The New Jersey Devils are 0-2. And the Devils fans at the Prudential Center last Saturday let their coach, team, and management know how they felt.
“Fire Lindy… chants came about after the Devils fell behind the Detroit Red Wings during their home opener. Mass exodus of fans leaving the game early disgusted that this rebuild and “process… is reaching a decade of false promises and failures.
“I’m just sick and tired of being on a bad team, that’s the thing that stinks the most. Tomorrow is a must-win game for us and it’s my job to get the guys going… said Miles Wood after the 5-2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers in last Thursday’s season opener.
For a “must-win… game, New Jersey stunk up The Rock and did not rise to the challenge. To his credit, Wood did score a goal against the Red Wings to get his team going. But, his teammates did not follow through on his lead and lost again by the same score of 5-2. And Wood should not have apologized for his comments before Saturday’s game because he was telling the truth about how he felt and was not sugar coating it.
How much longer is Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald going to tolerate this losing? When will Fitzy make a coaching change? This reminds me of when former Devils GM Ray Shero stuck with then head coach John Hynes too long. Hynes’ constant changes of the lines made no sense similar to Ruff’s recent line combinations.
Eventually, Shero and Hynes were dismissed. After almost two years of being the Devils head coach, Ruff finds himself on the hot seat and will be under constant scrutiny of questions. Recently, he walked out of the press conference after being asked about Jesper Bratt’s 16 minutes of total ice time against the Flyers. Winning solves everything and that is the only way Ruff can save his job.
His players need to step it up and hold themselves accountable. Too many excuses and unrealistic projections have been told to Devils fans by management that this team will be good and to be a little more patient. The urgency is needed now to correct the issues.
If not, it will be a long “Ruff… season ahead for the Devils and their devoted fans.
Special Thanks For Those That Came Out!
We had a great time at Chickie’s and Pete’s along with American Whiskey for our pregame and postgame live podcasts. Special thank you goes out to Bill Meltzer of HockeyBuzz.com, Chico Resch of Devils Hockey Network, and Arlette for stopping by the podcast. It was great meeting all the Devils fans and hope to see you at one of our podcasts in the near future!
It first started as three Devils fans at a bar talking Devils hockey. Five years later, now this is Game Day Live at American Whiskey! #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/bUD8wzt7W1
— Let's Go Devils Podcast (@LetsGoDevilsPOD) October 16, 2022
PODCAST - Devils “Ruff… Start To The Season