Hello darkness my old friend
The Devils lost yet again
That makes a four game streak
2025 so far isssss bleak
And the scoring.. that fitz loved.. and was elite
still remains
the sounds of silence
I am not having a good time this year so far, and I am letting a hockey team influence my mental health. Eating better? Gym? Dry January? Not with the Devils as my favorite team.
SURPRISE it's 1-0 them again. Is that getting old? yes it is, so it would be super if the Devils would stop fucking giving up the first goal and being allergic to scoring in the 1st period. They've scored in the first in only one game during this slide and have given up the first goal in 3 of the 4. Let's talk about that first goal shall we? Luke with a weak clear.. Dougie, where you going man - he found himself at the point? uhh, why? Haula where you going man, not gonna cover for Dougie? Luke whatcha watching man, just gonna hang out in the corner and not get back into position?
We got one back on the powerplay, thank fucking god. That has dried up too recently, so nice to get on the board and it was Birthday boy Nico on an easy tap in. The PP looked really good, nice and thick and veiny, puck movement was crisp and the motion and danger was back. Hopefully a harbinger of things to come.
Then... goddamn it man, we give up another 2 on 1, we have seen more of those against than you can find on pornhub. And oh great, it's to Smith and Macklin who are a fun dynamic up and coming duo. Snipe by Macklin.
These 2 goals against together are a perfect microcosm of everything leaking into their D-zone structure and defensive play in general. The first was a series of blown coverages, and Luke/Dougie really shouldn't see the ice together. Dougie loves to go walkabout, and some puck watching has crept into Luke's game which is a fatal combination. Not to mention noted defensive forward Haula looped too low on a bad route and didn't recover in time. On the second, it's another 2 on 1, Luke shooting wide on a rush, and Cotter makes an ill-advised pinch while covering for him. Luke, you cannot shoot wide on a rush where it's going to rim around to where you are supposed to be and Cotter needs to back off there.
Like in Anaheim, we actually crawled back in and tied it on a beautiful individual effort from Cotter: on nice little toe drag, puck-protection and chip top shelf. How about that, maybe we can pull this out. If Cotter is heating up, maybe some line shuffling is in order - More on that below.
Markstrom was fantastic all night, making several huge saves (particularly in the first) - stealing a goal or two from old buddy Toffoli. This game is certainly not on Marky... however, he really needs to get that last one. He was somewhat screened, but that was a rough time to give up a point shot from Cody fucking Ceci. Marky slammed his stick afterwards, probably in frustration about that goal and getting hung out to dry several times. We need to clean it up in front of him.
I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs, I'm not going to talk about the refs.
I'm going to talk about the refs. I have never, in my life, seen a 2 minute minor get overturned after the hand up, extra man came on - and they just said... oopsie nevermind? Bad calls happen all the time and the game just goes on!! Yes, he slipped on the puck, but to overturn it in real time? oh and before that they completely whiffed on the Mercer high stick call. To cap it off, Siegs clear at the end of the game hit the linseman keeping it in the zone. All that being said, please don't mistake incompetence for bias - but man is it hard not to put a tinfoil hat on. Calls tend to even themselves out, but we have been on a bad run with calls not going our way.
The current line construction needs a shake up, some guys could use a seat, and some AHL guys should get a chance. Both the current Hischier line and Hughes line got worked over the past few games and if they aren't going, we are in trouble. I do appreciate that Keefe has kept the blender at bay, but all 4 lines have gotten stale, and since I don't see Fitz making a move at the moment because panic will get take advantage of, this is how I would roll things out:
Timo - Nico - Bratt
Cotter - Jack - Noesen
Dowling - Haula - Mercer
Tatar - Lazar - Halonen
D pairs stay the same. We'd have to do some roster shenanigans to keep Dowling and call up Halonen, but it's time we give him a shot. The 4 guys that need a seat are Palat, Bastian, Haula and Tatar, but you can't take them all out wholesale. Frankly, we give Lazar too much of a pass for being funny. The biggest black hole has been the 3rd line, and as I have mentioned before Cotter-Haula doesnt work - and if Cotter is going to start scoring again, let's give him some run with Jack and stoke that flame. Bratt has assisted on most of Nico's last few goals, and that combo has worked. Noesen and Jack have been great on the PP together, let's see if that can carry over to 5v5. I really like Dowling's game, maybe he can help Haula - and Mercer-Haula has been good as a pair. We just need the 4th to not get caved in, and they were good against SJ, but Bastian has become a waste of a roster spot, and MacDermid is no better. Between Bastian, Tatar, and MacDermind we have $4.3MM tied up that we sure could use right about now.
I'm just spitballing here, but something needs to change and for now it's gotta come from within the room and organization.
I haven't forgotten about you, Valiquette, you smug fuck.
LGD
