. But it appears from the shift chart that you are right - Maltsev and Thompson were already benched but Merkley had not been.

Yes, it was a mid-shift change to the line. Mcleod/Johnson/Merkley started the shift. McLeod drove wide, cut to the net, then hit Merkley. Merkley then left and Boqvist completed the shift at that point.

Merkley barely played that shift and leaves in obvious pain so it doesn’t appear that it was coaches choice. Hopefully he isn’t hurt badly and it was more precautionary.

 

[FinnishDevil]

For the first half of the game it looked like men vs boys out there and our 12 year olds were the men! It was crazy to watch. Its almost like they were relieved of any kind of pressure to perform, almost as if someone just told them to get out there and enjoy. And obviously they lost the lead and the latter part of 2nd period was worse in that regard, but that happens to young teams. And look at their response in the third. Not at any point I felt like Buffalo had much going on, it was all Devils in the 3rd. What a performance from our young guys, whether its against Buffalo or no, I dont care.

Also.. that Bratt move we all know. The one he did on Parayko, where he just turns on the wheels and burns defenders. I know he doesnt score on it often and teams are gonna catch up to it once he starts to gather more respect as a true top 6 player, but man.. that move just gets me going. Imagine in a couple years its a playoff game, full crowd at The Rock and he pulls it off on someone like Victor Hedman or Adam Fox. The place would go nuts.

Cant say enough good things about many of the guys tonight. Jack finally on board, Shara and Janne using their strengths. Ty Smith is probably the biggest bright spot of the season. He is looking legit, so calm and poised most of the time that I agree with someone that we do take him for granted. Hopefully Boqvist gets an extended look at C even when Nico comes back. The most ideal situation would be Wood to Merkley's spot and reunite the Euro line. Also I've liked him all season, but Mikey has been good lately. He looks more effective even outside his points.

I imagine Tuomo Ruutu waking up this morning and shaking after checking the boxscore.

Oh and notice how that bust Jesper Bratt didnt score a goal again! And Zacha is a bum, those two lucky goals dont change the fact.

 

[Triumph]

Someone is going to get dealt. I have a feeling it’s going to be Boqvist as he should have the highest value and doesn’t need to be protected for expansion. Probably best to use Boqvist as an asset to acquire a defender to protect in the expansion draft.

Don't much like this - Boqvist is the only center the Devils have aside from the dreaded Zacha. Ditching him means either penciling in Zacha (or McLeod) at 3C or trying to acquire one in the offseason, neither of which seems good.

I'm still very skeptical of acquiring a defenseman in expansion because it would be very easy for a team to get Schlemko'd as San Jose was - not only did they trade a defender, they lost one in expansion anyway.

 

[tailfins]

Don't much like this - Boqvist is the only center the Devils have aside from the dreaded Zacha. Ditching him means either penciling in Zacha (or McLeod) at 3C or trying to acquire one in the offseason, neither of which seems good.

I'm still very skeptical of acquiring a defenseman in expansion because it would be very easy for a team to get Schlemko'd as San Jose was - not only did they trade a defender, they lost one in expansion anyway.

Acquiring a 3C in a cap strapped league shouldn’t be that hard. Overpaid third liners are exactly the type of luxury that most teams can’t afford.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Trade Zacha to someone enamored with his size and the fact that he "can" play center.