Panthers vs Devils

[Devilsatw]

I think the league is poor this season.

I mean how can the devils be so inconsistent and possibly still be top of the league next weekend? It's crazy.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Whether the league has got better or worse depends on how you look at it. The top teams are not doing as well this year as last year but the bottom teams are doing better. Pts% shows this. At the end of last year Belfast won the league with 77 pts % (us also on 77%) while MK were on 28%.Now we lead the league with 69% with Fife in the basement on 35%.
Last year it was a 2 horse race. The next few teams were in 50s whereas this year its still potentially a 5 horse race with 5 teams in the 60s.
So the league has got a lot tighter so in my opinion overall better.
If you measure the league by your team then yes I agree it looks worse. We are certainly not the dominant force of last year yet we sit at the top. (on points %)

 

[Wannabe2]

Whether the league has got better or worse depends on how you look at it. The top teams are not doing as well this year as last year but the bottom teams are doing better. Pts% shows this. At the end of last year Belfast won the league with 77 pts % (us also on 77%) while MK were on 28%.Now we lead the league with 69% with Fife in the basement on 35%.
Last year it was a 2 horse race. The next few teams were in 50s whereas this year its still potentially a 5 horse race with 5 teams in the 60s.
So the league has got a lot tighter so in my opinion overall better.
If you measure the league by your team then yes I agree it looks worse. We are certainly not the dominant force of last year yet we sit at the top. (on points %)

Spot on the league is more competitive with anyone being able to beat anyone, but it’s certainly not great from a entertainment point of view, due to no characters, no nastiness, and totally crap officials who seem to be on a kamikaze mission to wreck any entertainment when it rarely shows its head. The NHL is now getting back to entertaining the punters with more variety in its play Including more physical play.

 

[Herlofsky31]

I think the league is poor this season.

I mean how can the devils be so inconsistent and possibly still be top of the league next weekend? It's crazy.

This is the thing - are we inconsistent because other teams have improved? Are we not looking as comfortable in games because other teams aren’t allowing us to be? If so, that suggests the league overall has improved.

Or, has our standard dropped and so now we’re in line with other teams hence why it’s tight at the top?

Personally, I think the league has improved overall and others have caught up a bit. All clubs have moments of inconsistency but maybe ours seem more of a big deal because it’s our club we’re talking about.

 

[jenks33]

For me the reason we’ve managed to stay in the hunt is due to our relatively low turnover of players each season. I think you can manage to dig out more results if the players know each other’s game inside out and know what it takes to win in this league. Plus you’re likely to have players that play for the badge more when the going gets tough. Sheffield, Belfast and Nottingham are all unrecognisable from last season.
So i don’t think we’ve played particularly well all season. I just think our stability when it comes to recruitment has helped.

 

[jenks33]

Having said all that I would not be surprised to see a few more changes than usual to the devils roster this off season. I think we’re slightly fortunate that Sheffield can’t stop conceding goals, Nottingham had such an awful start and Belfast have massively underachieved with that roster. I think Belfast only have 7 players remaining from last season, that’s just too many changes.

 

[moggy#9]

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This is the thing - are we inconsistent because other teams have improved? Are we not looking as comfortable in games because other teams aren’t allowing us to be? If so, that suggests the league overall has improved.

Or, has our standard dropped and so now we’re in line with other teams hence why it’s tight at the top?

Personally, I think the league has improved overall and others have caught up a bit. All clubs have moments of inconsistency but maybe ours seem more of a big deal because it’s our club we’re talking about.

I think there's an argument that coaching and systems have also improved. Teams that are weather overall are bringing out done impressive results through solid game plans and discipline.

 

[rolf]

I have to say, I dislike the way Lord has discarded Louis and is now regularly starting two defenders who simply just cannot defend (and even pairing them together!). I know McMonagle and Reddick both have offensive upside but their main job is to defend first and foremost. Why does he keep doing it? They must have had a falling out as I can see no other explanation, as Louis doesn’t look injured to me at all (has played a full part in warm up for weeks and been scratched). I hear criticism of Louis’ plus/minus stats this year (we never get to see them though) but I’m betting that would be the case for anyone who has been partnered with McMonagle for any length of time! Given the way Lord played, I’m not sure what his problem is with “character” players but we’ve seen fall-outs with Mychan, Faryna, Hendo (edit - forgot Bordy!) and to a lesser extent I think even Hotham indicated they had some problems. He was our stand-out player though and too good to leave out. Bowns has had some justified criticism this season but in all honestly, it must be an absolute bloody nightmare playing in front of some of that lot. We keep hearing how strong the league is this year but to me that’s false. While there’s more depth in teams, the standard has been mediocre, which is why we’re still up there with a chance to win it all despite our netminding being the poorest it’s been for some time, our defensive play being shocking for much of the season and carrying several forwards who can’t score to save their lives (bar Joey Haddad of course!). Many of the players who come here after careers in very good leagues, are getting on a bit and like the average player already in this league, can't play the fast, physical game that the better leagues are now employing. Average players, playing slow, non-aggressive hockey is not good to watch and that’s the story of the season for me, not just in Cardiff either (perhaps Guildford being the one exception who at least try to play a faster and more entertaining game). For me, this is the poorest Devils team for a few years and bar a few games here and there, have been bloody awful to watch. I’m not holding my breath but I hope we have a complete re-set in the summer and that includes Lord taking a long hard look at himself also and adopting a brand of hockey that gives the paying public in Cardiff more bang for their buck - and not more of the dirge we’ve seen this season where fear of losing dictates the way we play. Note to Kelman - instead of gimmicks like kids night, can we just have real Cardiff Devils hockey back next year, win or lose?

And when I wrote something similar a while ago, I was bullied off of this forum, had my personal integrity abused and even my son in law copped for some of it......Until recently without posting in a long time I was still getting blamed for other postings I did not make.

Happy hockey days folks

 

[Travis bickle]

Rolf , dave smith are you being serious , nobody on this forum has given you son I law mark smith any grief. You say you've been bullied, this makes me laugh, you compared one person to Gary glitter and called a well respected poster a c word. No sympathy from me