explain detroit, nashville, vancouver

the SE is a weak division there really is no way around it, the atlantic is full of strong teams that beat each other up with more intense rivalries

travel is a weak excuse no matter which way you look at it, if you want to say the florida panthers have to travel to winnipeg to play, well those games are much less intense then a rangers/flyers game, a flyers/pens game, a devils/rangers game etc which all are hard hitting

the atlantic division beats each other up

you can ask anyone that the 2 weakest divisions are the NW and SE even when travel isnt equated into the picture
- dmarsden2988

I have not taken the position that the SE is better than the Atlantic or any other division in my statements. I am not that much of a homer nor would I ignore that which is obvious that the Atlantic and Central were the strongest divisions this year. I am just stating that travel affects performance to a certain degree and when you travel less you have an inherent advantage over the course of a season.

The Red Wing management and fans cite travel as a significant enough factor such that it gets discussed during playoff times when they had to travel out west for each series against Coyotes/Sharks the past two years. Why do you think it is a priority for Detroit to get back to the Eastern conference? Because they know first hand the travel is a factor. If NJ had a series with NYI that went 7 games and FLA had a series with WIN that went 7 games would you be able to argue, with a straight face, that travel is not a factor in performance?

The West has been the best conference, no argument there, yet pretty much everyone out there suffers under the same conditions with few teams bunched up geographically. In the East you have the Atlantic and Northeast bunched up where travel has less impact. Geography is not debatable.
- Rat-a-Holic

hypothetically, if the panthers were in the atlantic and say the devils or islanders were in the SE where do you think the panthers would finish? the devils? the isles?

and why pick an extreme when everyone knows that winnipeg will be a western team once they fix the whole realignment thing this summer?

I have not taken the position that the SE is better than the Atlantic or any other division in my statements. I am not that much of a homer nor would I ignore that which is obvious that the Atlantic and Central were the strongest divisions this year. I am just stating that travel affects performance to a certain degree and when you travel less you have an inherent advantage over the course of a season.
- Rat-a-Holic

but then the more fierce rivalries and hitting that goes on between the atlantic teams evens that out, as travel other than that pretty much evens itself out

travel these days has a very minimal effect on players and really is just picking at straws

None of us play on the teams so none of us have any idea what the toll is. But most of these players were on 10 hour bus rides regularly since they were 16. I really don't think a 6 hour flight flying top class is all that degrading. I also find it unlikely teams would want to start their seasons in Europe if it was that important.
- rmdevil313

Those are fair points to make that they are conditioned to travel from an earlier age and I had not considered that as a negating factor. Maybe they did a player poll that could be referenced? I suspect players might comment on it periodically but never use it as an excuse for the play on the ice. Hockey players are classy that way.

but then the more fierce rivalries and hitting that goes on between the atlantic teams evens that out, as travel other than that pretty much evens itself out

travel these days has a very minimal effect on players and really is just picking at straws
- dmarsden2988

Good counter point. Every Atlantic team hates the other so maybe they burn off whatever extra energy they have haha.

I don't think FLA hates anyone...maybe Carolina.

The Red Wing management and fans cite travel as a significant enough factor such that it gets discussed during playoff times when they had to travel out west for each series against Coyotes/Sharks the past two years. Why do you think it is a priority for Detroit to get back to the Eastern conference? Because they know first hand the travel is a factor. If NJ had a series with NYI that went 7 games and FLA had a series with WIN that went 7 games would you be able to argue, with a straight face, that travel is not a factor in performance?

The West has been the best conference, no argument there, yet pretty much everyone out there suffers under the same conditions with few teams bunched up geographically. In the East you have the Atlantic and Northeast bunched up where travel has less impact. Geography is not debatable.
- Rat-a-Holic

THe wings are also one of two teams located in the Eastern Time Zone that have to play in the west. Whenever there is a game in SJ, LA, ANA, VAN, its like a 1030 start. There is a lot of money to lose which is why it is such a major complaint. The amount of people watching late games significantly decreases. Travel is secondary. Even with this and their travel they are still elite year after year.

The SE also gets the least amount of B2B games in the East...

I would say the two series are equal, because both teams are traveling the same amount, and there really aren't any back 2 back games in the playoffs and there's generally a decent gap between series...

but then the more fierce rivalries and hitting that goes on between the atlantic teams evens that out, as travel other than that pretty much evens itself out

travel these days has a very minimal effect on players and really is just picking at straws
- dmarsden2988

The SE has nicer weather. Unfair advantage to northern divisions as players are more relaxed.

hypothetically, if the panthers were in the atlantic and say the devils or islanders were in the SE where do you think the panthers would finish? the devils? the isles?

and why pick an extreme when everyone knows that winnipeg will be a western team once they fix the whole realignment thing this summer?
- dmarsden2988

Well the Panthers would probably have a few more OTL, haha. We know how to lose better than everyone else.

Good debate Devils fans! I always enjoy a good conversation.

Looks like we are getting Theo and Garrison back, hopefully 100%, so that should give us a boost along with the home crowd. Devils have the momentum rolling though and have big game players.

How do you think tonight is going to shake down?

Good debate Devils fans! I always enjoy a good conversation.

Looks like we are getting Theo and Garrison back, hopefully 100%, so that should give us a boost along with the home crowd. Devils have the momentum rolling though and have big game players.

How do you think tonight is going to shake down?
- Rat-a-Holic

Devils 3, Panthers 2. Lou with the hat trick. NO RATS FOR YOU!

Good debate Devils fans! I always enjoy a good conversation.

Looks like we are getting Theo and Garrison back, hopefully 100%, so that should give us a boost along with the home crowd. Devils have the momentum rolling though and have big game players.

How do you think tonight is going to shake down?
- Rat-a-Holic

its going to be decided by special teams, if the devils dont take penalties or kill them all off the devils have a good chance of winning, its going to be a hard fought game

and it appears that kovy is starting to play better with his injury, like he is learning how to play through it and not let it effect his game as much as it was, it still is as he has little explosion when he skates and he has hard time pivoting and he has been getting knocked down when he normally wouldn't but he has been improving his play the last game or 2

its going to be decided by special teams, if the devils dont take penalties or kill them all off the devils have a good chance of winning, its going to be a hard fought game

and it appears that kovy is starting to play better with his injury, like he is learning how to play through it and not let it effect his game as much as it was, it still is as he has little explosion when he skates and he has hard time pivoting and he has been getting knocked down when he normally wouldn't but he has been improving his play the last game or 2
- dmarsden2988

Is it a groin? He looks like he lost about 2 gears but he's battling through

Is it a groin? He looks like he lost about 2 gears but he's battling through
- Lohaus

thats my guess (groin)

when asked he says "im fine" "im good" but that is what you expect to hear from a competitor in the playoffs

its going to be decided by special teams, if the devils dont take penalties or kill them all off the devils have a good chance of winning, its going to be a hard fought game

and it appears that kovy is starting to play better with his injury, like he is learning how to play through it and not let it effect his game as much as it was, it still is as he has little explosion when he skates and he has hard time pivoting and he has been getting knocked down when he normally wouldn't but he has been improving his play the last game or 2
- dmarsden2988

As nice as that pass was for the OT winner it never happens if Versteeg continued backchecking all the way through. Instead he stops pursuit which opens up the passing lane.

Hopefully we get full energy and effort tonight. Take nothing for granted and stick to your assignments.

Good debate Devils fans! I always enjoy a good conversation.

Looks like we are getting Theo and Garrison back, hopefully 100%, so that should give us a boost along with the home crowd. Devils have the momentum rolling though and have big game players.

How do you think tonight is going to shake down?
- Rat-a-Holic

They might be back, but I doubt 100%. To miss games in the playoffs, you have to be pretty banged up.

As nice as that pass was for the OT winner it never happens if Versteeg continued backchecking all the way through. Instead he stops pursuit which opens up the passing lane.

Hopefully we get full energy and effort tonight. Take nothing for granted and stick to your assignments.
- Rat-a-Holic

Yet the guys on NHL Network placed all the blame on Kulikov.

I still don't get that. Versteeg was most as fault with that goal. It was a 2-on-3 into the zone. You put two guys on Kovalchuk cutting across the middle, Versteeg should've known Kovalchuk was a priority and gotten Zajac instead of just reaching out with his stick.

The Panthers play a very opportunistic game. When the Devils actually play, we've spent a good portion of the game in the Panthers zone. That takes the pressure off your defense, but it also tires out the goalie as he has to move everywhere the puck moves regardless of if he actually does anything. If we play our game tonight and spend 75 percent of the time in the Panther zone, our chances at winning this game are really good. We just have to watch the Panthers speed as our defenseman are not fast at all and the Panthers continually exploit that weakness.

http://blogs.northjersey....to_settle_twitter_battle/

This is pretty funny.

Yormark sparked the controversy by saying it was Devils’ fans who threw plastic rats on the ice during Game 5 of the series on Saturday, forcing the team to stop sales of the fake rodents at BankAtlantic Center.

When Devils’ fan Lauren Rubino (@LaurenAshley07) was one of those to call out Yormark for his accusation, tweeting, “Why don’t you stop using devils’ fans as scapegoats for your fans’ stupidity? what a joke”, Yormark (@PanthersYormark) responded, “@LaurenAshley07 you have 70 followers. No one cares what you think.”

After the Twitter world got a hold of the story, Rubino’s following family has now grown to more than 4,300, surpassing Yormark’s 3,300.

From Fire and Ice.

Yet the guys on NHL Network placed all the blame on Kulikov.

I still don't get that. Versteeg was most as fault with that goal. It was a 2-on-3 into the zone. You put two guys on Kovalchuk cutting across the middle, Versteeg should've known Kovalchuk was a priority and gotten Zajac instead of just reaching out with his stick.

The Panthers play a very opportunistic game. When the Devils actually play, we've spent a good portion of the game in the Panthers zone. That takes the pressure off your defense, but it also tires out the goalie as he has to move everywhere the puck moves regardless of if he actually does anything. If we play our game tonight and spend 75 percent of the time in the Panther zone, our chances at winning this game are really good. We just have to watch the Panthers speed as our defenseman are not fast at all and the Panthers continually exploit that weakness.
- _Zippy_

I expect them to be more aggressive from the outset looking to dictate play with speed when they have the chance. We also need to do the little things like winning faceoffs, staying out of the box by being disciplined, separate the puck by taking the body and have our goaltender make the first saves. First goal will be more important for the Panthers to ignite the crowd while the Devils getting the first goal hasn't proven fatal since the Panthers have rallied every time with the exception of game 4.

I expect Bergenheim will once again be a catalyst type player tonight. The guy is a dynamo on the ice and has a nose for the net. We should match our most physical D pairing against Kovy since he is noticeably slower right now. Obviously special teams again will be huge as every game where we won the special teams battle we have gotten the victory. However we need to do our best to put the pressure on early since the later this goes the more likely the Refs will put the whistles away. Figure a couple PP early for each team then only blatant or automatic calls afterward.