So it's YOUR fault for the post-December falloff.
Now you must attend every home game from here on out!
GDT: Your New Jersey Devils (37-28-6, 80 Pts) vs. Vancouver Canucks (32-26-12, 76 Pts), 7:30 PM ET, ESPN+/Hulu
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So it's YOUR fault for the post-December falloff.
Now you must attend every home game from here on out!
- May 1, 2011
- 129,131
- 56,067
If things go bad early tonight then I’m gonna run to the nearest phone booth and DD is gonna come out of it.
But things have gotten so bad that I think DD would be less insufferable than the current nutty version of me.
As long as he wasn’t talking about how the Rags will be cup champs after their rally and dash to the finish.
But things have gotten so bad that I think DD would be less insufferable than the current nutty version of me.
As long as he wasn’t talking about how the Rags will be cup champs after their rally and dash to the finish.
JimEIV
Registered User
- Feb 19, 2003
- 65,609
- 27,799
I passed this post 3 times before I noticed it was altered....I think Dano might have a long lost daughter?
There is no justifiable reason to come down of Dowling. Let me take up some space to explain why.
Justin Dowling is the result of terrible team building in the AHL. Dowling is a #2 center in the AHL. He is more of a defensive center than an offensive one. He's not going to be a big goal scorer but he can find ways to put pucks on the sticks of whomever is out there with him.
Now, let's bring him up because we have lost a center and the those below Jack and Nico are not very good. He stayed up because Haula and then Lazar went out of the lineup. Now take Jack out. Dowling has done what they asked of him. He is -3 on a line that flat out can't score. That says he has been on the ice for 43 games and very few goals have been scored against when he's out there. He has remained because Haula missed some games and then Lazar went down and now Jack.
What was the alternative?
Mercer was never and still isn't a capable productive NHL center if called upon to make up for the loss of a top level center. He did get pushed in there even when Dowling was in the lineup.
- Lazar is a 4th line center at best and 1 good season of 25 Points (his best ever) was far from repeated and injury took him out anyways. His return has been useless in terms of production. Another reason Dowling was playing on a regular basis
- Haula was never going to be productive in a way that would help replace Jack. Nope, instead he went on an extended scoring slump that was so bad he was close to useless in terms of helping to produce goals.
- Dowling did exactly what the Utica fan base could have told you he would do. He played his balls off to the best of his ability and that ability is not of an NHL center.
All of these guys together couldn't combine to produce the goals the Devils would lose when Jack went out.
If Fitz had spent just a few more pennies to sign a top level AHL center, that guy would have filled a call-up role in the middle a lot better than Justin in terms of production. It might also have been wise of an NHL GM to draft some potential Center prospects over his years in charge of NJ's draft selections. He didn't. Knowing he had nothing to fall back on he might have found a 5th center in the off-season rather than counting on roster players to play out of position.
Utica has been the NJ AHL affiliate for 4 seasons and he hasn't drafted a single center, signed an off-season good AHL center, or picked 1 up as the season progressed. Hockey offense channels through the middle. When you don't acquire guys who can facilitate that, you won't be very good. Right now he is paying the consequences of poor drafting, not signing NHL centers in the offseason, and poor Farm management regarding team building.
JUSTIN DOWLING was the best the minor league affiliate had to offer. He was counting on the likes of Mercer, Haula, Lazar to carry the load if an injury occurred.
Want any of the rest in Utica?
- Ryan Schmelzer who is always penciled into a preseason roster as #3 Center. He has been forced to abandon that role every one of Utica's 4 seasons and shoulder the role of #2 and then #1 in 3 of those 4 seasons. Last year's top scorer with 52 points. 52 points is not the kind of numbers a #1 scorer produces in any league which only goes to show you what Fitz has failed to provide them with, SCORING FORWARDS centered by a couple of better than adequate AHL centers.
- Filip Engaras - An ECHL callup who ended up getting an AHL contract after his first season here because Fitz didn't sign a better center and he has become a fixture on the 3rd and 4th lines. 3G/8A/11PTS/48GP.
- Jack Malone - An NCAA free agent signed to an AHL 2-yr contract. He is more of a defensive Center with a knack of finding space at the net front when things go his way. 9G/3A/12Pts/46GP.
- Shane Bowers - A $225K piece of crap. Was a NJ callup playing 4 games with 0Pts. In Utica he has played 54 of their 60 games recording 3G/12A/15 Pts. That's barely better than the 2 guys making minimum AHL paychecks on the 3rd and 4th lines.
- Dowling had put up 2g/2A/4Pts/7GP before his call to NJ.
This is why you have no center callups to NJ. A guy like Cody Glass should have been on Fitz's watch list in the off season rather than counting on piece mealing players into the middle when trouble arose. There should also have been 2 guys in Utica a lot more productive than Dowling, who finished as Utica's 5th leading scorer last seaon with 40Pts.
The Comets failed to qualify for the AHL playoffs both last season and again this season when they will finish dead last in their Division and currently stand at #29 overall out of 32 AHL teams.
If you want to put blame for the poor point production by Justin Dowling on someone, only Tom Fitzgerald can be held responsible. He put no one on the farm that could come close to putting up a respectable showing on an NHL roster. They weren't even capable of putting up competitve AHL numbers.
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- May 1, 2011
- 129,131
- 56,067
Results of terrible team building in the AHL you say? Hasn't been much better this year as far as NHL team building goes.
Thanks again Fitz.
Eggtimer
Registered User
lol I thought that was her real pic at first lol. It actually looks better than her normal pic
Whaddagoal
Win streaks are hard.
We finally got the bingo balls. It took about 70 games and like 5 injuries.
Don't know if this is a good or bad thing.
Just hope whatever works tonight, we really need 2 points
JimEIV
Registered User
- Feb 19, 2003
- 65,609
- 27,799
Do you really believe that or are you just being sarcastic?
The only reason we're still in a playoff hunt is Fitz rebuild of the Defense and the two new goaltenders he brought in.
Our offense was suppose to be our strength and it shit the bed before Jack went down...
We are currently 17th in goals for per game and falling like a rock ...we were 14th last week.
Our defense is 4th in the league and holding this thing together....so far.
MartyOwns
thank you shero
- Apr 1, 2007
- 24,132
- 17,873
i think nico steps up as a leader tonight by cutting garland’s dick off and drinking his blood. 4-2 devils
Eggtimer
Registered User
Two goals in two games !!
1st goal - was going wide by 15 feet but hits Bahl in the ass and defects in ….
2nd goal - Hughes passes it in off of Haula …
Keefe - Haula is on fire! Let’s put him on the first line !
I guess we need to get guys going and maybe this gets Haula going ? Maybe Haula has some confidence now and stops sucking and stops being completely useless ? I doubt it but it’s worth a try .
The only shitty thing could be is that Haula goes on a mini “ run “ of not being garbage , and Fitz decides to not buy him out or dump him . Which is the wrong move . Haula is cooked . The guy was pointless for 29 games / 3 months . And does nothing but lose key face offs ( Dallas brutal loss in the last 4 seconds ) . I do not want Haula near this team next year at all . Along with Dowling Tatar Bastian Mercer
- May 1, 2011
- 129,131
- 56,067
Decided to go in a different direction and go from a rush team to a team like this. Overcorrected. Dillon contract for 3 years was not necessary. 3 years for Haula and not 2 was bad at the time. Looks really bad right now.
So basically he overcompensated and cut the scoring down. And now we have this boring product.
And we're possibly gonna miss the playoffs for the second year in a row after he got up there like a politician and proclaimed we are a contender.
He needs to f***ing go if we miss the playoffs. Period. End of f***in discussion.
How many years do we have to miss the playoffs?
''It's injuries tho!''.
Yeah, we had a TON of injuries through January!
HughesCorporation
in the box
- Jan 27, 2023
- 328
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JimEIV
Registered User
- Feb 19, 2003
- 65,609
- 27,799
Well the good thing is I don't think anyone in the metro is going to catch us. I don't think there is enough time for the teams behind us to makeup the difference.
SJinNewJersey
Every single one of us, the devil inside
billingtons ghost
Registered User
- Nov 29, 2010
- 10,476
- 6,690
Billdo
Registered User
Hear me out...
Tatar-Hischier-Meier
Palat-Glass-Bratt
Cotter-Mercer-Sprong
Foote-Haula-Noesen
You say you want "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."
The Wumpus
bottomless pit supervisor
PizzaAndPucks
New Jersey Angels diehard
- Nov 29, 2018
- 2,650
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I'm planning on one more home game and seeing them play in Boston. That could be a big 4 points hahaSo it's YOUR fault for the post-December falloff.
Now you must attend every home game from here on out!
Capt Nico Poo
Holik to HHOF
Bringing my sister's husband and their two kids to the game, for the love of god dont suck!
JimEIV
Registered User
- Feb 19, 2003
- 65,609
- 27,799
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