In the 33rd episode of ‘Shout At The Devils’ hosts Daniel Amoia (devils.report) and Justin Brady (devilsfanatics) discuss the leave of absences of two Devils players, as well as GM Tom Fitzgerald’s extension and some other topics regarding the team.
Josh Reinitz on Edmonton Sports Radio: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lowdown-with-lowetide-josh-reinitz-jan-24th/id1706739162?i=1000642823959
Mic’d Up Segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYIsCMEVU4c
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“Shout At The Devils” is the ultimate podcast for fans of the New Jersey Devils, hosted by two hockey influencers, Justin Brady (@devilsfanatics) and Daniel Amoia (@devils.report). With their extensive knowledge of the team and their passion for the sport, Justin and Daniel provide insightful analysis, in-depth commentary, and engaging discussions on all things related to the Devils. Every week, the hosts deliver an entertaining and informative show that covers the latest news, game recaps, and player updates, as well as some interviews with athletes, experts and insiders from the world of hockey. From discussing the team’s performance on the ice to exploring the business side of the franchise, “Shout At The Devils” offers a comprehensive look at everything Devils fans need to know. So tune in, join the conversation, and shout at the Devils with Justin and Daniel every week!
Welcome back to another episode of the shout at the Devils podcast I’m Daniel amoya AKA devils. report and I’m here alongside Justin Brady AKA doubles Fanatics um we have a pretty serious topic to talk about um gonna be kind of hard to sugarcoat it so it’s a it’s a
Very sensitive issue just want to make you all aware of that before we dive into it so if you know what we’re talking about I mean you probably are tuning in for this reason but this morning Cal foot and Michael McLoud both did not show up to practice about a
Half hour after the culmination of practice the Devils came out with a statement saying that they have each requested and been granted indefinite leave of absences from the team the club will have no further comment at this time the Lindy Ruff was asked by Ryan niny of nj.com whether their absence was
Related to this morning’s report and he replied I don’t know um obviously pretty they’re being pretty hush about this don’t want to speculate here we absolutely do not want to speculate but what we do know currently is that five total hockey players four in the NHL
McLoud foot um Dylan dub of the Calgary Flames forward and flyers golender Carter Har have also taken leave of absences as well as Alex Forton who is playing in Switzerland former AO of senators forward also taking a leave of absence what that coincides with is a report from the globe in mail that
Stated that five former members of Team Canada’s 2018 World Junior Squad were told to surrender to police in London Ontario to face charges of sexual assault now all five of those players that had taken the leave of have taken the leave of absence were part of that
Gold medal winning Squad so again not going to speculate there is a lot that goes into this we do not know what’s going on with the legal process um frankly it seems like the Devils don’t know the none of the teams know the the Flyers had a press conference GM Danny
Brier said he doesn’t know what’s going to happen to Carter har so a common theme Here is we don’t know exactly what’s going on we don’t want to speculate we don’t want to make anything worse obviously this is horrible to say the least um what I can tell you is actually I’m
Going to put in the description here wherever you’re listening if if you’re not listening on YouTube head to YouTube shout out the Devils to get the link there’s going to be a 10-minute podcast clip from my cooworker at the hockey writers Josh RIT who is an attorney he
Was on Edmonton sports radio today basically detailing as much as he possibly can and G giving a little insight without any real speculation or accusing anyone of anything they maybe it did not do so I I would highly recommend listening to that we don’t know for sure if this is an admission of
Guilt no one has been charged yet in the situation but what we do know is that five players are expected to turn themselves into London onario Police and five players all from that team have taken a leave of absence so take with that what you will the bottom line right
Now is and obviously hockey Pals in comparison to allegations of this nature obviously hockey comes second but we at the end of the day we are New Jersey Devils podcast and we are going to talk about things that affect the team we I again I highly recommend listening
To the 10-minute podcast clip of the first six minutes actually is all that they needed to talk about it um it it’ll definitely clear some things up great job by Josh Ry it’s there but um it’s it’s a tough thing to talk about but bottom line is the Devils will likely
Not be without Michael McLoud and Cal foot for at least quite some time possibly forever I mean we we really don’t know at this point what we do know is at the very very minimum it’s likely to be until February 5th that I would presume much longer than that but again
I don’t want to speculate February 5th is when London Police Department will be having a press conference regarding this um not sure if they’re going to announce charges or anything there so it it’s just very unfortunate it’s awful um it took Ju Just for us to even start this
Podcast like we really didn’t even know how to go about it is is it’s it’s awful there’s no way to go about it there’s a piece on the athletic that also goes into more detail if you just Google it you you’ll get the details there it’s not something i’ recommend if you’re
Sensitive to this topic um there there’s like I said there’s really no way of sugar coding it so bottom line is the in terms of this podcast the devils are going to be without I mean Cal fooot has been a replacement level player essentially but Michael McLoud has been
A staple of this team and again I want to reiterate I know I’m kind of beating a dead horse but it’s important to recognize that hockey doesn’t matter matter when it comes to something like this or doesn’t matter as much I should say so it’s obviously if McLoud is any
Way involved he deserves to face the consequences that’s the reality of it there’s no question of that so it’s very unfortunate we’re we’re just going to continue on with this episode and talk about other things with the team because that’s what we are at the end of the day
A devil’s podcast the the season is still going on it’s fortunate it’s a tough situation um we we hope that the victim gets Justice if the legal system feels that’s something that is needed and from what I understand there’s a lot of evidence that has been presented to
London Police so yes um and just to make sure like everybody’s aware of this the five players have not been made public at all so don’t make assumptions don’t come to conclusions we do not know what what is going to happen out of this all
We know as of now is that there is going to be a press conference held by the London Police Department like you just mentioned Danel on February 5th so definitely Michael McLoud and Calo will definitely be out at least up until then who knows how long this thing is going
To go on whether charges are pressed we will see what happens but it seems like the victim definitely wants Justice and I can’t say I blame her whatsoever so it seems like this could be taking a very long long time I who knows what’s going to happen out of this very sickening is
Talk about I mean I you could probably hear my voice right now I’m a little choked up about it because this is a very sensitive topic um to me and I’m sure probably all of you right now um it’s very dishe Harding to talk about it
Um but not not that this matters at all right now but the devils are definitely going to have struggles going forward I can’t imagine what this takes the on the toll of this Devil’s team going going forward this season knowing that two of their players two friends of theirs two
Possible roommates of them two guys that they grew up have played hockey with for several years now possibly are now being faced with these um allegations and I I I just it’s going to be hard for this team going forward um so we’ll see what happens there definitely a tough
Situation for this organization right now probably one of the toughest situations this Devil’s team has been in all their history so definitely tough to talk about we don’t want to talk about it any further going forward here because it’s just not our place to talk about until more details
Come out about it so let’s get into more positive stuff right Daniel yeah for sure beat the Vegas golden knights on uh Monday night huge win the Devils no doubtly needed that win especially after that awful game against the Dallas Stars and the Devils start off this game really strong
They ended the first period leading 2-1 then Tyler tley netted one made it 3-1 and then 11 minutes later Vegas takes a 5-3 lead and it’s just like oh my gosh just typical devils and stuff like that goaling totally being a mess defense being a mess and look I I know the
Defense is definitely a mess right now when you’re having like Five Guys on your defense who were 25 and under playing in that game it’s definitely not easy on any team but you know what the Devils overcame it they got to wait goai to Foley once again and then that third
Period they came out faring getting pucks on net and that’s what you have to do against good teams like Vegas and Curtis oar was able to net the tie and goal and eventually we get to overtime Devils get a big point and the Devils were great in that overtime flying all
Around and Luke Hughes for forces a turnover um as the Vegas as Vegas was trying to break out off of a great opportunity by Jer brat Luke Hughes the tower def Foley def Foley buries it for the hatrick and the game winning goal devil was get the big two points that
They most desperately needed right now um look wasn’t the best game by the Devils but you know what you beat the Staley Cup champions that says something to me especially being without Jack Hughes being such short-handed defensively being without Colin Miller as well who was dealing with an illness
That game Curtis Lazar Ste up he had a big two coold game he cracked a joke um after the game because he was supposed to be on the ice next after jper brat so he was hoping he’d get the hat-trick so he felt like the F he stole the
Hat-trick from him as a joke so that was fun to see but some pretty big game notes Here Jer brat he had an assist in that game and he was flying all night 10 shots on goal by him that Top Line d right now of jper brat niik heer and Teo
Meyer they’re flying right now I they got to even when Jack Hughes comes back I want to keep them together this has look like the best Devil’s line I’ve seen all season in these last two three games now um T Meer looks like a whole new player he has such confidence he’s
Skating very well very strong in the puck creating opportunities shooting the puck I think he had seven shots in this game as well tooy had seven shots in this game um niik heer had a goal great game by that first line on Monday night there so great to see the Devas Top Line
Producing um but the VTech vanich in that defense was really bad that game especially in that second period VTEC finished with a minus 1.83 goal saved above expected which is not good whatsoever so goaling continues to be an issue here um unfortunately so I don’t
Know what to make of it I don’t know Tom fero we’re gonna get into that news real soon here um but um I still feel like a move has to be made I don’t feel much confidence in either goalie that the Devils have or even any goal that they have in UDA
Right now so yeah you get some good outings here and there from your goenda up five to six goals and it’s just really unacceptable at this point um you’re not going to be able to make the playoffs with this type of goal tending in the defense definitely has to
Improve as well way too many turnovers in your own Zone creating a lot of odd man rushes losing Puck battles in your own Zone leaving guys wide open in front of the net it’s just unacceptable right now the Devils really had to figure it out clean up a lot of things defensively
You got two games left before the allstar break really like to see some better defense in these last two games yeah for sure um I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again Nico dos deserves a starting role the whole time I’m not saying he’s been great but
His numbers overall have been League average and I will continue to say that that’s when healthy that’s all the Devils need to win um the Dallas game that completely hung him out to dry he played a great first period and a half and then the defense just completely
Fell apart um you there there was I think probably one bad goal do had but I mean given how VTEC has played so far you need to figure out what whether you truly have a capable Young net minder Nico dos who can you who you can build
Around um well the core is built but you know what I mean someone who you can trust to be part of that core for good and I I’m sorry I have zero faith in than check right now personally I think we and I know you always say this too
Justin they do the thing where one goalie has a bad night then they ride the other goalie for a little while then he has a bad night and they keep going back and forth I’m sorry that cannot happen I don’t care that nio go do gave up what five six goals against the
Dallas Stars I don’t care he is your Young net minder he’s shown more promise had better overall overall numbers than any Devil’s go Hender this year you can’t fault him because the defense played a crappy game or because he played one crappy game you need to
Figure out what you have at Nico dos and you need to treat him as the clear number one goal tender right now I think for this season and for the future that is the most beneficial thing for this New Jersey Devils team so I I think that’s something that absolutely has to happen
The net needs to be dolls his numbers I believe are still respectable I’m gonna have to Google them right now yes but from last I checked on money Puck it was he has a plus 60 um goal saved above expected which so he’s positive and above average yeah he has a 903 save
Percentage and that’s with the clunker and Dallas six goals on 6 shots so his numbers before that had an 880 against Montreal before that 943 at Boston and 972 at Florida I mean he he’s had good stretches any rookie goalie he is going to be it most rookie goalies are going
To be inconsistent I mean you look at even some of the NHL greats they they struggled when they came into the league and niik do has shown flashes of it and he he’s a prospect he’s someone who has potential as opposed to vanich who probably not getting better in terms of
His career most likely so it it has to be dolls I think there’s no question you you you can’t keep flip-flopping I feel bad for VTEC but his playoff numbers his downtrend that started last regular season and has has now severely carried over into this season you can’t afford
To keep trotting him out and I know there’s some people who will say oh but his record’s still great I think he’s ninth and the NHL wins The Devils do not win because of Vtech man Che they win in spite of him and there is a big
Difference so I’m gonna leave it at that I’m honestly I’m so sick of talking about go tending it’s every episode it’s every night um it it’s every I I feel like my my entire life is Devil’s goal tending right now I mean everywhere I go I I’m might get delusional at this point
I might walk into shoppr and I’ll hear people talk about Devil’s go 10 days like it it’s quite literally just it’s been horrible and I understand why there’s so much talk about it that’s why we’ve talked about it so much but I I can’t I I can’t bear it anymore
Ry n does out if he doesn’t do well well you learn if he does great awesome the Devils just need him to be average and I think niiko do is capable of playing average he certainly has so far and then we’re not asking for vzan a winner we’re
Asking for League average go tender right now that’s all yeah I feel like you got to commit to one of them it’s you can’t on can’t keep on doing this goalie roulette to see which goalie plays this game just commit to one if you’re not going to trade for a goalie
Going forward here and I think ni dolls is that guy I’m not totally confident in him but I think he has the capability to at least hold his own right now look forward so Jack Hughes is injured and he’s projected to possibly be out still after the allstar game but he may
Participate in the allstar game festivities um very interesting to say the least I saw an interview in um from I forgot who it was it was on Twitter but they asked Jack about it and he’s like I I hope I’m fully he said I hope I’m fully healthy to be participant
Because I want to win that thing and we’re talking about the skills competition because he’s one of the 12 participants and he’s a co- captain of along Quinn Hughes in the All-Star game so I don’t know what to expect um I don’t know if he’s fully healthy to to
Participate in this skills competition I don’t know what type of events he’s going to be be be playing in I obviously it’s not a full out hockey game it’s just a skills competition so maybe he’s fully capable of participating but I don’t know how I feel about that right
Now i’ rather just let him get fully healthy let’s not deal with any more crap that we’ve dealt with this year knowing the devil’s luck they he would be out for the season because of he he skated the wrong way in the skills competition the fastest skater or
Something like that I don’t want to deal with anything right now you agree with that Daniel uh yes and no I I understand where the me personally I would not play him so I I do agree with that I I would just completely leave him out of the
Festivities but with that being said I believe that Jack Hughes is kind of The Golden Child and he the the devils are going to do B they’re not going to want to get on his bad side so so I I have no merit to this it’s just my personal
Belief that if Jack Hughes wants to participate in the skills competition the Devils aren’t going to stop them and I guess all Devils fans will just have to pray that nothing goes wrong but I also re I also think there’s a little overreaction in the sense that Devil’s
Fans have been scared with injuries this season and they just assume if he plays he’s going to like crumble the ground and disintegrate into the ice so I I do believe that if he did and I think Jack knows enough to not risk it if he
Genuinely wasn’t up to it if it’s just a skills competition I don’t think it would be like fastest skater probably some like target shooting or who knows I I don’t think it would be anything too ex strenuous so uh not going to speculate we’ll see what what comes out
Of it but I I wouldn’t make it that big of a deal we’ll see what happens yeah and in other news Andre pilot returned to practice today he’s been lingering with the injury for a few games now he’s back and he was slotted on that second
Line today so happy to have him back Lindy Ruff said he’s going to be playing against Carolina Thursday night so that’s big to get especially now losing um a cloud so that definitely helps out the forward group there and Tomas NOC a guy that we haven’t heard a lot about in
A while has um began skating again so we’ll see what happens there see if he slots back in the lineup very soon here maybe before the allstar Break um other news uh we want to talk about a guy um who had a great game against the Vegas golden kns Cent hataka
Yeaha yeah uh plus three um in that game against Vegas great game team leading plus three team leading I I know it so what I saw from him he showed confidence he showed Poise he’s not he didn’t wasn’t afraid to get involved offensively which I love to see um def
He’s a young guy he’s only had nine or now 10 games of NHL experience so obviously he’s got he has a lot of learning to do just like any young defenseman going into the league but know what I like what I seen I’ve seen some confidence from him and that’s all
I could ask for right now he’s a I hate to say but he’s a placeholder right now until we get some guys healthy because I don’t think the team thinks he’s ready they just need somebody to be up there right now and he might and now with Cal
Foot um being out for an indefinite amount of time uh hataka might get some playing time here going forward so I’m all for it look I think this is and I know we haven’t gotten into Tom Fitzgerald’s extension yet but he did have the press conference yesterday and
He said in a sense the injuries can kind of be a blessing in disguise um he said he Tom Fitzgerald’s word Simone nemit probably shouldn’t be playing 22 minutes a night like he is but you know what he is and he’s doing it very well and I
Think this is a perfect opportunity for a guy like katak at the show like hey I I can do this and I thought for I thought he had a great pre season I wanted him to make the team over Brendan Smith personally um I I really thought
He was great especially in that last Islanders preseason game um what I like about him is that yes like you said he’s not afraid to get involved offensively but he’s also a stay-at-home defenseman he’s fairly conservative um he he’s not going below the goal line Allah douge Hamilton um he
He’s he’s he’s very smart he’s it seems like he knows when to get involved but he’s never like heading all the way below the goal line like he might pinch to keep a a puck in and get right back like he he he seems very good so far and
I’m not gonna not gonna freak out it’s a one game sample size we’re talking about right now and there have been Jonas Seer had the game of his life on opening night and just crash down after that so I’m not going to freak out over one
Single game but with that being said you can’t not like what you saw the other night team leading plus three um Ruff as well Ruff said he had a very good game and he played I think 18 minutes a little over actually so um that’s already showing that Ruff has some early
Trust in him just like he gave that rope to Nemitz and Nemitz responded well Haka did himself I think it helps that they use the same system in UDA so he was able to transition fairly easily um I know Ben Bernell who’s a comment reporter has said that Paka has been pretty solid
Defensively he’s isn’t someone who’s been like a showstopper because he’s a bottom pairing defenseman but you know what actually it’s funny because I talk to my dad after the game and he’s like I was like yeah Taca had a good game my dad was like really I didn’t even see
Him on the ice and you know what that’s a good thing if you’re not noticing a defenseman and he fact that he played over 18 minutes and the old man didn’t notice him like that that that’s a very good thing so he he was just doing his
Job and that was it and that’s why he Ed a team leading plus three um if especially with Sean ther out this is a huge opportunity if hitaka can and again only one game sample but if he can prove himself as a solid defenseman we forget about offense as a solid defense
Defensive defenseman that’s all the Devils need because hak’s numbers historically have never been great offensively yes he likes to get involved but he’s not gonna be producing points but if he can shut it down defensively and then pair with a guy like Simone Nemitz who or I mean Luke Hughes can
Even play on his offside I we we’ll see what Lindy Ruff Cooks up but I I really really love what I’ve seen out of Hakuna hataka Cent Haka thus far yeah now good Devils debut by him um some other big news with the Devils um Tom Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald um has
Received a multi-year extension and he has been promoted to the president of hockey operations for the Devils so big promotion big extension for um Fitzy I think it’s welld deserved he’s done a great job building the Devas team over the last few years um it’s really deserved um Happy for Fitzy um some
Things that I want to note that he said um in his um press conference uh one is he’s had multiple conversations with Tyler tfo’s agent the gauge to where tooy is at and what’s next in terms of a potential contract because tfoy is a free agent unrestricted going to this
Offseason so that’s good to see um other news injury news says that fit Sher says that douggy Hamilton continues to be out long term Hamilton does have a few few appointments coming up and they hope to have a better idea about his progress in
The next two or 3 weeks so we should be getting an update on douge Hamilton in the next month I would say so we’ll see what that happens there because he still has not been placed a long-term injured reserve yet which is very surprising considering that many reports have
Suggested that he’s not going to be back until late April early May so we’ll see what happens there maybe the Devils have some optimism for dougy him with him for to return before the season ends and lastly Tom fero confirm confirms that Jack Hughes will be attending the
All-Star Game and um whether he’s on the ice for the game is uncertain right now which we just briefly talked about before so no just for Brad in the allstar game I know some fans were hoping that brat would saw into into Jack’s spot if Jack were unable to play
But that’s not going to happen seems like Jack is going to be um at the allstar game at least maybe he could be like a coach since he is a a Co Captain um for the Hughes team so that’d be fun to see maybe mik him up a little bit
That’d be great content so I don’t know but yeah what are your thoughts on Tom Fitzgerald resoning and his promotion to the to the president of hockey operations I mean I’m not gonna lie I feel like no one truly knows what his exact role is in president of hocky Ops
I know he was asked it and it it kind of seems like he oversees a bunch of stuff and the promotion isn’t to me as relevant as the extension where I know people have given Fitz a lot of flack but Tom Fitzgerald has built this core
By not being emotional by not being over reactionary and a lot of times that’s come to the dismay of the fan base but that’s why we now have capable players around the team yes there’s been injuries yes there’s been goal tending struggles um Blitzer um what’s his first
Name I’m bling so hard right now har Harris Blitzer no it’s Harris and Blitzer is it Josh Blitzer I think so I believe it it better be but either way um Blitzer coer of the Devils was um alongside Fitzgerald in that press conference and he said we’re not going to get every
Move perfect but our goal is to get as many moves perfect as possible and they I just got the fantasy notification that Michael McLoud was dropped in our league and literally in the in the middle oh my god um anyways um he said that they want
To get as many moves right as possible and Fitzgerald has built this core successfully we saw it last season when they’re healthy when get goal tending what they can do so he’s not going to overreact and crumble the whole core and trade away our farm and our future parts
Of our core because of one injury riddled season in which in reality the Devils aren’t out of it it’s not a Lost season we’ll get into the standings in a little bit but they’re not out of it period so um I I have no issue with Fitzgerald’s extension I think it’s
Welld deserved he’s done what’s not easy he he knows that the fan there’s a lot of pressure from the fan base and he ignores it and does what he in his mind as a general manager and executive someone that the people and their mom’s basement on Twitter are not he does what
He truly feel his best for the long-term vision of the team and it’s why they were able to have such a successful season thus far I mean such a successful season last season and thus far they are still above 500 and in the playoff race despite countless injuries despite
League worst goal tending so I got to hand my hat hats off to Fitz um he he was very transparent which was great to see yesterday um about contract pox um he he hasn’t talked with Dawson Mercer yet but he is planning on doing so um
Obviously with TFI um he he knows what he’s doing he he’s brought this team back to relevance basically put them back on the map and a bad 40 games not I can’t even call him bad a mediocre 40 games with all the issues is not Tom
Fitzgerald’s fault um I mean I guess you can make the argument a little because he could have made a goaling move in the off season but I mean you didn’t no one knew that vanage the duo of vanich and Schmid was gonna be this bad no one knew
Yeah I mean people were putting vanich for VZ in their bold takes before the season so it sometimes you just miss something scends are freaking random so I I’m not going to fa fit on that I think it’s a great move by the New Jersey Devils I think so too
Solidifying your GM for the future a guy that has built this team up so well um something that I also want to note that he said um Fitzy said um his press conference yesterday I’m always looking to improve the team there’s always areas whether it’s de defenseman or in the
Goal tending Market I can’t force teams to trade people to me but my phone is always working so that does suggest to me that 50 knows that there are issues with this team right now I know he mentioned as well that he is not satisfied with the goal tending that
That we have gotten this season from the Devils it’s funny his exact quote when he was asked about the goal tending situation he said well I’m not going to say I’m cool with it yeah and I I I thought I thought that was pretty funny because it’s like yeah I don’t think
Anyone’s cool with it but that’s the best way to put it though but he said he still has confidence in those guys which I think is important to say as a general I mean you you you have to you can’t yes you can’t say no I actually think
They’re going to suck and give up five goals tomorrow like course like you got to stand behind your players until there’s other players to take their spot so and last thing I want to highlight is we talked about Lindy Ruff a lot last episode Fitz Sheryl said the thing I
Love about Lindy is his attitude never changes it’s calm a matter of fact it’s coaching taking players in in between period show and video he’s passionate about seeing players get better so it seems like I don’t think Wendy is going to get fired anytime soon unless maybe
The devil’s missed the playoffs so it seems like F50 is still pretty confident in Lindy Ruff going forward here funny enough I saw there was a miked up um video on YouTube I don’t know if he’s I got to see D um for the devil’s connuck game that happened a couple weeks ago
Between Luke Hughes and Quinn Hughes and Lindy Ruff was miked up for that game as well as was both Hughes brothers and Lindy R surprisingly enough I thought he would be like very calm on the he was yelling at guys he’s like get in your
Spot or do this like he was loud I don’t know I was a little surprised to see that from a guy that’s I don’t know I was just a little surprised by that so uh we’ll put that link um uh to that video um in the description if you want
To check that out as well I thought it was a funny video to watch um and let’s to wrap up this episode um we’re going to take a quick look into the Metro division standings as we as we just have passed the Midway point of this season
Um so look the devils are very much in the race um so let’s talk about division first devils are in fourth place in the division uh the hurricanes are in third Flyers are in second Rangers are in first devils are six points out of the
Third spot of the Metro 10 points out of the first spot of the metro and unfortunately the Islanders capitals and penguins are all within three points behind the Devils right now so it’s a very tight race in that Division and in the wild card race the devils are only
Two points behind the Red Wings with two games in hand so they’re they’re they’re the lone team out right now in that playoff race so good thing is if the Devils win their next game against Carolina they’re back in a playoff spot so let’s hope that happens um but yeah
It’s a it’s going to be a roller coaster um over here it’s going to be insane I don’t know I’m really excited to see how the what the outcome of this is Hope hopefully the devils are at least in a wild card spot maybe they’ll even sneak into one of those top
Division spots um you can’t help but think the Flyers are going to be affected going forward as well losing Carter Hart for who knows how long with his leave of absence cuz he was having the best season of his career and was a big reason for the flyer success this
Season so losing him now in their first game without him they gave up I believe six goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning so obviously not good at all to say the least so we’ll see what happens there obviously hate to see the situation happening um but the Flyers they’re
Definitely going to have to figure it out um for Goen they have I believe they have a young guy um I forget his name Sam H Sam H so they they have a lot of confidence in him so we’ll see if he’s been pretty good he has been pretty good
Yes he’s played 23 games this season 9:05 safe percentage that’s pretty good so we’ll see if he ends up cuz he’ll probably get definitely more playing time and goal now so um the fires are definitely hoping that he could help them out and get them to the playoffs CU
I mean the fact that they’re even second place in the Metro division right now says a lot about John torella credit to him preparing that squad for this season credit to the Flyers um so yeah Dev have a very uphill battle against them but
They have a lot of games in hand on all these teams so it’s going to be definitely an interesting race going forward here we’ll have an update on the playoff race um in a couple episodes um here probably after the allstar break or probably something like that looking
Forward here the Devils have two games before the All-Star Break um they are on the road for both of those games one at Carolina Thursday night huge game by the time you’re listening it’s tonight’s game huge game against Carolina um playoff implications the devils are playing the hurricanes for the first
Time since losing to them in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last year so the Devils have revenge on their minds most definitely definitely not easy to win in Carolina a Carolina team that just took down the Boston Bruins I might as well add so with Carolina 72
And one in their last 10 games they’re it seems like they figured it out once again they weren’t that hot coming out the gates for this season but as of late they’ve been playing much better hockey so credit to them to be a tough battle for the Devils but the devils are more
Than capable of beating the um the hurricanes and I think ATI rant is expected to get the starting goal and he’s been really bad this season so the Devils need to take advantage of that and last game before the allstar break is they’re at Tima Bay we know what
Happened the last time these two teams met upset I not very upsetting loss and overtime to the lightning Devils really should have had that game another Revenge game for this Devils team so look this go the goal for the Devils is in these next two games get three out of
Four points and we’re sitting pretty happily going into the allstar break andh that’s really it for this episode Dan have anything to add yeah here’s the thing right I I get there were the big expectations Devils were favorites to win the Metro whatever or favorites to make the playoffs but whatever they
Every Outlet said something different but they all had the Devils way better than what they’re at right now bottom line is you just have to get in I’m seeing very similar parallels to last year’s Florida Panthers team a Florida Panthers team that was about three games
Worse than the devils are at this point in the season last season and a team that was able to sneak into that second wild card and just go hit the ground running it does once you’re in you’re in yeah you may have a harder match up at
First if you want to win the Stanley Cup you got to be good team that’s how it works so I don’t I don’t buy the oh world wild card team was that ruined it no that’s not how the you have to perform in the playoffs regardless and
The the higher seated team has to perform in the playoffs you’re not just gifted wins because you’re a higher seed we’ve seen that in Not Just Hockey football recently we’ve seen it in every sport for years you need to be able to perform playoffs are a completely
Different animal and if the Devils can get healthy and figure out their goal tending situation and especially if Hamilton goes on long-term injured reserve if they’re freeing up some cap I don’t know with this whole M cloud and foot situation the exact details and how it affects the cap and obviously that’s
Not even important right now but there will be room for Tom Fitzgerald to make moves how much of the future he wants to mortgage what what he’s willing to give up we shall see but I find it hard to believe that Fitzgerald’s going to do nothing before the deadline it might not
Be trading for a Soros or someone with a massive price tag but he’s GNA do things to improve the team I think he made that very clear in last night’s press conference so the bottom line is the Devils just need to get in and like you said they’re two points behind the
Second wild card spot with two games in hand yes they have two tough opponents I think at minimum they have to win one of the games against Carolina or Tampa Bay or at the very least losing over time in both games and get two of the Four Points I think
That’s ridiculous 11 points 11 pathetic but I I think I I think they have to very minimum come out with two of those four points and they’ll feel in like they’re in a good spot heading into the allstar break like you said um they’re slowly getting healthier yes
There’s a loss of McLoud um going to be interesting I saw some not that they’re true rumors just Devil’s fans speculating like what if Adam Henri comes to New Jersey now could you imagine that hey he he is heavily involved in trade rumors right now for an I’m
Definitely gonna be shopping I I can’t say I’d be shocked I’m pretty sure the devil I’m pretty sure the Devils have continued to have scouts at Anaheim games um so cerman so something to keep an eye on um very very interesting um G to be going to be
Interesting to see how this all shakes out um definitely we we we we we shall see it’s yeah very very nerve-wracking I feel like we’re heading a wall here if you guys don’t know me and Justin are recording this it’s 12:15 a.m. right now um just to to to get all
This stuff together had a long day um I’m trying not to fall asleep right now uh before you fall asleep Danel I have to add one more thing is what I would really love to see from the devils in these next two games is they had the 16
Comeback wins which is first in the NHL currently I don’t want to hear it but with that is the Devils have given up the first goal in 32 of those 45 games this season which is worse in the NHL can we score the first goal in the game is it asking too
Much they if they can do that for the second half of the Season just imagine how many points and wins this team can put together I I mean it’s a great thing yeah they can come back in games I mean that’s good that’s a good trait to have
You’re able to play the you’re you’re able to come back I think that’s key because you’re I don’t I like respectfully I don’t even think it’s that they’re great at coming back I just think it’s that they literally give up the first goal and white literally almost every single game so you’re bound
To win some games if that happens and that’s what we’ve seen Miss season I I’ll do you one better this is the most outrageous stat of the entire season and if you’ve stayed this long to this episode you’re going to be glad or probably mad that you heard this so the
Devils have what 13 first goals this season Alexander Holtz has eight of them so I think eight has 11 goals so a devil’s player not named Alexander Holtz has scored the first goal in five of 45 games five of 45 so if you take if Alex take Alex Holz out of the equation
That’s 11.1% that is outrageous I mean it’s not good that like they’re already not scoring the first goal a lot to begin with but the fact that out of a team of how many guys he lace up up a night 18 skaters the fact that Alex Holtz has
Like 60% of the first goals for the entire season and we’re almost in February like what are we doing here yeah I I I just don’t understand it this is a team a theme that went back to last season as well even when they had a franchise recer in wins they constantly
Played bad first periods or even if the first periods weren’t bad they gave up the first goal and then scored right after that like we saw against Vegas they gave up the first goal because they have to they got to get that first goal out of the way and then they started
Playing real half it’s such a bad habit I I just don’t understand you want to say it falls on coaching I mean sure I I guess but uh Lindy Ruff is what six seventh all time in NHL coaching wins for a reason like I I genuinely think it’s a mental
Thing and also mental thing is the back to backs that could be a whole podcast episode and of itself I don’t even want to get into that I can’t I don’t want to talk about that anymore I I I don’t blame you but um one one bottom line is if this team
Healthy or not because when they were fully healthy they were doing the same thing um this is a team with Jack Hughes and jper Brad on it again Devil’s player not Nam HZ has scored the first goal five of 45 games so that’s five games that either Jer Brad Jack Hughes Eric
Halla Dawson marcer douge Hamilton etc etc etc five out of 45 games that one of them scored the first goal of the game and it it blows my mind because and and this is happening against inferior opponents we saw against the Sharks against Anaheim um against
Montreal all all gave up the first goal y uh against Columbus both times yeah at home it against Columbus on the road as well yep not I mean quite literally every game that pops in my head the Devils gave up the first goal in whether
It’s a win or loss but that’s a theme that will absolutely come back to bite them if it comes to playoff time so it it’s always funny because um obviously I’m sorry I’m I’m losing my of thought right now but it’s funny every single game we see the Devils give up the first
Goal and everyone goes scrambling what’s the number now what’s the percentage up now and you refresh Twitter a bit and it’s oh now it’s 13 of 45 games they’ve only scored the first goal on or whatever like we always got to get the updated number because it happens every
Game so it it’s just it’s ridiculous I I don’t want to talk I’m sick of being negative I I want to have if it was up to me every podcast would be sunshine and rainbows and you’d all be happy Devils yeah but that’s just the there’s
Been a lot that and I know there’s been injuries and stuff but something like that doesn’t just go to injuries I mean the the Columbus Blue Jackets have like a plus eight goal differential in the first period That’s not it’s not a talent thing for some reason they’re
Just not prepared for the start of games and that’s something that needs to change so definitely um I hear you like yeah and just one thing to note um that um before the episode ends the Devil Stadium Series jerseys will be revealed most likely tomorrow Thursday morning or
By the weekend the latest uh Ryan novinski of nj.com reported that um it will be revealed this week so um that’ll be exciting to see so we will definitely give you a review of what we think of the jerseys on next week’s episode so stay tuned to that thank you guys so
Much um for listening to today’s episode very a lot to takeen um in this episode um but we’re moving on we’re not going to be talking about that manner that we talked about in the beginning of the episode going forward until we get more details we’re focusing on Devil’s hockey
Right now that’s what we’re talking about right now plain and simple so we love you guys thank you guys for everything and peace out peace thank you for listening to shout at the Devils by your hosts Justin Brady and Daniel MO as always let’s go Devils Baby Woo
