"What do you mean...you're going to play by our rules?"

Not really…he’s no longer skating with Juho Lammikko.

Small victories.

Declining attendance numbers will get Cohen’s attention really fast.

Mendoza is going to be fired, because Stearns has to blame someone else. But, unless this team bounces back and somehow gets back into the race (which looks well nigh impossible now), Stearns will not survive to rebuild this roster yet again. 3/3

"Run prevention" is a joke. And nobody is hitting, so the pitchers have absolutely no margin for error. They've wasted multiple good starting pitcher outings from Peralta and McLean. Now, they're hoping that another rookie can bail out the team, with bringing Scott up. 2/3

You were well ahead of me in criticizing Stearns. I was willing to give it a chance and see what happened. Well, in what was termed the "easy" part of the schedule, the Mets have failed miserably. Even the absence of Soto does not provide any excuse. 1/3

As Paul Rudd noted in Anchorman, "60% of the time it works 100% of the time."

They gave up on Spaulding far too quickly. I think Don La Greca might actually be better suited for analysis than play-by-play; he struggled all season to follow the play, and may well be the weakest Devils pxp announcer ever (radio or tv side). That being noted, Doc was indeed the best.

We did...but Mike Emrick retired.

'Twill be an interesting offseason for the Devils. Big decisions to be made by whomever the management group brings in. Enjoy the downtime, 'Straya.

Just looking to get a head start on the off-season.

Lowered expectations, my friend.

Lovelady is a placeholder for Minter. Useless otherwise. García? Haven’t a clue. Maybe Kimbrel is almost ready?

But...run prevention, right?

He is, effectively, the polar opposite of Red Auerbach's victory cigar.

20 shots on goal isn't going to cut it either. To the extent that this entire coaching staff had a chance at being retained, the last two games should dispel any such notion. At this point, the offseason can't begin soon enough.

That would require having defensemen that can clear the puck out of the zone by elevating it past the point...not a strong suit for the Devils this season.

I suppose I'm a purist...Rutt's Hut in Clifton for hot dogs (haven't had the cojones to try the duck there yet), with Hot Grill in Clifton and Johnny & Hanges in Fair Lawn for chili dogs close behind. Still miss Fat Mike's on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights...unforgettable.

We had done Dickie Dee's a few years ago on a visit to Branch Brook. I appreciated the Italian Hot Dog far more than my wife did (she's not a fan of mustard, or of ketchup on hot dogs).

It was our second visit, and we learned the cheat code from our waitress...the bar (owned by a separate entity) opens up at 12 noon, while the restaurant doesn't open until 5 pm. Come early, get a beverage or two, and wait at the bar until the restaurant (which doesn't take reservations) opens up!

Nemec is gone. Thinking that either Hamilton (who has a partial no-trade) will go, or alternatively Kovacevic will be told he’s going to be sitting a lot next year to entice him to consider waiving him his full NTC. Dillon, for all of his faults, is still too valuable back there.

Wait...you were there too?? Shrimp beeps and chicken savoy are hard to beat.

Was there with my lovely wife yesterday (we've been going annually for the last six or seven years), followed by dinner at the Belmont Tavern in Bloomfield (ten minutes from Branch Brook Park). Hard to beat that for a day's activity.

Go get him!

With a new GM, new POHO and new coach (latter in all likelihood), I'd expect that we'll also see a major offseason trade involving one of the "core" players, as well as trades involving at least two defensemen. This roster should look different next season. Better? Remains to be seen.

Yeah…thinking I’m looking forward to seeing Nemec modeling a different NHL uniform come next fall. His offensive talent is outweighed by his defensive shortcomings.

Jack is clearly healthy, and the confidence with which he is playing since the Olympics is amazing. If Fitz hadn’t sat still for three months after he was injured at the Chicago team dinner, this team would have clinched a playoff spot.

Even softer. 85 and under.

That was not a good outing by any metric. And Manaea is not ready to step into the rotation in his place. Maybe Christian Scott will be up sooner than I’d expected.