The New Jersey Devils are preparing for Game 3 Friday night at the Prudential Center. They trail the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 in the series. It's nothing insurmountable, but the Devils essentially have to win this game to make the series competitive.
The Devils need to elevate their offensive game to give themselves a chance. In Game 1, they didn't create enough offensive zone time and couldn't generate many shots. In Game 2, the looks were there, but they had a tough time finishing on their chances. Timo Meier, in particular, didn't capitalize on his opportunities.
However, there have been a few bright spots for the Devils. One of them has been their aggression and physicality, which was a weakness in the 2023 playoffs. The Devils logged 51 hits to the Hurricanes' 31 in game two. The most hits that the Devils have logged in a playoff game was 52, which occurred twice, and most recently in Game 1 of this series.
The Hurricanes always bring physicality and aggression when playing against the Devils. Pucks and Pitchforks spoke with Paul Cotter, who broke the team's franchise record for most hits in a single season (245). He talked about the importance of physicality in this series.
"The X's and O's are things you try to pinpoint in the playoffs. But obviously, things get chaotic out there, and different breakdowns are pretty big. I think the physical aspect is that it doesn't have to be a massive hit. It's just separating the guy from the puck in their defensive end...You get one guy to break the pressure, then chaos breaks loose, and that's where opportunities happen, especially playing against Carolina...Try to do what you can structurally, but there's gonna to be breakdowns on both ends. So, you just have to play hockey from there."Paul Cotter after morning skate
Physicality and aggression are key factors in a possible New Jersey Devils win
Head coach Sheldon Keefe believes that the Hurricanes do a great job of creating pressure, but he doesn't think they're a physical team.
"They're a puck pressure team; they're not a physical team by any means. But they get on you fast, take the puck from you, and create turnovers. We have to be a little more poised with it [the puck] when we have that space and pocket to make a play. At the same time, you have to recognize when the pressure is extreme and get it moving and out. Otherwise, once they knock down our first or second, then we'll be in our end for an extended period of time."Sheldon Keefe after morning skate
Either way, the Devils have to be aggressive and smart in this game because any mistake will be magnified. A good example is Jordan Martinook's short-handed goal in Game 2. That ended up being the game-winning goal, and the Hurricanes proved why they had the best penalty kill in the league, just above the Devils. Injuries have plagued the Devils. Hopefully, Jonas Siegenthaler's defensive presence can help since the Devils will be without Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes on their backend.