Guest Writer: Wally Pipp Moment Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, and the silverlining of a terrible loss.

Excellent article!

Good read

Great to see give up a 3 goal lead in the 3rd

Lucky no D was played

Have to score 5+ for a chance to win

When Vitek is in net, no game is safe and yes, I know the D coverage wasn't great & Van made some great skill plays too but that doesn't speak to V²'s horrendous rebound control issues. Sick of watching layups.

Good read

Great to see give up a 3 goal lead in the 3rd

Lucky no D was played

Have to score 5+ for a chance to win
- dmarsden2988

Just wait until we have more injuries

When Vitek is in net, no game is safe and yes, I know the D coverage wasn't great & Van made some great skill plays too but that doesn't speak to V²'s horrendous rebound control issues. Sick of watching layups.
- cu45161

He's so bad lol. Even when he has spurts of good play, he finds a way to just collapse and give it all away. Ray Ferraro was nonstop ripping him for his rebound control pretty much the entire game lol. Canucks fans all over twitter were talking about how they felt like they could *easily* come back from 4-1 and 5-2 down because of how many rebounds Vanecek gives up. Everybody sees it.

Weekes saying the Devils are "looking for a stabilizer on the back end, a physical defeseman who can block shots." Specifically mentioned they're interested in Chris Tanev, but so are a lot of teams. All indications are that Fitz is trying to get active.

Weekes saying the Devils are "looking for a stabilizer on the back end, a physical defeseman who can block shots." Specifically mentioned they're interested in Chris Tanev, but so are a lot of teams. All indications are that Fitz is trying to get active.
- vlongo4419

I remember when I said yrs ago to get Zadarov and everyone here told me size and grit is irrelevant in hockey. hahahah

I remember when I said yrs ago to get Zadarov and everyone here told me size and grit is irrelevant in hockey. hahahah
- Leniwm1

I really wish we got him

I really wish we got him
- shvingter88

Me too.

There are plenty of D that know how to throw a hit, but Fitz wanted none of that!

Smith should play forward. I loved what he did. And the few mistakes he made were tolerable because he was just a winger.

Its crazy how we went from Cup favorites to not making the playoffs in 3 months.

Me too.

There are plenty of D that know how to throw a hit, but Fitz wanted none of that!

Smith should play forward. I loved what he did. And the few mistakes he made were tolerable because he was just a winger.

It’s crazy how we went from Cup favorites to not making the playoffs in 3 months.
- Leniwm1

I can’t say I’m surprised, last year almost didn’t seem right. I think Brunette did a lot of the heavy lifting. Also losing severson and graves hurt a lot. Everyone loved to hate on severson for one mistake a game. The dude was rock solid all night every night but he would make one mistake. And graves was great too. Oh and ruff (frank)ing sucks and always has.

I can’t say I’m surprised, last year almost didn’t seem right. I think Brunette did a lot of the heavy lifting. Also losing severson and graves hurt a lot. Everyone loved to hate on severson for one mistake a game. The dude was rock solid all night every night but he would make one mistake. And graves was great too. Oh and ruff (frank)ing sucks and always has.
- shvingter88

Could not agree more! I thought the plan was Ruff would be a short term coach and Burnette was going to take over. As much as I love Fitzy, letting Burnette go AND extended Ruff is the stupidest move he could’ve made. Idk how much of that was ownership, maybe they pushed Fitzy to lock up the current head coach after an overachieving year.

Whoever made that call, (frank)ED UP BIG TIME

I remember when I said yrs ago to get Zadarov and everyone here told me size and grit is irrelevant in hockey. hahahah
- Leniwm1

Wish we could’ve landed Zadarov too.

But John Scott can bring size and grit. Doesn’t mean it’s the right move.

Successful size and grit for today’s game means a K’Andre Miller type or a Moritz Seider type. Not just some 1 dimensional goon that can’t break out, can’t keep the play alive. It feels like there’s a lot of people that just want to watch UFC on ice. That’s a recipe for a 0-82 season.

Same lines in morning skate as last game, except Smith is back on the wing on the 4th line. Lazar/Bastian rotating on the other wing. Seems like Bastian will be the one out.

Schmid was in the starters net and was the first goalie off the ice.

I can’t say I’m surprised, last year almost didn’t seem right. I think Brunette did a lot of the heavy lifting. Also losing severson and graves hurt a lot. Everyone loved to hate on severson for one mistake a game. The dude was rock solid all night every night but he would make one mistake. And graves was great too. Oh and ruff (frank)ing sucks and always has.
- shvingter88

DOOMED

DOOMED
- Crushers68

Exactly

You can tell Timo isn't even close to 100%. He's normally a guy who hits everything, especially on the forecheck, but he's been barely using his body since coming back. I respect playing through injury, but at some point you just need to sit out and get fully healthy if it's affecting your game.

On another note, I don't think Nemec is going anywhere anytime soon. I just love watching him play, he's a true rover. He's all over the ice lol, for better or worse. But it'll be interesting to see what happens if/when he hits the 9 game mark, do they send him back or do they make the decision to burn the 1st year of his ELC and keep him here the rest of the year?

Schmid has a .914 save% since the start of November(.932 save% if you take out the Sharks game, which he shouldn't have ever started in the first place). You just gotta roll with him for now and ride the hot hand. There's no excuse to play Vanecek in any non-b2b situation.

We 100% lose tonight if Vanecek is in net.

Schmid has a .914 save% since the start of November(.932 save% if you take out the Sharks game, which he shouldn't have ever started in the first place). You just gotta roll with him for now and ride the hot hand. There's no excuse to play Vanecek in any non-b2b situation.

We 100% lose tonight if Vanecek is in net.
- vlongo4419

Play Vitek Saturday against the Flames and Schmid Sunday against Edmonton

You can tell Timo isn't even close to 100%. He's normally a guy who hits everything, especially on the forecheck, but he's been barely using his body since coming back. I respect playing through injury, but at some point you just need to sit out and get fully healthy if it's affecting your game.

On another note, I don't think Nemec is going anywhere anytime soon. I just love watching him play, he's a true rover. He's all over the ice lol, for better or worse. But it'll be interesting to see what happens if/when he hits the 9 game mark, do they send him back or do they make the decision to burn the 1st year of his ELC and keep him here the rest of the year?
- vlongo4419

If Dougie were just a little banged up, I'd imagine Nemec wouldn't have played the past nine-game mark, but given the severity of Dougie's injury, Nemec's solid play and his involvement in both special teams units, he seems on the path to stay. I'd tend to think many like that being the reality.

Crazy to think that a sort of luxury pick at #2 to solidify our long-term defensive plans could end up being crucial to our success so early on.

Has #4 ever been behind our bench in some capacity?

Has #4 ever been behind our bench in some capacity?
- Leniwm1

On July 17, 2012, the Devils announced Stevens would return to the team as an assistant coach.[69] After two seasons of failing to make the playoffs, Stevens stepped down as assistant coach in September 2014. His role as the assistant coach for defenseman was filled by another former Devil, Tommy Albelin. However, three months later, Stevens returned to the Devils along with former assistant coach Adam Oates, relieving Peter DeBoer of his coaching duties. In a unique move, both Stevens and Oates were named as "interim" co-head coaches, with Stevens focusing on defencemen and Oates on forwards.[70]

Nico Daws returned to game action tonight for the first time since his hip surgery over the summer. Stopped 31/32 shots in a Utica win.

Lines today:

Palat-Nico-Bratt
Haula-Jack-Toffoli
Timo-Mercer-Lazar
Holtz-McLeod-Bastian

Same D

Vanecek in net

Sharangovich!!

Oh wait …..he is on the Flames.