Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Devils lose 3rd in a row.

A tepid start for the 2015-16 season for the New Jersey Devils continued as the Devils lost to the Nashville Predators 3-1 at the Rock in Newark...
Kyle Palmieri scored ( 1 power play) for the only Devils goal.
Keith Kinkaid stopped 17 shots in another start in goal.
The Devils now are off until Friday when they host the San Jose Sharks..

Hell Raisers

1) This was a horrible game to watch.
Next to no action for the game until the last two and a half minutes.
Just awful from both teams...

2) I know the "New Devils" are heavily into analytics and the numbers that come with the game.
I have never claimed to know hockey from top to bottom as much as I do the other three major sports and I realize that numbers indeed can be a help,but pulling your goaltender with roughly three minutes to go and your team already with a man advantage smacked me as being dumb.
I understood the risks of pulling the goalie in Washington with a man down and losing on the scoreboard,but on this night-it made zero sense...

3) I just didn't see a lot of urgency in this game or a ton of hustle.
I realize this is a rebuild and I don't expect to win a lot of games,but I do expect development and I do expect effort.
There was not enough of either on this night.

4) I thought Keith Kinkaid was fine in goal,
The goal he allowed (to Roman Josi) was one that he couldn't be liable for as he had to respect Shea Weber's shot.
All and all,this loss goes far more on the lack of offense than anything Keith Kinkaid did...

5) Cory Schneider missed the game due to the birth of his child.
Yann Danis was brought up to back up Keith Kinkaid and Reid Boucher was sent to Albany in a paper move to accommodate the evenings roster.

6) Finally,this.The Devils are not a good hockey team.
They are going to constantly struggle to score goals and they aren't going to win many games.
It will be interesting to see how John Hynes handles a lot of losing and how he deals with players that will not be part of a long term plan.
As Patrick Swayze once said in Road House "It's going to get worse before it gets better",,,

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