New Jersey Devils Fall Flat Going into the Olympic Break, Carolina Hurricanes Win 5-2
by John Fischer on Feb 13, 2010 10:52 PM EST
in Devils Game Recaps
34 comments
The New Jersey Devils defeated the Nashville Predators last night, 5-2, in a largely good game. With much to be happy for. The fans were happy. Could the Devils turn the corner at the Carolina Hurricanes?
If you were hoping for another win to go into the two-week Olympic break, you were sorely mistaken. The Devils lost 5-2 to the Hurricanes, and it was bad. As user JoeyV said in the GameThread, this pretty much sums up the game:
We took 2 steps forward yesterday, and 10 steps back tonight
Yep.
Check out NHL.com for their recap and links to tonight's stats. Check out Canes Country for what should be a jubilant and praise-worthy recap of the team, now that Carolin won their fifth straight.
I said in my preview that this would be a tough game, the Hurricanes were hot and it showed. Sure, the first period was sloppy by both teams, but the Hurricanes made the right adjustments. They got power plays and utilized all the space they had. They went up early, they poured it on, and it wasn't until the third period where the Carolina Hurricanes showed any signs of lighting up. After they scored four goals.
I'm sure some will say, "Hey, the Devils didn't look all that bad in that third period. They got 2 back. Even one on a power play." Again, the Canes let up a little bit because, hey, they were up 4 goals. They were picking off Devils passes on both defense and in the neutral zone. Good shifts by the Devils were rare all night long. I wouldn't ask, "Why did they wait until they played well," I would ask, "Why couldn't you string decent passes through the neutral zone and on offense?"
Who did I highlight in my preview as players to watch for on Carolina? Ray Whitney, Jussi Jokinen, and Brandon Sutter. Well, Sutter forced a very bad turnover by Anssi Salmela (Why did you hesitate? WHY?) which led to a crazy play for the game's first goal. He played quite well in his 19:28 of ice time and I'm sure Canes fans look forward what he can do as he develops further. But the big stars of the night were Whitney and Jokinen. Each had 6 shots - along with their centerman Eric Staal (2 assists too) - and were the major players tonight. Whitney had two power play goals, a one-timer on a 5-on-3 and a rebound off Tim Gleason's shot hitting the post - and set up Jokinen for a one-timer that made it 4-0 Canes early in the third period. Jokinen added an empty net goal and had a secondary assist on Whitney's second PPG to ensure the win as well.
All three were hot going into this game and were the major difference makers. The Canes kept rolling on the attack for the second period thanks their puck movement. They made passes. Long passes that sprung Staal on two breakaways. Cross-ice passes that were important towards two goals. Short passes to get the puck over the blueline. Whitney was a wizard with the puck - of course he was, that's his nickname for a reason - and his linemates followed suit.
Yes, the Devils pulled back within two, but it was literally too little too late. While Carolina was scoring and making good plays going forward, the Devils were making bad passes through the neutral zone, bad passes in the times they did get it over Carolina's blueline, and lost the puck far too many times. Why did the Devils do so poorly on most of the power plays? Why did the Devils get outshot 31-25? They struggled in moving the puck, plain and simple.
There's so much more that went awry. Discipline was nightmarish for the first two periods. Seriously, Devils, did you not notice that the three power plays you had in the first were the result of some tight refereeing? Did you not think that they would call those little hooks that caught the hand, Devils? Four penalties in the second period alone and most of them were avoidable calls, if a bit cheap (well, the hooking call on Dainius Zubrus was). That means you need to watch where that stick goes, Rob Niedermayer. Ont he subject of that 5-on-3, Travis Zajac, would you like to explain why in the hell you went off for a change when the puck was just over the blueline? The essentially 5-on-2 pretty much made the play easy for Whitney.
The only Devil I feel bad for is Martin Brodeur. Had the team play far better in front of him, perhaps this loss isn't so bad - if it would be a loss at all. I mean, He was pulled after Jokinen's first goal for Yann Danis. He got burned for four goals that weren't his fault, yet he's going to take the fault for them by people who don't know better or didn't see these goals. Well, people in the second category, here's the highlight video from tonight's game via NHL.com:
Do note the two Devils goals. I will say that I liked Zach Parise's effort and that the power play actually acted like a unit in setting up Brian Rolston's goal. That could have been Rolston's second, yet a puck that went into the net by a non-kicking motion was waived off for one. Not that I'm mad about that one, the Canes got one taken away from a quick whistle anyway; and, most of all, that goal wouldn't have mattered. Ultimately, what I'm saying is that I am happy that the Devils didn't get shutout. That's not a place one wants to be in.
Overall, how I describe the performance won't matter to most Devils fans. At the end of the day, it's all about results. This was a bad game by the Devils, there was some positive things at the end, but ultimately, the Devils deserved to lose this game by this kind of a margin. This, after a big win over Nashville. Terrible. Most of the team will get to sit at home or train at the gym or whatever it is that they'll do knowing that they limped into this break as if they had a broken leg. It's going to be a long two weeks off.
Will the rest do the non-Olympian Devils any good? Getting players return from injury, getting an elite player in a trade, not practicing, practicing hard, and playing all kinds of games certainly wasn't enough to break the slump. I honestly don't know if this will help, and that's a frightening feeling considering the stretch run begins on the road - in San Jose. At least for those going to the Olympics, they can get some confidence back individually.
Honestly, if you told me that the Devils would have a record of 37-21-3 going into the Olympic break back in September, then I would have been pleased. But I never would have come at a cost of going 7-11-2 since January 8, 2010.
Thanks to Steve for the GameThread. Thanks to all of you who commented and all of you who read this. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and your displeasure in the comments. Month in review will come on Monday.
0 recs |
34 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Beginning to wonder if there is a internal problem not yet surfaced- this inconsistancy for so long makes me wonder as we are too good to see so many weak performances for such a long spell.
yep i was thinking the same kindda of things
by Imperator_Celtic on Feb 13, 2010 11:26 PM EST up reply actions
About Marty
While it may be true he can’t be blamed for most goals scored against him that same meter could be used in favor of most goalies, a man of Marty’s talent has the ability(understand he’s not god) to steal games once in a while especially watching other goalies of lesser ability doing it now and then even when the team around them is playing poorly for that night. Having said that, please do not misunderstand, in no way am I blaming him for this skid, his goals against on average is low the team isn’t scoring I’m aware of more looming problems than his game. I’m more upset that we are gunning him, we might as well trade Danis for a another impact player and just use cones to fill in for Marty when he gets pulled because it seems to coach that Danis= cones.
danis has only really let in one soft goal,hes better then cones he has not had any time to make a real judgment on.
by Imperator_Celtic on Feb 14, 2010 12:10 PM EST up reply actions
To be honest, I knew this game would be fail from the minute they announced the referees. Auger is notorious for bad calls and horrendous reffing. The Devils had multiple chances to capitalize on unearned power plays in the first, and the fact that they didnt gave momentum to the hurricanes and cost them the game.
I felt sorry for Zajac on the 5-on-3. Yes, it was frustrating to watch, and no-doubt caused the goal, but you have to admire his efforts before that. He worked extremely hard to work the puck out of the zone, and I assume he thought the puck had been cleared. Didn’t help that the Devils bench was on the far end, and he reckoned it would be smarter to get a fresher set of legs on there considering the effort he spent.
To me, the most annoying thing I find about the Devils lately is their passing. Every game they lose and on almost every power play, the passing is putrid. Though the Devils seemed to have it under control for the first 5 minutes of the game, and were able to force plenty of turn-overs from the Canes, the passing after that just went down hill.
It’s really frustrating, but I’m not too concerned about this game because of Auger. Everyone has seen enough of his crap this season.
I did like the power play goal. Crisp passes, Rolston going to the net, and good things will happen.
This break could not have come earlier for the Devils. Hopefully the Olympic break will give confidence or whatever it is some of them need. Will also be exciting to see Clarkson and hopefully Martin back in San Jose after the break.
Go Devils.
Hmm, I’ve been watching the replays of the four goals scored on Marty, my opinion is that he only should get a pass on the first one, which was a team wide gaffe. The rest Marty should have stopped. I’ll give him a break on the third one though, while he could have cleared it out of the crease, it seems like he wasn’t too sure of where it was.
Los Rangers se dejen de cojudeces o mañana desayuno en el jardin.
Bottom Line
We’re going NOWHERE. If you think we can match up against ANYONE in a 7 game series right now…you have major denial syndrome. We look AWFUL, have looked AWFUL for 2 months, and continue to look AWFUL even with a HUGE acquisition through Kovy. 2 weeks off then more disappointment. We’ve hit rock bottom, and are a last place team right now. LAST in the league in the PP? 5-12 our last 17? 0 for on the road?? This isnt a skid…this is reality. WElcome back to earth Devils fans from the beginning of the year. Sucks, but its true. We’re not that good.
But the playoffs are not right now.
I am also extremely concerned about the play, but I think some posters are simply getting too pessimistic.
To say the team has looked awful for two months is going too far. Up through the Coyotes game this team was still playing pretty solid hockey. The yotes game was not dreadful. They were down 2 zip and tied it. Even through that game the team was 4-2 in January.
So the bad play is a month, not two months, that is an exaggeration
Yes, since then this team is in the lower 3rd of the league.
As noted in the fanpost about putting Devil skid in perspective (link below), the Devils have had slumps as bad and worse than this one in cup winning seasons.
There is a quarter of the season left. They need to right the ship, but I think too many are going into panic mode. The team played so well at the beginning of the year that they gave themselves some margin for error. They will go into this break leading the Division
by Devilssection21fan on Feb 14, 2010 9:28 AM EST up reply actions
Passing and Basic Stuff
I agree with the comment above that the passing of the Devils during this entire “slump” (I also agree that this is more than a slump) has been atrocious. Along with the passing, other basic parts of the game have been horrendous, too. I remember a slump (an actual one of only a couple of weeks or so) they went through either last season or the one before that where they took a step back and spent their practices just going over and focusing on the basics – passing, positioning, puck handling, etc. And focusing on those things resulted in them coming out of their slump.
I know this is more than a slump, and I also know that there’s even more wrong than just the basics here. But maybe if they just work on the basic parts of the game after the break and simplify their game those things will be fixed and then the rest will follow. I don’t know. I feel like I’m grasping at straws…I just hope something works!
Also, does anyone else think that the players are all of a sudden not responding to Lemaire? I think something along those lines has to be going on here. It’s either a coach-player problem or a problem amongst and between the players. There’s just very little heart on this team, and that’s usually affected by the morale (or lack thereof) of the players.
I hope this is a funk they can come out of. If It isn’t changes will be made. I mean, look at past nose dives the Devils have made. Lou didn’t think twice to axe the coach and either hire someone else or go behind the bench himself. I hope its the Olympics that have messed up the Devils thinking and not something else, like an issue with a a lack of character in the dressing room or a lack of leadership. Hopefully they aren’t tuning out Lemaire already, that would be a real shame if they did.
I wonder what Kovalchuk is thinking, he came to the Devils right in the middle of this swoon. I wonder if the losing continues that he would just make a decision that this is a team not going the right way and want to go elsewhere, like he wanted to do with the Thrashers. I mean, he wants to win right?
Something to ruminate about over the Olympic break.
How much time does Jacques have left?
Going by how Lou dropped the axe on previous coaches for similar slides, I am wondering how much time Jacques has left to right the ship.
I mean with the exception of the Preds game, there is NOTHING working for this team in the last 1.5 months. Someone might shoot this post down with actual stats, but in my opinion, we have no: PP, PK, Defense, Offense, and our Goaltending is also suspect. How can you fix this? How can you explain not having anything resemble any sort of turn around? All this is looking to add up to a big finger of blame being pointed to Jacques.
There is nothing about this team, with their play, that inspires hope at this point. If we, the fans, are feeling this bad about the team, I am wondering how the players are feeling at this point; hence my post. I say Lou gives Jacques a week to show any signs of hope with this team after the break, then he gets canned if no results are seen.
Go Team USA !!!
by Devil_Hard_Core on Feb 14, 2010 9:01 AM EST reply actions
people are just blind.
I am tired of hearing excuses for Brodeur. There was no reason for him to play last night. The Hurricanes had their number 2 playing. If we were winning consistently with Brodeur I could understand it but we are not. When did the devils play their best last night after Danis came in. the goals scored on BRODEUR are always the fault of the defense or offense. Whatever happened to the goaltender stealing some games for you. For the amont of shots he has been facing he is giving up too many goals period. I know the next excuse will be the Hurricanes let down in the third. The bottom line is the Devils energy picked up considerably after Marty was pulled and Danis contines top play well g.a.a under 2 by the way whenever he is called on.
Donald Vasquez
Yes, Don, we're making excuses
We’re all just covering up for the fact that Brodeur should have stopped 2 one-timers, a loose puck from a shot that hit a post behind him, and a crazy arcing bounce on a play that never should have happened.
Honestly, Don, I’m not making excuses. You’re a regular reader so you know when I say in my recaps when Brodeur should have stopped a goal.
However, Brodeur’s not a super-hero.
He can’t see through people in front of him.
There’s nothing he can do about a shot that goes in one direction and then changes direction literally less than a foot in front of him.
He can’t stretch his body across the length of the goal at will like he was Stretch Armstrong and do so in less than a second. The whole reason why offenses set up screens, look for deflections, and look for cross-ice passes among other things is that they often result in high-percentage shots that is incredibly difficult if not impossible for a goaltender to stop on a regular basis. It doesn’t matter if the other team shoots more than 30 or less than 20, quality shots are quality shots regardless.
This is true for all goaltenders, be they Brodeur or Vesa Toskala.
I, at least, point out where the defense has failed in that they could have done something different to prevent the quality shot from taking place. The offense is at least partially at fault for not providing the pressure in response to the other team attacking. Last night, the Devils’ passing was so poor that we saw shift after shift after shift of Carolina in New Jersey’s end. The penalties taken contributed to this. When you concede so much possession as the Devils did, when you allow the other team to just keep attacking without keeping them honest, eventually the other team is going to find the seam or the play or the set-up in front of the net or the shooting lane or even just the lucky break they need to score.
Whatever happened to the goaltender stealing some games for you.
Yes, Brodeur is an elite goaltender. But if the gameplan is to hope he makes miraculous saves in every game, then that’s simply not realistic. It would be like a company reliant on one worker to produce a product well above what he’s capable of doing – it’s not always going to work.
I know the next excuse will be the Hurricanes let down in the third. The bottom line is the Devils energy picked up considerably after Marty was pulled and Danis contines top play well g.a.a under 2 by the way whenever he is called on.
Don, it’s not an excuse when it was exactly what happened. Which was when Carolina was up by 4 and clearly took their foot off the gas pedal. Their defending on the Devils’ last PP is indicative of this. That has nothing to do with Danis.
Moreover, Danis started on February 5 – a 3-0 loss to Toronto where the team was absolutely lost on the ice. Danis playing does not always mean the Devils play better in front of him, and that game is some pretty jarring truth.
We may have to agree to disagree on this Don, but honestly, I’m watching these goals getting scored on, I’m watching them multiple times on replay, and I’ve put attention as to what went wrong before it. If you want to put it all on Marty, fine; but don’t be surprised if many think that’s not the real problem.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog
by John Fischer on Feb 14, 2010 11:00 AM EST up reply actions
I agree with you John.
John I agree with you I am not blaming Marty for the overall slump. I am just saying that he has not been the same goaltender as of late. This is a subject that can be debated about and have many different opinions. If you read the overall media they are saying the same about Marty. On TSN the canadian public is worried about Marty playing for team Canada. I hope he plays for team Canada so we can see how he performs with a bunch of star players in front of him.
Donald Vasquez
of course the devils arent gonna win to much scoring 2 goals a game
but broduer has been just as bad as the rest of the team.i worry that everything broduer reads says hes playing great and its all the rest of the teams fault,thus creating a situation where he is unaware that he is not playing well.simular to a politician living in a bubble,how would he know to watch videos and try and figure out what to work on if he dosnt even know there is a problem.
by Imperator_Celtic on Feb 14, 2010 12:19 PM EST up reply actions
Canada, please start Luongo
Am I the only devils fan who hopes that Marty does not get the starting job for Canada? The guy needs a break. Can anyone remember the last time marty stole a game for the devils? Granted, I don’t think any of the goals last night were softies, but Marty needs to carry the team every now and then. I simply do not think that a 37 year old guy should be playing 76 games a year….period. I believe he’s tired. At least Jacques recognizes that if Brodeur plays for Canada, he’s going to need rest. Ok, that’s the first step. The second step is to call Garth Snow and snag Rolosson or Biron as Danis is not a legitimate back-up. The Isles have traded within the division before (see Gurein to Pitt last year) and I don’t think they’ll need to give up much to get either one of them.
No you are not the only Devils fan who wants Luongo to start for Canada. Marty could use this break. There may only be 6 games in the Olympic tourney, but these games will be intense. I know Marty in his heart wants to be Canada’s star, and I wish him the best, but personally, I’d like him to rest a bit.
Go Team USA !!!
by Devil_Hard_Core on Feb 14, 2010 9:14 PM EST up reply actions
I said before the game that if they came out flat in this one, that if they couldn’t get motivated to play this Carolina team that unceremoniously knocked them from the playoffs last year, a night after finally putting together a pretty strong effort after playing so terribly inconsistently for so long and with one last game to get through to go into the break feeling good… then I would begin to question the leadership of the team.
And here I am questioning it.
Many are pointing to this player or that player, or the power(less) play or the goalie… but this slide (it’s beyond a slump at this point, and dangerously close to a free fall) is larger than any one player or situation. The entire team played awfully last night. How does that happen? How do professional athletes with everything to play for and full knowledge of their recent struggles and problems come out and not just play poorly, but actually regress after actually taking a step forward the night before?
I believe it’s the leadership. I don’t know if that means Jacques or Jaime or the assistant coaches or captains or some combination of them is failing, but it has become glaringly apparent that they are either not fulfilling their roles as leaders or else the entire team has, for some reason, stopped believing in them.
I trust that Lou is as angry about this as we all are and expect that things will not continue in this vein after the break. With the acquisition of Kovalchuk, he made a pretty strong statement about his expectations this season, so I sincerely doubt he’ll sit idly by while the team tanks their franchise record start to the season.
I just don’t know what the heck he can do to right the ship.
Fully agree with you. I think some players need to start taking things for granted, and that might be what happened in the Nashville game when Pandolfo got benched. They need to know just because you’ve been a regular, doesn’t mean you’re allowed to play horrible hockey.
As with Jamie, I’m a firm believer that he’s not the best option for a Devils captain. I’ve voiced my opinion before, but think Elias (who we’ve seen do his thing as captain before) or even Parise (the future of the Devils, anyway) can perhaps do a better job. Not saying that all that’s happened could be fully blamed on Langenbrunner, but a change of scenery could do some good imo
and im almost certain
there is something seriously wrong behind the scenes here.i dont know if its fighting over low ticket sales,health problems for some one important,quarreling over managment of marketing the team,anger at the coaching or over trades,or fear of further trades but i feel this slump has exceeded the regular rough patches i have seen every year.i have tried to remain calm but panic has begun to set in.
by Imperator_Celtic on Feb 14, 2010 12:25 PM EST reply actions
Just an aside, and certainly not a huge factor in last night’s game, but why is so little being made of the complete fail on the part of the boneheads in Toronto on the disallowed Rolston first goal? Why is there replay at all if they can’t get that one right? Clearly not a distinct kicking motion, and more importantly, off Rolston’s skate and away from the net – it’s the defenseman who’s skate boots it between the goalie’s legs and into the net. Clear as day on the MSG replays. How do they get this wrong, and what happens when this occurs in a bigger spot?
Say what you will of the Devils overall play last night, but if that goal counts, it’s 4-2 with still about 12 minutes to play. Who knows what happens from there? You’re right when you say that Carolina had taken it’s foot off the gas pedal at that point, but it’s not always so easy to just turn it back on. That’s why it’s been said, the 3 goal lead is often the hardest to protect! Certainly, the whole complexion of the game would have changed from that point on. Maybe the Devs surge and we pick up that power play with even more time left on the clock. Maybe they make it more interesting down the stretch of that game. We’ll never know, because the suits in Toronto can’t see what’s right in front of their eyes! I’ve seen far more borderline calls be ruled goals, to comprehend how that one was not a goal. Too many Molsons that night in the home office? I just don’t get it.
agreed. however, the refs were absolutely HORRENDOUS that game, and honestly the NHL has the worst officials in professional sports. they are ruining the game. To be fair…they also screwed the Canes over on the goal they called back with an early whistle.
by Drew95.00.03 on Feb 15, 2010 1:06 AM EST up reply actions
True, but an early whistle is not subject to replay review, thus not correctable. Once the official blew it, that was it. It’s also arguable that the whistle caused the defense and goalie to relax leading to the poke in goal, though I doubt that was the case here. Still, it can be argued. The Rolston (non-)goal had the availability of replay to get it right, and they still failed to do so. Ridiculous! You are correct though – the officiating left a lot to be desired, though it was indiscriminately bad .
Auger was on the ice. What do you expect other than horrible reffing? And the War Room in Toronto has had its fair share of screw ups this year. Detroit felt it a few times this year.
I don’t think the officiating was so bad towards one team or another. Given how close they called things in the first, I’m rather irritated that the Devils didn’t learn about that for the second period.
As far as bad refs go, you cannot say NHL refs are the worst if you are a soccer fan.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog
by John Fischer on Feb 15, 2010 11:33 AM EST up reply actions
stick with the same lines
I understand Lemaire wants to generate offense but its time to stick with the same lines and let them gel. You have two good lines in the ZZ pops line and elias zubrus and kovy just let them click and stop changing the lines all the time. Plus it is time to address the power play and stop looking for that perfect shot!
by centralnj devfan on Feb 15, 2010 11:26 AM EST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on In Lou We Trust
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Trending Topics: Odd arbitration decisions; more NHLers Tweeting
- Ovechkin wins fifth Kharlamov Trophy, talks Talbot
- Puck Headlines: Witt hits waivers; Kovalchuk grievance details set
- Jersey Fouls: Sharks get creatively awful; hockey movie pass/fail
- White, Flames agree to one-year deal; Bruins sign Wheeler
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
