MEDIA AVAIL RECAP
RALEIGH, N.C. - It’s time to play the game. All the talk, preparation, practice and anticipation will be over as Game 1 is about to begin between the Devils and Carolina in Round One. And as the time winds down, Devils coach Sheldon Keefe wants his team to know that they’re ready.
“I want them to know that they’re prepared,” Keefe said. “They put in a lot of work to earn the opportunity to be here. We know what we’re in for. We’re prepared for that as well. We just have to go out and perform and execute.”
Down the Lineup
The Devils open the postseason on the road. Which not only means they’ll be playing in front of a rowdy and cacophonous crowd, but they’ll also have to make the first line changes. Thus, Carolina can get the matchups it wants.
That means the club’s top two lines will likely draw very difficult defensive assignments from the Hurricanes.
“On the road, you don’t have last change,” Keefe said. “You’re going to have to take some shifts against some of their best people and manage that.”
Carolina will certainly key in on shutting down Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer’s lines. That means that the Cody Glass and Justin Dowling lines will get more favorable matchups. And their play could be the deciding factor in the series.
“We need our entire group,” Keefe said. “It really doesn’t matter who it is, different games, different periods, different moments, it’s going to be different guys. If you’re going to succeed, you’re going to have all sorts of people step up. In some cases, it’s going to be the unexpected.”
Markstrom v. Andersen
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour confirmed that his team will start 35-year-old veteran goalie Frederik Andersen. But regardless of who starts in goal, the difficulty for the Devils is just find their way to the net.
“The greatest challenge against Carolina is getting to the goaltender. You have waves of pressure to find your way through,” Keefe said. “That’s what our focus is. If we get to the net, it’s all the things you talk about with any goaltender, traffic, rebounds, make him move. We have a task to find our way to put some stress on him.”
Beat the Odds
Many of the hockey media are picking Carolina to win the series. But the Devils have a lot of belief in themselves and in the locker room.
“We think our team has been resilient all year,” Keefe said. “We have a great deal of respect for the opponent and the challenges they present. But we have a good club too. We’re played well on the road. We’re going to have to play well on the road in a very difficult environment.
“We’re not going to go away. We’re going to stand our ground.”
