GDT: The Blue Note @ Your NJ Devils, 1/5/2023

[Whaddagoal]

That’s a bullshit quote by Lindy about Mercer. It hurt not getting a shot off in that situation, but the idea that that was a turning point is ridiculous. Just as big of a missed opportunity was the 3 on 1 where Nico elected to pass and missed what would’ve been a tap in to go up 2.

Hamilton and Siegenthaler sucking ass is why the game was lost, not one missed breakaway. That, and not finishing a multitude of chances.

Nico... The guy who has 5 goals in 5 straight games. Compared to Mercer? Rango?

Ruff isnt going to throw nico/captain down when he and hughes are the few guys keeping team offense afloat. No f***ing way, and he shouldnt. Nico playing with a bad hand and still generating points.

Mercer and Rango need a fire lit up their ass for sure and the noshows are a big reason this team isnt getting 2ndary scoring to bolster the top guys during this funk.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I'm more angry at this loss than any other in the season. I think it's because they played such a dominating game overall statistically, and in the context of how much of that has happened over the last month, and at home...this is like a new absurd peak of "play well and lose". At some point these guys gotta put their big boy pants on and f***ing score on all these chances. You can't keep scoring dates with the hot chicks only to throw up all over yourself the second they take their clothes off for you. Stop being such f***ing tools and finish the goddamn job off. f*** I'm pissed.

 

[glenwo2]

I'm giving up on trying to predict what goalie he throws in there. I thought we were DONE with Blackwood getting random starts after the Boston massacre and that we wouldn't see him any earlier than this back to back set. We were not, he played literally 3 games later and 1 game before the back to back.

If he starts leaning on Vitek heavily, I'm gonna start thinking he's doing it out of desperation for his job.

Or Blackwood has yet another clunker and this time he's not gonna be as quick to throw him back in there.

And I wouldn't mind it in the least.

He gives us the best chance to win.

PERIOD.

 

[Lou is God]

They need this to choose from liking a post here for exactly this reason.

 

[billingtons ghost]

RE: Zetterlund...I'm ok with lighting a fire under him. Holtz played well so he stayed, Palat back.

Big Zs game has tailed off a bit. Hope he's back next game.

 

[glenwo2]

They need this to choose from liking a post here for exactly this reason.

Agreed. This forum needs a slight upgrade as far as the "like" system.

 

[NJDevs26]

I'm more angry at this loss than any other in the season. I think it's because they played such a dominating game overall statistically, and in the context of how much of that has happened over the last month, and at home...this is like a new absurd peak of "play well and lose". At some point these guys gotta put their big boy pants on and f***ing score on all these chances. You can't keep scoring dates with the hot chicks only to throw up all over yourself the second they take their clothes off for you. Stop being such f***ing tools and finish the goddamn job off. f*** I'm pissed.

This was one of the three worst losses for me

The Ranger fiasco that started this death spiral
The Panther loss where Nico was hacked to death without jackshit for response

 

[BostonDevil]

First post: It being in the GDT probably has it more heated than usual so that's a fair point.

Second post: I think it's allowed, I'm just saying understand the game situation/pacing. The Devils clearly need a finisher, did this game tell you that specifically? We've known they needed a finisher all the way back in the summer is my overall point.

Completely agree. Fitz knew that they needed a finisher in the summer when he tried like hell to get Gaudreau and Tkachuk.

This is why I would be shocked if he didn’t make a serious push for one now.
The urgency is far more present with a team that has a good shot at the playoffs in January as opposed to a team that just picked 2nd in the draft.

Granted those are the same team, but circumstances have changed and makes the need even greater pronounced.

If they were battling Philly and Columbus at the bottom of the division, why bother, but this team deserves to get a missing piece and see how far they can go. They’ve earned it.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Imagine playing hundreds of minutes with any of these players and having zero goals. Jack Hughes now leading the NHL in average gamescore btw lol.

 

[guitarguyvic]

Those are some bad coaching quotes from Ruff.

Ugh, guy is like the epitome of mediocrity. Does some good things, but incredibly lacking in others.

 

[Triumph]

Yeah if you're gonna hold Zetterlund accountable, fine...when is it Boqvist's 'I've been invisible and haven't scored a point since November' turn? Or does he have the immunity idol just because he plays center?

Boqvist is doing his job otherwise, relatively - he had a rough patch a few weeks ago but he's still getting put on the last unit of the PK, he was moved up to play with Nico briefly last night. I don't doubt Boqvist will be a scratch at some point soon if he doesn't start scoring a bit.

 

[Lou is God]

Those are some bad coaching quotes from Ruff.

Ugh, guy is like the epitome of mediocrity. Does some good things, but incredibly lacking in others.

Driving back from the game that's exactly what I told my nephews.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Eric Haula is a "third line plugger"? Wow.

At best. Has been his entire career.

 

[Call Me Al]

just got back from the game, one of the more frustrating ones this year.

most of my thoughts have already been said, but schmid wasn’t good, the defensive breakdowns were terrible, im basically past the point of tolerating haula, he’s f***ing worthless playing with a 100 point center and scoring TWO goals halfway into the year, and pretty much all secondary scoring is non existent.

said it a few games ago but it’s basically textbook recent devils teams: make scoring a goal look impossibly difficult unless it’s the opposing team, in which case it’s really easy

 

[billingtons ghost]

Maybe just bench everyone who has been sucking and quadruple shift Jack with four defensemen. Nico could sub in too.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Nico... The guy who has 5 goals in 5 straight games. Compared to Mercer? Rango?

Ruff isnt going to throw nico/captain down when he and hughes are the few guys keeping team offense afloat. No f***ing way, and he shouldnt. Nico playing with a bad hand and still generating points.

Mercer and Rango need a fire lit up their ass for sure and the noshows are a big reason this team isnt getting 2ndary scoring to bolster the top guys during this funk.

I’m not blasting Nico, it’s just that you can pick like a half dozen moments where the game could’ve been put away or we could’ve not shat the bed defensively, or a save could’ve been made. I don’t like killing a guy for one physical error.

 

[Bleedred]

This is pretty rich with Miles Wood bringing absolutely nothing most nights as well as Boqvist and McLoad just taking up space. Also Haula with 0 goals playing with a near top 10 forward in the league. Selective accountability.

It really does feel like the end of Ruff. You can say Fitz won't can him and maybe you're right, but the assistants being whacked last year, the one assistant we brought in, two collapses after hot starts in his first two years here and a possible third one being imminent. He's not signed for next year (unless we missed something and didn't find out about it) and there's just a lot of reasons why I could see him not surviving the year. Especially if we fall out of a spot.

If we see another two weeks of this I would say he's on fire warning. Winning 2 out of 3 and points in 3 straight probably took some heat off no doubt, but it could be back on again.

I don't think it's his fault, but he's been doing a lot of weird things to test fate. LIke the weird Blackwood start on Sunday, being so stubborn with the Haula stuff and some of the weird lineup decisions of recent. No one is to say Brunette won't do the same stuff, but with how long Ruff has been here and the results, I can't really say he's doing anything to make us better.

We're still gonna outshoot teams like this most nights with Brunette. It may not make us better, but it won't make us worse.

 

[Whaddagoal]

This was one of the three worst losses for me

The Ranger fiasco that started this death spiral
The Panther loss where Nico was hacked to death without jackshit for response

Yup. The Boston losses are up there too but at least you can reason that they are #1, same with 1st carolina loss.

 

[NJDevs26]

said it a few games ago but it’s basically textbook recent devils teams: make scoring a goal look impossibly difficult unless it’s the opposing team, in which case it’s really easy

Yeah, that about sums it up

 

[NJDevs26]

Yup. The Boston losses are up there too but at least you can reason that they are #1, same with 1st carolina loss.

Yeah, all these 'GOALIED' games are running together now but maybe the second Boston game I'd nudge above the Panther one just because they actually had a chance to win, for all the world it looked like they would win after finally tying the game with Vitek making that sick stop midway through the third period only to fart around and give up another fluke goal late.

 

[njdevils1982]

I can't wait for Kakko to run VV. Bleh.

who's kakko?

 

[Triumph]

At best. Has been his entire career.

No, he hasn't been. For Minnesota he was exclusively a third or fourth line guy, when he went to Vegas he scored 29 goals and became a 2nd/3rd liner. Scoring's gone up and down, but he's never had a stretch of not scoring like this in his career.

 

[NJDevs26]

It really does feel like the end of Ruff. You can say Fitz won't can him and maybe you're right, but the assistants being whacked last year, the one assistant we brought in, two collapses after hot starts in his first two years here and a possible third one being imminent. He's not signed for next year (unless we missed something and didn't find out about it) and there's just a lot of reasons why I could see him not surviving the year. Especially if we fall out of a spot.

If we see another two weeks of this I would say he's on fire warning. Winning 2 out of 3 and points in 3 straight probably took some heat off no doubt, but it could be back on again.

I don't think it's his fault, but he's been doing a lot of weird things to test fate. LIke the weird Blackwood start on Sunday, being so stubborn with the Haula stuff and some of the weird lineup decisions of recent. No one is to say Brunette won't do the same stuff, but with how long Ruff has been here and the results, I can't really say he's doing anything to make us better.

We're still gonna outshoot teams like this most nights with Brunette. It may not make us better, but it won't make us worse.

It's gonna be DEFCON ONE pretty quick if they lose Saturday and have any worse than a mediocre road trip.

 

[NjDevsRR]

I said the goaltending wasn't good but if a team like the Blues scores 4 goals on 18 shots neither is your defense

This is in bad faith, cmon.

I could be in net tonight, playing behind the 2000 Devils Defense and give up 4. Does it make the D bad?

Cmon. This is out of hand.


Also, Blues are 8th in team shooting percentage. Not that it means anything.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Yeah if you're gonna hold Zetterlund accountable, fine...when is it Boqvist's 'I've been invisible and haven't scored a point since November' turn? Or does he have the immunity idol just because he plays center?

Don't buy the "hold accountable" line and think that's been a big part of the regression we see with the Devils forwards. As a group going back to two years ago with Sharangovich and Kuokkanen all of the younger forwards seem to hit road blocks or regress. Playing intermittently and then sitting long stretches doesn't seem to be a way to develop.

Have defended the coaching staff in the past but this may be one area where some criticism is merited.

With the one caveat that we're not privy to health information so there could be other reasons players performance fluctuates.