https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pC6WFG5ckw

One of the reasons I don’t write recaps after every game is because the game summaries have become redundant with this Devils team.  Aside from the occasional regulation or OT win that keeps the Devils close enough to foster the illusion of contending for a playoff spot, most of our games these days are decided in two ways – with a blown multi-goal lead, a shootout loss – or many times both.  On Black Friday, a sellout crowd got both for the price of one.  As I bitterly remarked to a good friend last night who was bringing an out-of-state friend to the game, she got the full experience of being at a Devils game last night with the blown lead and a shootout loss.

Perhaps the only stunner is that I can still be even mildly surprised after games like last night, where the Devils somehow managed to blow a three-goal lead against a Red Wings team playing a backup goalie who played like he didn’t belong in the NHL.  It’s not so much I’m surprised the Devils found yet another way to lose last night – like I told another friend last night when we got to 3-1, I felt we needed two more goals.  At some point however, you’d think the Devils would manage to find a way NOT to blow one of these games.  Really that’s where my remaining surprise comes from, that the Devils literally cannot hold a multi-goal lead ever, even by accident!  Perhaps the only person on the planet who won’t admit there’s a pattern is coach Pete DeBoer.  This quote from our game in Calgary last weekend is worth re-posting:

When I asked DeBoer if the failure to protect a third period lead represents a pattern, he denied that is the case.

“You guys are always looking for patterns,” DeBoer said. “There’s no pattern. This team (Calgary) has come back on lots of teams before. We’ve got some young guys at key positions and we’re learning how to win games.”

So I guess there’s still no pattern when the same thing happens less than a week later.

Last night would have actually been worth it if Rich Chere, Tom Gulutti or any of the other reporters had tweaked Pete by asking him one more time about a pattern existing, hopefully causing the head coach to pull a mini-Tortorella and storm out of the room.  You know if this was Toronto, Montreal or even New York with Larry Brooks, someone would have done it.  Gulutti more or less did do it late last season at one point, but that time was an outlier for our media which is mostly soft compared to other hockey hotbeds.  Also incredibly soft these days is our broadcast – while Doc and Chico were hardly Don Cherry in terms of causing contreversy at least they wouldn’t sugarcoat things after terrible games like last night.  According to a few little birdies, the postgame was awful yesterday with John MacLean and others lobbing up excuses and talking about a moral victory.  Even my friend (the one who I told we needed two more goals) said he was fine with the point cause he didn’t expect one.

I’m almost glad I was at the game cause that kind of talk drives me nuts, especially with the Devils having just nine wins in twenty-three games and facing a division speedbump of games at Long Island tonight and at Pittsburgh Monday, two teams only nine thousand points ahead of us in the standings for automatic playoff berths.  If we were several points in front of a playoff spot that’d be one thing, but if this team wants to continue even an illusion of contending for a playoff berth they can’t afford to continue to just give away points.  At some point this organization and fanbase can’t continue to hold onto the excuses of losing Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, or wistfully cry for a 42-year old Martin Brodeur to come back as the loons in the stands who were chanting ‘We Want Marty!’ last night did.  Thankfully I didn’t hear those chants in my section but I would have had steam coming out of my ears if I did, especially since last night’s result literally had nothing to do with goaltending, despite the four goals against.

As if the blown leads aren’t bad enough the personnel decisions continue to be baffling.  With Bryce Salvador out of the lineup, the only defenseman on our roster you could describe as a crease-clearing guy is Seth Hegelson.  Yet against a team in Detroit that is expert at crashing the net (not a big surprise considering they have one of the best front of the net presences of the modern era in Johan Franzen), we scratch Hegelson.  Anyone with a brain could have predicted the result – which last night was no fewer than three goals being scored on the Devils because Detroit had an unobstructed skater in front of the net -with the other one being a tip-in from Riley Sheahan, again with position in front.  Not that Hegelson would have played much if he had played judging by Pete’s hierarchy of icetime, which last night reached a nadir even for this organization.

Defensive TOI
Greene 28:26
Severson 26:26
Zidlicky 23:20
Harrold 21:33
Larsson 15:27
Gelinas 12:14
Hegelson – healthy scratch

What was that about having young guys in key positions and trying to win in the above quote?  The ONLY young guy Pete trusts in a key position (not counting Adam Henrique or the injured Jon Merrill) is Severson, who’s being ridiculously overplayed in his first NHL season though he hasn’t shown signs of fatigue yet it’s almost inevitable it’ll come.  And then the D will be really bad because the shots per game are up this year at an alarming rate.  Maybe we all underestimated the importance of Mark Fayne and Anton Volchenkov?  Yet, this head coach continues to go with status quo and default to playing any vet whenever possible.  Even after Larsson finally established a niche playing on the PK he still can’t sniff any time even-strength, getting just over twelve 5-on-5 minutes.  Only in the world of Pete is someone trustworthy enough to play 4-on-5 but not 5-on-5.  While Marek Zidlicky – who is far from a defensive presence – and Peter Harrold who should be a third-pairing d-man at best are getting big minutes.  And we wonder why this team can’t hold leads when Zidlicky and Harrold are both a -3 in the last two games and still being put out in big situations over Larsson and Hegelson.  I’m not crazy about Gelinas at this point but if he’s only going to get ten minutes even strength at home in a 65-minute game then what was the point of putting him back in the lineup?

Pete’s bizarre roster management isn’t just limited to defense…I hate to keep harping on this cause I love the guy, but Danius Zubrus and his two points in twenty-three games shouldn’t be anywhere near a top line and yet Pete still keeps trying to stick him there.  While Tuomo Ruutu has five goals in twenty-two games and still can’t sniff top six icetime, even last night after the Devils lost both Henrique and Travis Zajac to injuries.  Neither Zajac or Henrique are expected to play in tonight’s showdown on Long Island as the good news just continues to multiply.  Also, Martin Havlat played just 7:42 last night (just one 34-second shift early in the third period with no OT time) with no apparent explanation.  Considering he’s made of glass an injury wouldn’t shock me but none was reported, so I have to scratch my head over benching a guy with actual offensive creativity – who actually knows how to be responsible defensively unlike some forwards that are playing.

I don’t want to just blame Pete for the current state of the team, obviously there’s been a talent drain over the last few years and problems above Pete’s paygrade, plus many players need to be playing better but why people including half the fanbase and Lou continue to give Pete a total pass is beyond me.  Saying the roster isn’t great is almost beside the point, coaches get fired because of bad rosters all the time including Pete himself in Florida.  How many coaches even get to survive two straight playoff-less seasons, let alone preside over a third?  Dave Tippett is the only one I can think of offhand and ownership was basically vacated there the last couple of seasons.  Can we actually see this roster under another coach before we know whether it needs to be completely gutted or just partially gutted?  Obviously changes have to be made no matter who the coach is, but can Larsson get a real chance to play 18-20 minute games before that happens?  Can Ruutu actually get out of the doghouse first?  God knows we’re paying him way too much money to be stuck on the fourth line forever.  Are we allowed to see if this team will continue to blow leads with another coach?  We already know they’ll blow them with different players under the same system.  Can we get a coach who knows how to manage a lineup and doesn’t give AHL defensemen 20+ minutes a night?!