I think the Devils have erased their reputation as a boring team this season

IMO, New Jersey has broken free of its shackles as a boring, trap-first team.

This season, with the likes of Elias and Parise and Langenbrunner making big contributions, and how they are playing since Brodeur got hurt, proves that this team is not what it used to be, IMO.

The Rangers, IMO, are the new inheritors of "most boring team in hockey."

-f_DPrSEOEo

unknowledgeable fans and media can think what they want but when we go in and beat them 3-1 or 4-2 they just start looking for things to use as an excuse so they fall back on old stereotypes to make them feel better about losing. Oh well. I don't care what they think anymore. It's not worth arguing at this points. But it is really funny when someone cry's about us while their team is trapping. (I'm looking at you Broons and more specifically Mike Milbury)

The Devils were never a boring team in the first place.

The Rangers on the other hand were boring, and so if they inherited such a "title," it would have been from none other than their own rotten selves. :D

Yeah but now the trap is "cool" because "cool" teams use it and we don't.
Man i wish the Devils were cool enough. . . . . . . . . . . .

The Devils were only boring when they played passive garbage hockey under Kevin Constantine (remember him?) and Claude Julien.

Right now, I see the Rangers playing like the Devils did under Julien - playing for the tie and shootout. Winning in the shootout because they have players who are good at it. It really is tough to watch.

If winning was boring, then slap me sideways.

The Devils were never a boring team in the first place.

The Rangers on the other hand were boring, and so if they inherited such a "title," it would have been from none other than their own rotten selves. :D
Oh Please, don't even deny it. On some nights, I almost fell asleep watching them but it was all worth it since we were winning.

Game 7 in 2003, I fell asleep because we only scored 3 goals against the exciting Ducks. I mean, we literally choked the life out of those guys. Poor Thomas.

When Stevens lifted that cup for the third time wearing Devils red, black and white, I turned my TV off. So boring.

Game 7 in 2003, I fell asleep because we only scored 3 goals against the exciting Ducks. I mean, we literally choked the life out of those guys. Poor Thomas.

When Stevens lifted that cup for the third time wearing Devils red, black and white, I turned my TV off. So boring.

That was quite an accomplishment of you to even watch that disgrace of a hockey game. I looked the final result from the newspaper and almost fell asleep while looking who managed to score.

It´s a shame Trent Yawney never played here. His name oozes the Devils´ character :sarcasm:

That was quite an accomplishment of you to even watch that disgrace of a hockey game. I looked the final result from the newspaper and almost fell asleep while looking who managed to score.

Same here - I actually have a picture of Marty, Dano and Patty lifting the cup together hanging on the wall next to my bed - everytime I cannot sleep, I just look at the 3 Fingers that Dano is showing - and BAM! I´m asleep. True story.

1995, 2000, and 2003 were the most boring years of my life

http://static.velvetcache.org/pages/2007/5/25/its-a-trap/tarp-30198.jpg

i think this thread is the trap!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

i dont care what the devils used to do, or do, if there is check in the win column that equals 2 points thats exciting for me. I think the only time i ever fell asleep during a hockey game was when i was awaky for 36 hours straight and i was watching while laying in bed :handclap:

Like I care what Al Bundy thinks.

Like I care what Al Bundy thinks.

So if he goes on another break, you wont miss him?

So if he goes on another break, you wont miss him?

LOL

I didn't even realize he was gone.

Game 7 in 2003, I fell asleep because we only scored 3 goals against the exciting Ducks. I mean, we literally choked the life out of those guys. Poor Thomas.

When Stevens lifted that cup for the third time wearing Devils red, black and white, I turned my TV off. So boring.I was at game 7 2003 and I left after the second period to go to White Castle.

Booooorrrrrrriiiiinnnngggg
pu6Vcj2FKbY

Snooozefest 2000 :laugh:

And dont worry, once we start winning 2-0 games in the playoffs people will start complaining again. Even though every other team is doing the same.

My formula goes like this...
Winning hockey - New York = Jealousy

The Rangers, IMO, are the new inheritors of "most boring team in hockey."

The Rangers will never publicly be allowed to be called "boring", because they're featured too often in National games on Versus and NBC etc...

Similar to how Sidney Crosby will continue to be overrated, regardless of performance.

Oh Please, don't even deny it. On some nights, I almost fell asleep watching them but it was all worth it since we were winning.


I actually was never bored watching any Devils game.

You had to be at the edge of your seat because one mistake by the opposition or one great offensive rush by the Devils would basically decide the game right there at that moment. If you got up and walked away, you could have missed the turning point of the game.

And then once the Devils would have the lead, you would have to wait out the rest of the game (sometimes in nervous anxiety) as they would clamp down and try to hold on to the lead. That they would always usually win the game would have made it worthwhile, satisfying & rewarding. To me, those qualities do not equal boring.

We were such a well-oiled machine and everything had a such a flow, especially when the end result was most certainly a win, that I can't say that I ever "fell asleep" watching a Devils game.

Unlike a certain other local team who cannot seem to grasp the concept to perfection, it was our mastery of it that usually produced a solid win (especially in the postseason), thus never really making it boring for me.

And importantly, there was never a game decided by a 5 on 3, something that seems to happen a lot now.

I actually long for a return of the days of regular 2-1, 1-0 hockey games, masculine affairs featuring only about 2 or 3 PP opportunities per game.

I think it broked Mutty.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uGdpRnuCmvY/SJobLlCWwPI/AAAAAAAAADk/xd28QTInkLU/s400/sarcasm_detector.jpg

I was never bored with the Devils, but I can see how people could have been now when I watch the Rangers.

I was never bored with the Devils, but I can see how people could have been now when I watch the Rangers.

Any 1-0 game by any 2 teams will now eternally always be labeled as being "boring".

You can thank the New York (irony) & Toronto media and the ESPN generation for swallowing it all up.

i love tense, close games. That Boston game 2 weeks ago was great

I actually was never bored watching any Devils game.

You had to be at the edge of your seat because one mistake by the opposition or one great offensive rush by the Devils would basically decide the game right there at that moment. If you got up and walked away, you could have missed the turning point of the game.

And then once the Devils would have the lead, you would have to wait out the rest of the game (sometimes in nervous anxiety) as they would clamp down and try to hold on to the lead. That they would always usually win the game would have made it worthwhile, satisfying & rewarding. To me, those qualities do not equal boring.

We were such a well-oiled machine and everything had a such a flow, especially when the end result was most certainly a win, that I can't say that I ever "fell asleep" watching a Devils game.

Unlike a certain other local team who cannot seem to grasp the concept to perfection, it was our mastery of it that usually produced a solid win (especially in the postseason), thus never really making it boring for me.

And importantly, there was never a game decided by a 5 on 3, something that seems to happen a lot now.

I actually long for a return of the days of regular 2-1, 1-0 hockey games, masculine affairs featuring only about 2 or 3 PP opportunities per game.

Funny, that pretty much describes a soccer game, the most popular sport in the world.

I actually started typing in the quick reply right when he posted this thread, but fell into a deep coma because of the boringness of this thread and the team you guys were talking about. Watching Devils Hockey is like taking Advil PM.

Funny, that pretty much describes a soccer game, the most popular sport in the world.

For me, hockey has much more scoring opportunities, smaller playing surface, hitting, checking, fighting, dramatic OT goals to end 5 hour games, not to mention a team can play a 1-0 game one night and play a 5-4 game the next.

I see world soccer as incessant diving equally by both sides-superstar players or nobody players, whining to the referee all game long, kicking each other like girls instead of using their fists, over-dramatic fake writhing in pain after diving, etc all played on a much too big pitch with too many players and too much back and forth/back and forth sideways play with very little actual shots that make it through to goal.

I feel a 1-0 hockey game is much harder earned and harder to achieve. A 1-0 soccer game seems to be the norm.

And let's face it, the increase in NHL scoring is artificially created. I'd rather have smaller goalie equipment pre 1990's style and go back to only calling 2 or 3 penalties per game.

I think I would enjoy soccer if the field wasn't 1 mile long.

The reason why pundits no longer call the Devils boring is because league favorites played a version of the trap circa 1996.

Like I care what Al Bundy thinks.




http://www.dlastudenta.pl/photos/dlafaceta/styl/al_bundy.jpg

Let's rock. :D

The arguments against New Jersey and the NZT are truly pathetic.

Take the low-scoring argument, for instance. The sissies elsewhere around the league don't like 1-0 and 2-1 scores? Well, in my judgment, the fewer the goals scored per game....

(1) the more valuable each goal
(2) the smaller the margin of error for both sides
(3) the heavier the reliance on strong defense and goaltending

Is that boring and unentertaining? I think not......ESPECIALLY when we are winning championships in the process.

But if the Gary Bettmans of the world want to make NHL scores look more like NBA scores (i.e. constant, free-flowing offense)......well then those folks simply do not appreciate highly-disciplined, team-oriented, systematic hockey.

The real reason that the media who covers the NHL hated the neutral zone trap is that it enabled a team with a moderate payroll to beat their favorite high spending teams over and over again. So the talking heads in the hockey media kept repeating that the Devils were boring, and people who barely watched the Devils started repeating it.

If the Rangers, Leafs, or Red Wings had used the NZT to win multiple Cups, it would be revered as all the great defenses in the NFL are. Seriously, how often do you hear football analysts whine about "boring" games? Instead, they actually praise the defense.

Speaking of the Red Wings, the Left Wing Lock was just a modified version of dreaded Trap, but we didn't see anyone complain about the "boring Red Wings" because they had enough money to buy up superstars when there was no cap.

For me, hockey has much more scoring opportunities, smaller playing surface, hitting, checking, fighting, dramatic OT goals to end 5 hour games, not to mention a team can play a 1-0 game one night and play a 5-4 game the next.

I see world soccer as incessant diving equally by both sides-superstar players or nobody players, whining to the referee all game long, kicking each other like girls instead of using their fists, over-dramatic fake writhing in pain after diving, etc all played on a much too big pitch with too many players and too much back and forth/back and forth sideways play with very little actual shots that make it through to goal.

I feel a 1-0 hockey game is much harder earned and harder to achieve. A 1-0 soccer game seems to be the norm.


Wow.

Try actually watching the game and I'm not talking about pretend football like the MLS.

Wow.

Try actually watching the game and I'm not talking about pretend football like the MLS.

Hey leave the MLS alone. I love Red Bull New York! Screw you and your rich fancy pants soccer leagues!:p:

Hey leave the MLS alone. I love Red Bull New York! Screw you and your rich fancy pants soccer leagues!:p:

I can't take you seriously because you call it soccer.

The real reason that the media who covers the NHL hated the neutral zone trap is that it enabled a team with a moderate payroll to beat their favorite high spending teams over and over again. So the talking heads in the hockey media kept repeating that the Devils were boring, and people who barely watched the Devils started repeating it.

If the Rangers, Leafs, or Red Wings had used the NZT to win multiple Cups, it would be revered as all the great defenses in the NFL are. Seriously, how often do you hear football analysts whine about "boring" games? Instead, they actually praise the defense.

Speaking of the Red Wings, the Left Wing Lock was just a modified version of dreaded Trap, but we didn't see anyone complain about the "boring Red Wings" because they had enough money to buy up superstars when there was no cap.

That's because if you walked up to about 95% of hockey fans they couldn't tell you the difference between the LWL and the trap. Truly pathetic..

I can't take you seriously because you call it soccer.

if I called it football everyone here would get confused. I would get yelled at for thinking that the Red Bulls play in the NFL.:sarcasm:

Seriously I'm a huge Red Bull fan and I was a season ticket holder for them up until this upcoming season. The league can't grow and get better without fan support and its the pompous attitude other football fans take towards it that stifles the league. Most American fans write it off immediately because they get ridiculed by "true" football "fans" as idiots who don't understand the game. Trust me I've been there and it pisses me off. Anyone who's watched the MLS since its inception in 96 can attest to how far its come. The brand of football has gotten better and better every year. It shows not only in the MLS product but also in the amount of Americans being signed overseas and playing more prominent roles on European clubs. You also see it on the world stage as the USA team has shown the world that it isn't a pushover and can go toe to toe with the best of them.

I'm just joshing, I know your a big fan. :)

The kind of description that Muttley gave, about the worlds game, is kind of why your country is in the dark ages when it comes to football.

I'm just joshing, I know your a big fan. :)

The kind of description that Muttley gave, about the worlds game, is kind of why your country is in the dark ages when it comes to football.

his description of soccer seemed like the typical ignorant American description of the second best game in the world.

That's because if you walked up to about 95% of hockey fans they couldn't tell you the difference between the LWL and the trap. Truly pathetic..

That's because if you walked up to about 95% of hockey fans they couldn't tell you the difference between the LWL and the trap. Truly pathetic..

Man, thats no surprise when 75% of all hockey fans don´t understand what the NZT really is. My favourite experience so far was this´ years game vs. the Canadiens, where one poster started *****ing about the trap because Rolston took the puck away from some Cans forward in our Zone. He then went on to say something along the line that the trap does not have anything to do with the neutral zone.

Seriously, why is it that so many fans don´t have any clue of basic hockey tactics?

The real reason that the media who covers the NHL hated the neutral zone trap is that it enabled a team with a moderate payroll to beat their favorite high spending teams over and over again. So the talking heads in the hockey media kept repeating that the Devils were boring, and people who barely watched the Devils started repeating it.

If the Rangers, Leafs, or Red Wings had used the NZT to win multiple Cups, it would be revered as all the great defenses in the NFL are. Seriously, how often do you hear football analysts whine about "boring" games? Instead, they actually praise the defense.

Speaking of the Red Wings, the Left Wing Lock was just a modified version of dreaded Trap, but we didn't see anyone complain about the "boring Red Wings" because they had enough money to buy up superstars when there was no cap.

You make some good points, though...If the Wings, Rags, Flyers,
Habs (who actually invented the trap), Pens, etc won a cup with it recently it would be referred to as them playing "great team defense" and them "capitalizing on the other team's mistakes." The Pittsburgh Steelers have relied on their defense for YEARS to win 10-7, 13-6, 6-3, etc etc. They play "smash your head in football" on that muddy field and pound the run 3/4 of the game. The Pens fans who attend those games and love that Steelers D are the same ones who would trash the Devils for playing defense and relying on good goaltending to win games. Not only are they hypocrites, but they're sheep because they would bail on the Pens as soon as they have a losing season, but will always be at heinz field on sundays cheering on the steelers..

Man, thats no surprise when 75% of all hockey fans don´t understand what the NZT really is. My favourite experience so far was this´ years game vs. the Canadiens, where one poster started *****ing about the trap because Rolston took the puck away from some Cans forward in our Zone. He then went on to say something along the line that the trap does not have anything to do with the neutral zone.

Seriously, why is it that so many fans don´t have any clue of basic hockey tactics?

It's really frustrating at times...I hear ya. I had a Habs fan telling me after we beat them (big surprise..a habs fan making excuses after a loss) that all we do is trap because "we collapse around the net when the puck gets in close." I educated him on what a trap is and moved on....It's not worth my time anymore.

It's really frustrating at times...I hear ya. I had a Habs fan telling me after we beat them (big surprise..a habs fan making excuses after a loss) that all we do is trap because "we collapse around the net when the puck gets in close." I educated him on what a trap is and moved on....It's not worth my time anymore.

Habs fans complaining about "The Trap!" are the worst, since their team won something like 10 of their Cups using some version of it.

Habs fans complaining about "The Trap!" are the worst, since their team won something like 10 of their Cups using some version of it.

I think it was the snare back those days.

But yes, when a hockey team play it smart, it is smart. But when the Devils play smart, it is boring.

I think I would enjoy soccer if the field wasn't 1 mile long.

That's a big part of the problem for me.

It's just back and forth/back and forth on an incredibly sized field.

I've been around that game long enough and have watched it enough to be able to make a sound judgment on why I don't like the game. I even played it growing up in my local PAL league.

Imagine that, you get accused of being an ignorant American because the rest of the world likes it and we don't. And more typically, queue the usual angry comments from defenders from the world game. The reason you don't like it is because you don't understand it. How pompous and provincial :shakehead:

Typical snobby responses from world soccer lovers and their American apologists. I actually hate it even more now and have just been reminded why. :biglaugh:

I think I would enjoy soccer if the field wasn't 1 mile long.

We really have a bad view of soccer with the MLS as our professional league around here.. Their skills make the field a mile long

Over in the league around Europe, they have the skills to make the 30 yard pass and put it in stride for the attacker.. Less dull action in the middle and more speed in the game.. The action is faster and the field seems 'smaller'

I'm a fan of the MLS because I love soccer, but it's really night and day compared to other leagues

I'm a fan of the MLS because I love soccer, but it's really night and day compared to other leagues

That is true but the MLS has come a very long way since its inception. I seriously doubt it will ever match the top Euro leagues but watching its growth since 96 I don't see why it can't become a respected and skilled league in the future.

That is true but the MLS has come a very long way since its inception. I seriously doubt it will ever match the top Euro leagues but watching its growth since 96 I don't see why it can't become a respected and skilled league in the future.

Yeah, it's shown tremendous growth but it won't be taken seriously by many until they can start keeping some of their star players without always losing them to Europe..

I'll continue to support it and I know it inevitable, but can't say I wasn't pissed when Altidore left..

It will take at least 5 years of playing a high octane offensive system before people stop mentioning us among the most boring teams. And no matter how much we change we'll never be considered as one of the the most exciting teams. So the most we can hope for is to be considered mediocre in terms of excitment.

It will take at least 5 years of playing a high octane offensive system before people stop mentioning us among the most boring teams. And no matter how much we change we'll never be considered as one of the the most exciting teams. So the most we can hope for is to be considered mediocre in terms of excitment.

Back on topic....No matter what we do or how we win, our "boring" tag will most likely never go away. That's kind of what happened with the Flyers and their Broad Street Bullies, thug/goon like reputation from the 1970's.

Back on topic....No matter what we do or how we win, our "boring" tag will most likely never go away. That's kind of what happened with the Flyers and their Broad Street Bullies, thug/goon like reputation from the 1970's.

Yeah it's a shame. But it doesn't matter what others think, only what we know.

Like I care what Al Bundy thinks.

Guys, I'm trying to be nice.

I used to rail against your team for a while, and I'm finally admitting that I was wrong. Your team is NOT boring.