***The New Jersey Devils lost to the San Jose Sharks!!!***
Any thoughts on this, Krusty?
[WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhe3vSe-mmw)
Back at it Tuesday!
What’s on your mind?
[Full Game Re-Cap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8UleVTvqRE)
[NHL Game Center](https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-sjs/2023/12/01/2023020355)
[ESPN Game Cast](https://www.espn.com/nhl/game/_/gameId/401559583)
[Shift Chart](http://shiftchart.com/game/2023-12-01-sharks-devils)
[David Edelstein: Creative by the San Jose Sharks](https://twitter.com/davidzedelstein/status/1730805917833179192)
[2023-24 Regular Season Schedule (December, all times EST)](https://www.nhl.com/devils/schedule/2023-12-01)
by Devil_Dane
30 Comments
This team isn’t fun to watch anymore. Fix the goaltending and defense already Jesus
Friend of mine is a Leafs fan. Couple days ago I half joked to him about losing to the Sharks and apologizing in advance for that meaning the Sharks will have more regulation wins than the Leafs.
I say half joking because the Devils’ issues have been pretty consistent all year. Even the wins haven’t sat well with me knowing they can’t win every game 5-4. This game was an (albeit extreme) example of that.
This is why you need to be a well-rounded team. The offense cannot carry every game. Sometimes it needs to be solid defensive play, or good goaltending. Last year, the Devils were good at doing that. Stepping up and finding ways to win when one aspect of their game wasn’t going well.
I’m not nearly as upset as lots of people seem to be. I kind of mentally prepared myself for this based on how the season has went so far. It’s still a little depressing though lol.
Anyway, I don’t normally share my thoughts like this but I’m sick as a dog and can’t sleep. Have a good weekend everyone.
I’m a really fucking negative person, but I’m going to try to be positive for a second.
– If we could only win one game of this back to back, I’m glad it was the Flyers
– If we could only win three of the last four, I’m glad it was the Flyers, Isles and Sabres
– Nobody sustained a long-term injury
– The goalie who goalied us wasn’t Mackenzie Blackwood
– Nemec looks NHL-ready at one end of the rink
– Holtz continues to produce and looks like he’s for real. Mercer has also woken up
– The players making soul-crushing rookie mistakes were, for the most part, rookies
That’s it. There’s no more positives. This team was sorely missing experience on defense a week ago, and has since lost their two most-experienced dmen. And it fucking showed. This game sucked ass, and, despite being only 1/4 over, this season has already thoroughly kicked my ass. Fuck.
Ruff starts Akira in a b2b after almost 50 shots against in am o.t game last night.
Had Nemec (a rookie in his first fucking game) on his offside (not sure if this changed as the game went on).
San Jose hadn’t won a road game yet and came in with 7 goals on the road… not only did they win, they nearly doubled their road goals total by throwing up 6.
I’m honestly at a loss for words and I’m struggling to watch games anymore. Every single game looks like the same tape on repeat. Good offense, terrible defense, couple soft goals against, no structure, slow start….
Ruff honestly needs to go. 4 points lost between this and the Jackets game. The mid to late 2010s devils sucked, but that was due to lack of talent. They absolutely fought and gave teams a hard time. This team has all the talent, but no leadership behind the bench. Really wish they kept Brunette instead of extending Ruff.
The defensive issues and breakdowns are consistent and nothing ever changes. You can’t get rid of all of your defensemen but you can change the system.
Goaltending has been bad but anyone they bring in now will probably only be a slight boost. Better than nothing but the issue is coaching. This group can’t play Ruff’s asinine system. They could barely play it last year, difference is they got saves. Now our tandem can’t make a save on anything. Ruff is a dinosaur, he ain’t changing shit. The sooner he’s gone the better.
Fire Lindy. Trade for a goalie. Hopefully not John Gibson.
We started a young goalie who played his balls off the night before with a career high shots against.. dude was probably fuckin fried.. not sure what coaches expected. Yes VV isn’t doing great too but at least he was fresh. 2 of those goals were on defense.
Their goalie absolutely stood on their head, as well as having a defensive rookie and timo coming back after a long stretch of not playing.. just a recipe for disaster. Lowkey if we started VV I think we could’ve at least got a point.. this sub hates our goalies especially Vitek but it’s still insane to me that they started Schmid back to back like that… Like I have a hard time even blaming Schmid bc the dude was probably fried from the night before.
I had a thought re: Lindy: Lindy is our Moses. Hear me out on this one.
Moses led the Hebrews out of captivity in Egypt. He then received the law of Yahweh and molded the spiritual identity of the Hebrew people. However, he still eventually displeased God and never actually made it to the promised land. That would be left to his successor, Joshua, who would lead the conquest Canaan, including the destruction of Jericho.
Lindy led us out of the captivity that was a near-decade of sucking. He built our identity as a fast, high-scoring team and mentored our best young talent. However, he doesn’t have what it takes to bring us to the next level, and we will not see a cup with him, if even next season.
The only question then is, who will be our Joshua?
Schmid really wasn’t good last night, but:
– Played in a back to back after an excellent game against Philly
– Clearly wouldn’t have been fresh for the game, which is setting him up to fail
– Absolutely terrible optics for Vanecek, very clearly doesn’t have the confidence of the coaching staff (which you can argue is rightly so, but I find it kinda nuts he didn’t play unless he’s being traded)
– I was expecting Vanecek to come in at 3 goals against on minimal shots, try and get a reaction and a fresh face in. The fact that didn’t happen reiterates the above
– And the one that annoys me the most is that they allowed Schmid to face the media last night. Fucking hell, protect your young goalie from the limelight after a bad game.
I just don’t know. Allowing that many goals on that little shots is pathetic. This is like a more talented version of the 2022 season. Decent play sunk by just not getting the saves. I’d almost rather we start just cycling through goalies like we did that year, maybe somebody gets got. Akira maybe should have been rewarded for his game against the flyers with a night off, because he just couldn’t get the timely save. Back breaking goals constantly.
Rire Fuff
Guys, you won’t believe the crazy dream I had last night! I dreamt the Devils lost to the freaking San Jose Sharks! Hahaha, crazy, right?!
…right?
Did any of our reporters grill Ruff on starting Akira on a back to back after 47 shots the night before or did they let Rufd off easy?
I am going to say that the Timo Meier trade wasn’t great for us. He’s got 11 points this year, 6 of which are on the pp. Even strength he’s -14, the worst on the team. He cost us that first goal with a ridiculous turnover and frankly he’s look like shit since Trouba laid him out in the playoffs.
What the fuck was that
I felt that this one was mostly on Schmid, sadly, as he played well the game before. He has to take responsibility for at least 2 of those high-danger shots close to his net.
What about the D? Well yes, losing Dougie and Smith hurt, and there was some sloppy play in the slot (e.g. Jack’s turnover leading to a goal), and we have new players joining the big team as well.
We need to rethink the strategy and formations to prioritize D, especially in the first two periods. That’s on the coaching staff. And we need to figure out if we are going to ride Schmid and VV, or is this the time to buy a goalie?
In isolation this loss isn’t the end of the world. You’re going to win most games where you out shoot the other team 3:1. The reason it feels like the end of the world is because of the position we’ve put ourselves in. We are a quarter of the way through the season and have been plagued by the same issues game after game and not a damn thing has changed. The season isn’t lost yet but it will be before we know it unless we make a goalie trade or a huge systemic adjustment.
I slept on it and I have to say I agree with Lindy’s assessment of puck management. Seeing it live that was very obvious to me.
If they can turn over the puck on one of our rush chances it’s 50/50 a goal. Everyone trying to skate through or make a cute pass. Dump and chase is at least a battle you can control. Or just crash the net.
Our talent isn’t well rounded right now for different types of hockey, i feel.
I have woken up and not seen Lindy was fired. So I am asking for Lindy to be fired.
How are you going to start Schmid on a back to back and then not pull him after he lets in 3 goals on 9 shots?
Getting a goalie seems nigh impossible apparently so firing Ruff is the next best thing for a shakeup.
I got nothing good to say anymore. Despite all the injuries this team was flawed from the start. You can’t be an all offense team with weak team D & mediocre goaltending and expect to win anything in this league. Literally every top team has at least one elite level goalie and plays solid team defense we have neither going for us.
It isn’t the “system” that is the problem it is the players not executing and I’m starting to think they’re gonna get Lindy fired. I’m so pissed off that maybe 1 out of every 6-7 games we start with fire or passion. It’s like we need to be behind to play with desperation and then when we do find it we give up a billion scoring chances & rarely get a big save while the other team clogs the middle and blocks everything and/or their goalie stops everything we throw at them. The pattern has spanned from last year into this year so it isn’t “injuries” or whatever excuse people want to make. Something needs to be done or we’re gonna just keep doing this. Maybe we’ll get hot for awhile but this style if hockey is going to probably have us miss playoffs or get bounced early if something doesn’t drastically change.
Couldn’t watch the game last night and now glad I missed it. Everything else aside, how did Nemec look?
This team is done. Goalie tandem is near the bottom of the league. They don’t know how to play D.
I am skeptical of those who blame the Ruff system. Most of the D lapses are just skaters screwing up. It could be possible that a different HC might get them to stop making so many mistakes. Maybe. But it is less of a system problem than a ‘skaters keep doing dumb things’ problem.
In the end, I doubt it can be fixed this year.
I still can’t believe what utter domination that was. Sometimes it really is just puck luck. We fucked up here and there on D, which does need to be addressed, but I’m confident Nemec will be a boost there pretty quickly. Nice to see Palat finally bury a great opportunity.
Nothing will change until Ruff is gone. Year 4 of Lindy and 3 of them have been disasters. The way this team plays reminds me of the first two years under Lindy and the first seven periods last year. Every game this team is not ready to play and they give up the first goal. Constant defensive breakdowns that lead to high danger chances and players left all alone in front of the net. The goaltending has to be better, but I also find it hard to believe that we have the worst goaltending in the league no matter who we put in net. It all comes back to coaching. This team has a lot of talent and will win enough games to not be bottom of the league, but we won’t contend for a cup until a coaching change is made.
Unacceptable. Fire Lindy and bring in a new tendy. Akira and VV aren’t it this year
From another thread
They need to do something. They need defense. Problem is who do you trade? You can’t trade Seigs because that will upset the captain. Can’t trade Hughes or Nemec. Smith and Miller are a no. That leaves Marino and Bahl. You could also throw in Casey.
Regarding offense, nobody is taking Palat. TT just got here. Maybe trade Nate?
As for goaltending, you could package Vitek and Dawes.
Trading partners wise, you could get a deal in order from Calgary for Tanev or Hanifan.
Then there is Ottawa with Brannstrom and Joesph. They need money for Pinto. We could also pry one of their goal tenders away from them.
Chicago has Murphy, but he’s 30 and has 3 more years left.
Minnesota has potential. Trade and get Middleton, Gus, and Zach Bo.
We also need mutherfuckers that are wild dogs willing to do our dirty work.
As for coaching, either Bruce or Woodcroft.
And I think part of struggle to score are too many low quality shots. I know they took like 30+ shots but if they are all low quality and no one in front to get a garbage goal then it’s not worth. It
1. Akira got a raw deal there, but management must think Vitek is cooked to not start him or play him at all last night.
2. The Devils for years now have an impeccable ability to give otherwise unimpressive goalies the greatest game other their lives.
3. I’m getting more and more worried that we are becoming power play merchants which I hate.
4. Lindy needs to go because our defensive scheme is not working and something needs to change. We should be playing our D Men more conservativly in the offensive zone until we figure it out
5. Half of all practices should focus on clearing the puck against aggressive forecheck looks
6. We need more defensive responsibility around the crease, need to clear bodies out of there and get sticks on sticks to prevent shots.
But yeah, heard people say the dark ages are over but that loss took me back to 2016 – at least I wasn’t expecting a win necessarily back then.
Only bright spot of that game was that Nemec looked well, kid looks like a natural and can damn sure shoot the puck. Thing is, if this wasn’t the game that really gets this team going then idk what’s gonna happen, we lost to the worst team in the league and we lost pretty bad at that… idk man.
I think the biggest problem in hindsight is that we overlooked some very obvious red flags that came up in the Carolina series because we were so damn happy just to be there