Changes Must Occur in New Jersey
Posted 11:09 AM ET | Comments 3
Last night the Devils lost their sixth straight game on the young season and boy was it painful to watch. The only player that showed up last night was Cory Schneider and he gave the Devils a hell of a chance to win by stopping 32 of 34 shots. It should have been 32 of 33 but after the empty netter the team stopped playing and the Jets were able to get a garbage goal.
The defense for the Devils looked absolutely atrocious last night. From turnovers in their own end, to constantly getting beat to the puck, and the amount of odd man rushes that are being given up is unacceptable. The Anton Volchenkov and Peter Harrold pairing is absolutely killing the Devils every time they are on the ice. They are a combined plus/minus -4 on the season right now and that is lucky considering how badly they have played.
One play that really irked me last night with Volchenkov was on the penalty kill, instead of firing it out of the zone, he tries to finesse it out and the zone which is then kept in leading to more sustained attack time on the power play. I do not care how "well" he blocks shots, that is no reason to keep him in the lineup.
It is officially time to seriously start thinking about moving a defenseman. The Devils next game is not until Thursday night in Ottawa, so Lou has time to work his magic. Whether that is a trade or to send someone down and call someone up.
I am officially putting out an APB on Ryane Clowe's game. What has he done so far this season that has made you believe he is worth the $4.85 million we are paying him per season. There are times throughout the game where I am asking myself, has Clowe been playing? I can count on one hand the amount of times I have seen Clowe do something positive and negative. He needs to turn his game around right now and head in a positive direction.
If the Devils lose in Ottawa on Thursday, I believe Pete DeBoer will be fired and he does not deserve to be at all. It is all the personnel's fault. The one issue I do have with him is the overuse of the Zubrus - Elias - Jagr line. These players are not 25 years old anymore and their legs cant be taking the amount of minutes he is playing them for 82 games. Yes the line is the best line the Devils have right now, but the season is a marathon, not a sprint. (Unless you are a boss and sprint marathons... Respect.) Changes must occur for the Devils if they want to win. Lucky for them, it seems like everyone else in the Metropolitan division is having the same struggles right now.
The defense for the Devils looked absolutely atrocious last night. From turnovers in their own end, to constantly getting beat to the puck, and the amount of odd man rushes that are being given up is unacceptable. The Anton Volchenkov and Peter Harrold pairing is absolutely killing the Devils every time they are on the ice. They are a combined plus/minus -4 on the season right now and that is lucky considering how badly they have played.
One play that really irked me last night with Volchenkov was on the penalty kill, instead of firing it out of the zone, he tries to finesse it out and the zone which is then kept in leading to more sustained attack time on the power play. I do not care how "well" he blocks shots, that is no reason to keep him in the lineup.
It is officially time to seriously start thinking about moving a defenseman. The Devils next game is not until Thursday night in Ottawa, so Lou has time to work his magic. Whether that is a trade or to send someone down and call someone up.
I am officially putting out an APB on Ryane Clowe's game. What has he done so far this season that has made you believe he is worth the $4.85 million we are paying him per season. There are times throughout the game where I am asking myself, has Clowe been playing? I can count on one hand the amount of times I have seen Clowe do something positive and negative. He needs to turn his game around right now and head in a positive direction.
If the Devils lose in Ottawa on Thursday, I believe Pete DeBoer will be fired and he does not deserve to be at all. It is all the personnel's fault. The one issue I do have with him is the overuse of the Zubrus - Elias - Jagr line. These players are not 25 years old anymore and their legs cant be taking the amount of minutes he is playing them for 82 games. Yes the line is the best line the Devils have right now, but the season is a marathon, not a sprint. (Unless you are a boss and sprint marathons... Respect.) Changes must occur for the Devils if they want to win. Lucky for them, it seems like everyone else in the Metropolitan division is having the same struggles right now.
I think everyone knew this day was coming. The last of the old guard and succesful teams of the past are long in the tooth and there are going to be a lot of growing pains as the team rebuilds. When you have that top line and cannot run them out there for top minutes that is not good. As a second line lesser minutes that would be killer, but the Devils do not have that option.It is time now for the Devils to start rebuilding and that means struggling. What they have however is a shrewd GM who can likely fast track them back into a strong team in short order with a few moves and signings.
Lou is no longer shrewd, like the Devils he is living on past glories. Time for him to go.
My question is, why are the devils making a once grinder, become a point producer? Henrique and Zajac need to chip in on the score sheet, and the defense need to hold it together.