This Game was Something Awful

by John Fischer on Jan 8, 2009 11:14 PM EST in Devils Games Comment 11 comments

The Devils lost 4-0 to the Atlanta Thrashers at the Rock tonight. The only good Devils were the loud fans in the stands, the Devils Dancers, and the mascot, N.J. No one actually playing in a Devils uniform played anything resembling good. Were I to be fully honest, this story would be filled with all kinds of four, five, seven, and fifteen letter choice words; but I keep it clean here (and so will you). I could just say this game was like watching someone at a party vomit while everyone else is having a good time. Gulitti says that there was nothing positive to take from the game and he's right. I really could just leave it at that.

Of course, I won't leave it at that. When I wrote up the game preview in the game thread, I had this quote from this Gulitti post:

"You get tired from playing so many game, so you have to play a little bit smarter," left wing Patrik Elias said. "One of the big things is we're getting rid of the puck and not putting it in places that we can get it back. We're not making the good sharp passes, short passes. We're not making those. We just keep throwing it at each other. What happens from there is a lot of the times we're just standing still and it's because we're not supporting each other well enough and we're not coming as a five-man unit."

I thought, hey, this is good. The team realizes that they haven't been sharp as of late. From the rest of the Gulitti post, the Devils worked on passing and other "small things" in practice yesterday. Based on what was seen tonight, it's like the Devils somehow forgot all that. As well as how to play a calm, poised defense; a functional offense; and something resembling an effective power play. Passing? Awful. Shooting? The Devils were more effective hitting a Thrasher's stick than hitting the corners. And when it was at Lehtonen, it's not like he had to be great - just shift towards the shot and he got it. The team talked about it and I'm sure they truly did work on their game. Yet, the performance from the Devils somehow got worse despite all this work!

The offense, or the lack thereof, is what just rubs me the wrong way from tonight's game. These are the Thrashers. They give up over 3.5 goals per game on average. They allow over 30 shots per game. Their penalty killing is among the worst in the league and isn't even effective 75% of the time.

And they shut out the Devils! A team that has shown that they can score some goals this season! Instead, Devils made a team whose calling card has been not stopping the other team from scoring look fantastic in stopping the other team from scoring! Inexcusable!

The Devils had chances to start the game: Brian Rolston literally shoving a Thrasher aside to take Kari Lehtonen on in a breakaway. The Devils even had a 3-on-1 (granted, they didn't do much.) It wasn't a great period, but those 2 chances was something we didn't see against Carolina at all. Figure that the Devils would pick it up in the second.

WRONG. From Scott Clemmensen's error leading to the game's first, and ultimately winning goal, on, the Thrashers found success. Ilya Kovalchuk slammed home a blistering slapshot right through Clemmensen's legs on a power play. Christopher Thorburn (really!) found Jim Slater (really!) burning Johnny Oduya (really!) and then Clemmensen for the game's third goal. Not a good night for Chris Terreri Ver. 2.0. Kevin Weekes entered in the net for the third and the first official shot on him floated over his shoulder and in to really kill it.

What were the Devils doing about this? Not much! They kept wasting chances to get success - something the undisciplined Thrashers were giving away. You know how long the Devils were on the power play in total? 12:24! That's over a sixth of the game! That's over half of a period! And I don't think the Devils even had 10 shots on net. Even with a short 5-on-3, a 4 minute minor to Eric Boulton, who was a real piece of work tonight, and a smattering of minors - the Devils did nothing with these power plays! The Thrashers even let them have the shot from the point and I don't think any of them were tough for Lehtonen. Assuming they even got to him. I repeat myself: inexcusable! Sutter jumbled the lines all kinds of times and yet none of the combinations got anything going on the attack even in even-strength situations. Lehtonen earned his shutout in the sense that the Devils earned it for him, in my opinion.

Name a Devil from tonight's game and I'll tell you that they were bad. Paul Martin? Terrible; maybe Jay Leach should have played instead of him. Mike Mottau? Miserable, maybe Sheldon Brookbank should have played instead of him. Travis Zajac? Ineffectual, more like Pat Sajac on the ice. Zach Parise? Invisible. He was named an all star today and ironically he didn't play like one at all tonight. Patrik Elias? Stinky, he amazingly couldn't create soup if you gave him some Campbell's and a stove. Brian Gionta? This game could be an argument for trading him later this season. So on and so forth.

I don't want to take any credit away from the Thrashers, they were lethal when they had a chance and they did play very well in their own end - New Jersey offensive ineptitude aside.They outplayed the Devils on the road and they should feel great about this win. Just as I feel rather unhappy about this loss. The crowd was hot tonight and their booing at the end of the second and third periods were well deserved.

From Gulitti's post-game post, Sutter talks about battle level. I really hope the Devils can raise their passing levels, positioning levels, special teams levels, and finishing levels. If we see more of these "performances," it's going to be a very, very ugly roadtrip indeed. I'm glad tonight's game was over; but I have the luxury of forgetting it. The Devils' don't and they shouldn't. They need to learn from the myriad of mistakes and deficincies they displayed tonight.

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Another tough L

Well that about sums it up. There only positive from tonight’s trip to Newark was a great dinner at the Brick City Bar and Grill. If you guys have time before a game, definitely check it out. It’s right across from the Devils’ Den and the food is AWESOME! It was reasonably priced, quick and the place is gorgeous. HDTVs everywhere, Devils fans throughout and good music too. Check it out.

As for the game, sitting up in 103, I didn’t have a great view of the goal that Weekes gave up but it seemed like Weekes never saw it or it was tipped. I really hope that he didn’t see it because if he did, that wouldn’t be good. The first goal was kind of a fluke and I’m inclined to give Clemmer a pass on it. The second, well, a stupid penalty will cost you and Ilya Kovalchuk does have a pretty nice one-timer. I don’t know whether Marty makes that save.

Chico is always harping on the fact that the team who scores first has a decided advantage. While I don’t have stats to back it up, and I’m not inclined to go looking right now, there is something to be said for this. When scoring first, the Devils seem to have an extra step, or play with more confidence. To me, the team seems to be pressing, and when they get behind this only makes the problem worse. As opposed to playing hockey and letting things come to them, they get tight and force things. We don’t win games forcing things. Last year, offensive ineptitude was a noose around the Devils collective necks. As a whole it seemed like we were so worried about scoring that we forgot about playing the game and tried to force things. If they can go back and just play hockey and not force things, the goals will come. They seem uptight, and as a result the play is lackluster (to say the least).

It is a long season and teams go through rough patches. Sometimes the bounces go our way and sometimes they don’t. When things were going well a couple weeks ago, we seemed to be getting the bounces. Right now, the bounces aren’t going our way. A play in the second sticks in my mind, where Parise got an outlet pass at the Atlanta blue line. The pass handcuffed him and he got tied up trying to corral the puck. Two weeks ago, that pass would have led him perfectly for a nice breakaway. Now, it handcuffs him and we don’t even get a shot on goal. Things will work themselves out and we’ll start getting the bounces. As for the short term, lets hope that we can grind out a couple good games in LA this weekend and head to Vancouver with 3 points out of a possible 4.

by TimD on Jan 9, 2009 12:40 AM EST reply actions

This is becoming an epidemic for the Devils

Really, I mean it’s now three games in a row where they’ve played pretty poorly. They were lucky to escape the Ottawa game with a win. The Carolina game they slept through and the game tonight was the worst of the bunch.

Course I live in the LA area and I’m going to the next two games. I’m kind of nervous about watching this team right now. They went from playing incredible hockey to playing some of the worst, listless hockey I’ve seen from them in some time. And my theory is that they had quite a few very physical games in a row. The Rangers, Blues and Stars games were all incredibly physical games and I think it took its toll. You couple that with the fact that this team has suddenly played a lot of games in a short time span and you see the kind of hockey they’ve played because of it. Even Parise, who is usually darting and dashing everywhere, seems to be a step slower these days.

Just please cross your fingers that the Devils fan who lives 3,000 miles away and only gets to see the team twice every couple of years.

by Tyler Bleszinski on Jan 9, 2009 1:17 AM EST up reply actions

That's an interesting theory

I’m going to explore that theory over the whole season up until now tonight (or tomorrow morning), actually.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!

by John Fischer on Jan 9, 2009 5:26 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah

I remember a lot of bodies flying during those games. You take the cumulative effect of that as well as suddenly a lot of games in a short time span and you’re going to see some wobbly legs and not the kind of energy we’ve gotten used to. Hopefully they get it back in time for tomorrow night’s game.

by Tyler Bleszinski on Jan 9, 2009 6:43 PM EST up reply actions

Not the best time for a long road trip

I did something last night I rarely do; turned the game off. After Weekes gave up a goal on the first shot he faced to put the Thrashers (the Thrashers!) up 4-0, that lingering hope I usually hold onto until the closing seconds of a game didn’t just fade, it abruptly disappeared.

Like everyone else, I’ve noticed the Devils dip in effectiveness that past few games, but have been passing it off as just part of the grueling season. Last year they had that good stretch at the end of Nov and into Dec too and then plateaued into mediocrity, and the pieces of Rangers and Islanders games I’ve forced myself to watch recently allowed me to convince myself that all the teams were just getting tired. Even the Bruins and Sharks have slowed down. But after the Carolina game I started to worry, and now I’m starting to panic.

This goes beyond being tired (and is a terrible time for that anyway, what with a busy month and a lot of road games coming up) and into something deeper. When a team known for not being able to play defense comes into your building and shuts you down, it speaks to a larger issue than fatigue.

Some thoughts:

Clemmensen has far surpassed expectations, but appears tired. His lateral movement is normally pretty good, but he seemed like he was dragging around weights last night. You can’t ride a career back-up as long and as hard as they have without expecting that. I am continually surprised that Weekes hasn’t been called on more often, and fully expected him in net last night.

I remain befuddled that, for the most part, they play as well as anyone 5 on 5, but remain ineffective with an extra man. Logic would dictate that if 5 v 5 = good, then 5 v 4 = better, but that just isn’t the case.

Greene has been entirely underwhelming. I know they prefer him because he can potentially contribute more offensively, but he should be the odd man out, not Leach. No defenseman has been perfect, especially lately, but it sure seems to me that whenever I find myself wondering, “what were you thinking when you made that pass through three defenders / took that shot into someone’s shin pads / etc.,” I check the jersey and it’s #6.

The offense needs to get back to battling on the boards and driving the net. They’re one of the best teams at winning those battles, and Elias, Parise, Zajac and Gionta all are at their best when they can use their quick hands on rebounds in a scrum. For a while they were getting some pretty goals off of quick passes into the slot, and it’s easy to get away from that grinding style of play, but when defenses take away their beloved centering pass, they have to be willing to fight for the ground rather than continue what isn’t working. The added advantages are that it wears down the other teams defense; they can’t score from 180 feet away; it is more likely to draw a penalty; and produces far more, and better, rebounds than big shots from the point or the dots.

by elesias on Jan 9, 2009 11:29 AM EST reply actions

Hey, Let's Grab Some Perspective Here

The Wings lost to 2 in a row to Nashville and Colorado, the Sharks have lost 3 of their last 5, and the Bruins lost 2 in a row at home earlier this week.

So what? So these are the top three teams in the league. Their players lead all the stat categories you’d care to mention.

What does everyone say about those teams losing 2 or 3 in a row or 3 of 5?

“It’s a long season, you can’t win every game.”

We love our Devils and we wish they could win every game.

And, no offense to Scotty — who has been superb, we don’t have our Nabokov or Thomas or Fernandez or Osgood in goal.

And, no offense to 9 and 26 — who have produced like the stars they are, we don’t have Zetterberg and Datsyuk and Hossa and Franzen and Lidstrom and Rafalski or Savard and Kessel and Krejci and Chara or Thornton and Marleau and Setoguchi and Boyle and Blake.

We play Devils hockey and we’re doing very well, all things considered.

There were 20 plus players in that room last night who felt far worse than you do about that game, because they felt responsible.

Give them what they need right now — your support.

by Bob Roberts on Jan 9, 2009 12:32 PM EST reply actions

Perspective is good, yet the others are valid too.

You are right that all teams have a bad stretch, this is the Devils’. However, it’s particularly frustrating because the Devils known it was a problem, they’ve worked on it in practice, and then they go out and it’s like they’ve regressed instead of progressed. And it’s doubly worse to see it among 16,500 other people (I was at the game, the announced attendance wasn’t inflated, I don’t think) who were still doing Let’s Go Devils chants at 1-0, 2-0, and 3-0 (and some weak ones at 4-0), and have this happen to a team that’s notoriously bad at stopping goals.

I don’t think anyone is threatening their support. I’m certainly not. And you’re right that it is important to keep in mind that every game can’t be won and everyone has a bad night. However, these are not unfixable problems or bad breaks that keep happening; this is directly tied into player performance, which is controllable. The Devils played excellent defense against Boston last month and got shutout and I don’t think anyone was upset or unhappy by the performance because the Devils were competitive. They were decidedly not against Atlanta last night, and that’s a major reason why the frustration is present.

Let me say that these are all excellent comments with great thoughts behind them. Thank you all for your input. I’ve definitely considered them all in thinking what the Devils need to do to get out of this. I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised after this weekend – just a feeling, really.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!

by John Fischer on Jan 9, 2009 5:25 PM EST reply actions

Yeah

I’m not threatening my support. It is just one of those lulls that teams go through. I think Zubrus has been hurting too. He’s been pretty uneven lately and I think he’s just been injured.

by Tyler Bleszinski on Jan 9, 2009 6:41 PM EST up reply actions

As for attendance, I was pleasantly surprised by the nice turn out on Thursday night. After going to the Nov. 1st game against the Thrashers and getting a $10 ticket at 6:35, I wasn’t expecting a big crowd. It was nice to see people, almost all of whom where Devils fans.

The one thing that was disappointing to me was fans booing. As a life long fan of the Devils, Nets, and Mets, I’ve had plenty to boo about yet I’ve never once even thought of booing. The effort wasn’t there last night, but it was really disappointing to hear fans boo the team. Sure, the product wasn’t great (ok, it was awful), but we are all fans of the team and we should be all rooting for them no matter how bad the play is on a particular night.

We have arguably the best new arena in all of sports. We have a great owner, who is committed to winning. A GM who is one of the most respected individuals in the sport, and a team filled with fun, exciting talent. Even more impressive is the collection of banners that hang on both ends of the arena. If we all can’t be happy about that, then well, I don’t know what it will take.

Things weren’t great last night but it’s a long season and we’ll get right back on track this weekend. We’ll keep the faith and the red and black will be moving their way up the standings in no time.

by TimD on Jan 9, 2009 11:06 PM EST reply actions

I disagree with the sentiment of not booing awful performances. It’s not like the fans were actively rejecting everything the Devils did or have; they were unhappy about how they played and the result. And they were right to think that way. Given the recent games, I don’t think the fans booing at the end of the second and third periods are on the list of things the team has to deal with.

Personally, if your favorite team is playing like garbage and you’re a passionate supporter, you have the right to boo and if you feel as such, do so. It’s not an out-and-out rejection or an act of being ungrateful. It’s a loud noise that basically expresses the feeling that I am decidedly not happy about what I am seeing out there. I’m not advocating booing every loss or every time something doesn’t go right. But this was an embarrassing loss. Personally, you can’t have the elation of seeing a team do very well and expect silence when they are getting creamed or completely fall apart from those same people. And I’d rather have it that way, this is sport not a library or a cinema – bring the noise and all that. That’s how I see it, at least. To each, their own.

In defense of the crowd, there were people chanting Let’s Go Devils throughout all three periods. There was a lot less of it in the third period (and a lot less of the fans as they left early). The Devils faithful do not only sing when they’re winning, to use a soccer phrase.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!

by John Fischer on Jan 9, 2009 11:21 PM EST up reply actions

Fair Enough

I completely respect your opinion John. I do understand being upset at the teams performance as I certainly was. I don’t really have an argument against booing, at least one that is coherent and persuasive as yours condoning booing. i really don’t know what to say in support of my argument other than it just sucks to hear fans boo the team that we all support and love. Oh well, here’s to hoping that tomorrow night is a good night for the Devils and Devils fans.

Thanks for all the great work that you do here at In Lou We Trust John. Your work on the site is fantastic and it is great to have a forum like this to debate the team we spend countless hours following…

by TimD on Jan 10, 2009 12:30 AM EST up reply actions