GDT: Your New Jersey Devils (33-23-6, 72 Pts) @ Dallas Stars (39-19-2, 80 Pts), 8 PM, ESPN+/Hulu

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

If they somehow sneak in the playoffs he'll probably stay another year for one more chance.

If he does fix the problem(s) by Friday, you're(not you, much of the fanbase) probably not gonna like the way he does it. If he has the guts to do what needs to be done, that is.

Yeah I said this in the team thread, he's gonna go all in and we're gonna hate it

 

[Patrik26]

I guess they do if you make a stupid ass play before center ice like Kovacevic did. But since we're doing this faceoff debate tonight, they won the faceoff before the Duchene slash got called but I guess that wasn't remembered huh lol

Wasn't forgotten. Easy there bucko.

 

[Bleedred]

Our 3C is actually a 4C and our 4C is an AHL level player at this point unfortunately.

It's actually wild how much Haula has regressed.

Which one is the actual 4C and which one is the AHL level player?

I don’t honestly think Lazar is worse than current Haula.

And Lazar since returning from that injury has still been really bad.

 

[Mirka the Turka]

Guys., I’m proud of this team. We fought back

I was told to “chill out” and other insults when we tied that game. Let me say I ripped the section apart, the usher came and theatened to call the “Popo” on me. I told her to call them.

Anyway, we lost. But I fought the Stars fans till the end.

 

[jkrdevil]

Beyond a disgrace what this bottom 6 has done to this team and Fitz for sitting on his f***ing hands for a second straight year when the team's issues were evident in f***ing November. December rotted everyone's brains when it was the outlier and not the norm of this team

They were good in November as well.

January showed the warts. I get the cap for holding off a deal for a little bit, but he should have had moves ready and done coming out of 4 Nations.

 

[Edmonton East]

This is the famous "accountability" we hear about so much yet don't seem to see it that often. Unfortunately it ends up being the goalies who end up saying it's on them more often than not when we know it was the 18 mistakes leading up to that more often than not.

Bratt learn to lift that backhand buddy.

He couldn't lift because, as per usual, he was leaning away from the net. Aka the traffic area. Aka potential physical contact. For no reason.

And many on here still wonder why this team underperforms actual goals vs most "advanced" goal metrics. They might be in the high danger area, but they often play soft as shit and contact adverse.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Don’t do drugs kids

 

[jkrdevil]

Don't see how anyone would have confidence in him, good chance he's fired if they miss after this debacle of a season

Has anyone argued on here that faceoffs aren’t situational? Even the “faceoffs don’t matter” people know important situational faceoffs happen. Just that when looking at the bigger picture numbers they have less importance because more faceoffs are neutral zone, low leverage situations.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Fitzgerald may be able to tweak things to add some scoring at forward or may be able to get a 3d center for the future - but the forward group is a rebuild project requiring maybe as many as 3 to 6 new faces going into next season and that isn’t happening this week.

And what do we have to give? A couple of second rounders. Nemec played a solid game tonight btw. Writing him off as a bust is clearly premature.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Has anyone argued on here that faceoffs aren’t situational? Even the “faceoffs don’t matter” people know important situational faceoffs happen. Just that when looking at the bigger picture numbers they have less importance because more faceoffs are neutral zone, low leverage situations.

Assuming wrong post, but yes I agree. I've always stated that they matter in empty net/special team situations and off of a big icing like what happened tonight late. Other than that, they're just another puck battle. Devils lost various puck battles after Haula lost the draw, the Kovacevic dumb icing before it, etc.

 

[Better Call Sal]

 

[Bleedred]

Markstrom f***ing stunk tonight too, the Lybushkin goal and that Harley winner were so bad. Another game where the top guns play well and the SHITTY depth costs them

I thought the Harley one was fine. There were two bodies parked right in front of him as the shot was being taken and they got out of the way once it came through.

The Lyubushkin goal was stupid bad though. And I didn’t nail him on the first goal, but I got flashbacks to last season of Brodeur in shootouts on that one.

 

[Bleedred]

I’ve been hesitant to blast Keefe this season, but isn’t playing Haula’s line the final 20 seconds of regulation probably inexcusable?

I guess maybe he was just giving those guys their last bit of icetime for the night before overtime?

That was everything that’s wrong with Haula/his lines right there. Get glued in the D-zone and either have to ice it, hope the goalie covers it for a whistle or give up a goal to end the shift.

 

[Zippy316]

Fitzgerald may be able to tweak things to add some scoring at forward or may be able to get a 3d center for the future - but the forward group is a rebuild project requiring maybe as many as 3 to 6 new faces going into next season and that isn’t happening this week.

And what do we have to give? A couple of second rounders. Nemec played a solid game tonight btw. Writing him off as a bust is clearly premature.

No doubt there’s dead weight on this roster but Fitzgerald has to supplement the team with another center at the very least.

If Hughes injury takes him through the playoffs, it’s the perfect opportunity to target a player with term like Rakell, Bjorkstrand, Mittlestadt, or McCann that fills a need that the Devils may not have acquired otherwise.

Worry about the cap in the off-season, Devils should definitely be looking at Haula and/or Palat as cap dump or buyout candidates which should allow us to fit in the cap hits for one of those guys.

 

[JK3]

I’ve been hesitant to blast Keefe this season, but isn’t playing Haula’s line the final 20 seconds of regulation probably inexcusable?

I guess maybe he was just giving those guys their last bit of icetime for the night before overtime?

That was everything that’s wrong with Haula/his lines right there. Get glued in the D-zone and either have to ice it, hope the goalie covers it for a whistle or give up a goal to end the shift.

They couldn’t get Nico out there because of the icing.

 

[Bleedred]

3 f***ing games they have blown like this off the top of my head (Ducks, SJ and this). That’s 3-6 points off the standings. We aren’t worried about Jack (and now Dougie’s) injuries as much with those points.

This game loss was worse than the one we lost to Philly (or SJ) where the 4th line was in the ozone corner and gave up a break going the other way to lose the game.

We clawed back without jack and easily made a point out of it, and outrageously didnt.

That Philly game was yet another late(r) regulation loss you can mark down.

Not as late as this or San Jose and probably not as late as even the Anaheim one, but I think we lost the tie with like 6 minutes left in that game. Maybe 7.

 

[jkrdevil]

I’ve been hesitant to blast Keefe this season, but isn’t playing Haula’s line the final 20 seconds of regulation probably inexcusable?

I guess maybe he was just giving those guys their last bit of icetime for the night before overtime?

That was everything that’s wrong with Haula/his lines right there. Get glued in the D-zone and either have to ice it, hope the goalie covers it for a whistle or give up a goal to end the shift.

You are going to start OT with Nico, Bratt and Luke. You want them fresh for the OT and not just getting their wind back. Who else are you going to play in that situation?

As for Keefe’s quotes, big part of the bottom six issues (and on d) is a lot of those guys just aren’t smart. And the ones that are don’t have the skill anymore.

 

[Edmonton East]

Has anyone argued on here that faceoffs aren’t situational? Even the “faceoffs don’t matter” people know important situational faceoffs happen. Just that when looking at the bigger picture numbers they have less importance because more faceoffs are neutral zone, low leverage situations.

Bet your ass they have. 3 people specifically and I assume they are still around. The opposite of what you are saying was actually reality for years. If someone said you needed at least one reliable top 6 C at the dot or that a top 6 C needed to be above 40%, people that don't understand how to apply analytics would scream faceoffs don't matter at all because most of the game is on the fly!!!!!! While of course simultaneously spouting cherry picked possession metrics they don't understand in other scenarios....was always amazing. How do you first get possession after a stoppage again??

No one ever said every faceoff guy needed to be 50%+.

/rant

 

[Bleedred]

They couldn’t get Nico out there because of the icing.

Haula’s icetime definitely seems to be going down steadily for a while now.

Good riddance.

Biggest piece of space junk since his fellow countrymen Ruutu in his final season here.

 

[Dialamo]

Don’t do drugs kids

Whoops too late! ****rips pipe****

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

You are going to start OT with Nico, Bratt and Luke. You want them fresh for the OT and not just getting their wind back. Who else are you going to play in that situation?

As for Keefe’s quotes, big part of the bottom six issues (and on d) is a lot of those guys just aren’t smart. And the ones that are don’t have the skill anymore.

The Mercer line was actually pretty good tonight, that's the only argument. The 4th line would've gotten scored on faster

 

[JK3]

Haula’s icetime definitely seems to be going down steadily for a while now.

Good riddance.

Biggest piece of space junk since his fellow countrymen Ruutu in his final season here.

Him and Mercer are really tanking them, I’m not expecting much from Lazar or Dowling but the bottom six is just stinking it up.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Bet your ass they have. 3 people specifically and I assume they are still around. The opposite of what you are saying was actually reality for years. If someone said you needed at least one reliable top 6 C at the dot or that a top 6 C needed to be above 40%, people that don't understand how to apply analytics would scream faceoffs don't matter at all because most of the game is on the fly!!!!!! While of course simultaneously spouting cherry picked possession metrics they don't understand in other scenarios....was always amazing. How do you first get possession after a stoppage again??

No one ever said every faceoff guy needed to be 50%+.

/rant

Go look at who's top 10 in the league in faceoffs team wise, then go look where teams like the Panthers, Vegas, Jets, Lightning, Capitals rank in said statistic and come back to me.

 

[Dylan9z9]

I don’t get starting him in back to back games coming off injury

I guess Daws didn't play that well .... The coaching has to take some blame here too.

 

[Dylan9z9]

Guys., I’m proud of this team. We fought back

I was told to “chill out” and other insults when we tied that game. Let me say I ripped the section apart, the usher came and theatened to call the “Popo” on me. I told her to call them.

Anyway, we lost. But I fought the Stars fans till the end.

This sounds like something from a comic book.