There will be boos unlike anything we've heard when Timo Meier first touches the puck on Tuesday night in Raleigh. When the New Jersey Devils' winger takes a pass and brings it up the ice, the Carolina Hurricanes' faithful will rain hate and vitriol upon Meier and the rest of the New Jersey Devils. The boos that Erik Haula received will seem like child's play compared to the hate Meier is going to get.
And that's a great thing. The reason for the hate is unfortunate. We never like to see an injury, and Freddie Andersen has been playing out of his mind in this series. So, we understand why Hurricanes fans, coaches, and players are upset with what happened.
A full look at the event that has forced Frederik Andersen out of the game.
— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) April 27, 2025
The officials have reviewed the play and determined that there is no penalty. pic.twitter.com/dYW5uWrxns
We don't need to get into the call. Meier was originally called for no penalty on the play. Then, the referees called it a major penalty. After review, that call was reversed back to no penalty at all. It was a wild run of emotions for Devils fans. And it's that emotion that will boil over in North Carolina.
Timo Meier should become the martyr for the Devils. Becoming a villain and embracing the role is what led players like Brad Marchand and Tom Wilson to become champions. We're not asking Meier to play dirty like Marchand and Wilson have in the past, but he should do everything in his power to get under the skin of the Hurricanes.
That's what Meier did in 2023. He wasn't scoring against the Rangers, so he just got in everyone's face. He got under the skin of Igor Shesterkin, and that threw him off his game. The Devils finally figured out Shesterkin because Meier was relentless on him. He was always close to his crease, and whenever he could, he'd give him or the players in front of him a little tap.
After the Andersen injury, Meier should take advantage of the emotion of the Hurricanes' players. They don't have a lot of game flow reasons to have emotion, so the Devils need to manufacture that emotion. With emotion comes mistakes, and the Devils haven't had enough mistakes to take advantage of this series.
If the Carolina Hurricanes are looking for a villain, Timo Meier should be happy to oblige
Truly, how the Devils beat the Rangers in 2023 is by getting under their skin. We already know there's a level of frustration in that locker room. The head coach was pretty clear about how he felt, mostly equating the play to if a goal had been scored. He also said he couldn't give his true feelings or he'd get in trouble.
We do think the team, players, and the Hurricanes inside the locker room will be level-headed at first, but the crowd reaction could dictate future reaction from the players. If they show emotion, it could leak into the team. However, if Meier tries to build off of that, he could put fuel on that fire.
And the best thing Meier could do to embrace that villain role is score a goal. Then, he could put his glove to his ear to invoke a visceral reaction. Heck, he could even do it right in front of Taylor Hall, a call back to what he did to Devils fans towards the end of his tenure in Newark.
If the Devils win on Tuesday, there's a level of hope that comes from that. Yes, they still need to win two games in a row, but winning that first one on the road matters so much. The Devils have nothing left to lose. They need to throw the kitchen sink at the Hurricanes. Meier has the keys to said sink if he so chooses.