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Lindy Ruff Responds to Devils Fans Booing Him During Introductory Ceremony

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Jon
October 16, 2022 (7:02 PM)

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For those who missed it, Lindy Ruff was booed -- loudly -- before the Devils' home opener against the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night. Unsurprising, the Devils have won 46 games in 138 games under Ruff, and -- after all -- it is New Jersey of all places.

Arguably the most uncomfortable moment came when Andrew Brunette received a roaring ovation which was followed by Ruff's boo-birds.

You could make out Ruff saying to associate coach Andrew Brunette, ''I think I'm being booed.''

The Devils would fall 5-2, despite outshooting Detroit 39-22 and sporting a ~64% expected goals-for percentage (NST). In Layman's terms, the Devils dominated the Red Wings in all situations, the Red Wings got the goaltending, and the Devils did not.

Stop me if you have heard this before, Devils fans. Nevertheless, Ruff was asked about being booed before the game and offered an expectedly stoic response.

Lindy Ruff on hearing the chants from the fans: ''We got passionate fans here. They're used to winning. I mean, that's a part of my job. I take full responsibility for when this team loses. Great history here. The fans want W's up on the board. As simples as that.''

Pretty basic answer, to be sure, but what else is a guy supposed to say? This was the second straight game in which the Devils owned more than 64% of the xGF% only to lose 5-2. This was also the story all of '21-22, where the Devils finished with a top-ten offense, the 22nd ranked defense and the 32nd ranked goaltending.

Clearly, this is a team that knows how to score, defends at a subpar rate, but relinquishes goals at a higher than expected rate all the same. Some pin the goaltenders' struggles on Ruff's system, which places an emphasis on 'run & gun' hockey heavily dependent on counterattack. The caveat is, when the Devils don't score on their chances (which happens a whole lot, by the way), they often cough up odd-man rushes the other way.

So, while they only allowed 22 shots to the Red Wings, New Jersey allowed far too many A+ scoring chances, several of which found the twine. How long will Devils fans accept losing despite great analytical results?

By the sound of it, not very long.

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