The Devils will have to wait until Saturday evening to find where they will open the playoffs.
All they know now is that it will be in either Florida or Washington on Wednesday or Thursday. Regardless, they will start the playoffs on the road for the first time since 2004 and that?s fine with them.
Although earning home-ice advantage would have been nice, the Devils never seemed to stress trying to get it down the stretch. After missing the playoffs last season, their focus was more on just getting in.
?I think what we went through last year puts a lot of stuff in perspective,? goaltender Martin Brodeur said today. ?To get into the playoffs was our goal. It was key to us and we?re glad that we?re back in it now.?
The Devils don?t even seem to mind that they won?t have home-ice advantage despite having at least six points more than their first-round opponent. The division winners get the top three seeds in each conference and the Devils happen to be in a division in which they?re in fourth place with 100 points.
That leaves them as the sixth seed in the East while their opponent, the Southeast Division winner, will be the third seed.
?That?s what it is and you can?t do anything about it,? Ilya Kovalchuk said.
The Devils were also a 100-point team and a sixth seed in 2004. They lost in five games to Philadelphia that season, so that is not something they would like to repeat.
In fact, they have not won a first-round playoff series in which they opened on the road since 1995. It worked out well that year, though, as the Devils started on the road in all four rounds on their way to their first Stanley Cup.
Plus, starting on the road might be a nice change. The Devils have lost their last three first-round series and had home-ice advantage in all of them.
?The last time I played in the playoffs (in 2010) against Philadelphia we started at home and we lost one game and you?re kind of rattled a little bit and you try too much,? Kovalchuk said. ?But when you start on the road, it?s two chances to get a game and then you?ve got the home-ice advantage. So, it?s nice. We?ll go there ? wherever we go, Washington or Florida ? and spend quite a few days together again and it?s always nice.?
The Devils have been solid on the road all season. Their 50 road points equal their home total and rank fifth in the NHL.
?I don?t think that bothers our group,? Devils coach Pete DeBoer said of playing the road. ?I think we feel comfortable on the road. We?ve played well on the road all year and I think that home ice isn?t an issue for us.?
?When you start on the road, it?s a bonding, knowing it?s you against the world right from the get-go and you can build good momentum,? Brodeur said. ?It?s important to play well, but I think early on the series it can go both ways. That home team gets that jolt, but if you?re able to surpass that, you can get a lot momentum coming home after.?
***
The Devils will be the lower seed and won?t have home-ice advantage, but will have more points than their first-round opponent. So, who will be the favorite?
?I?m not a big guy on playing the favorite/underdog game,? DeBoer said. ?For me, the group is the 16 that are left standing at the end of 82 games and really from there on I think you throw everything out and everybody has a chance. The history of the playoffs has proven that out. So, starting at home, starting on the road, underdog, favorite, point totals, they don?t mean anything to me. They really don?t.?
***
DeBoer often coached in the playoffs at the junior level in the OHL, but this will be his first time in the NHL playoffs.
He doesn?t believe coaching in the playoffs is a lot different than coaching in the regular season, though.
?I think the key is that you don?t make it different, that it?s business as usual,? he said. ?Obviously, the intensity ramps up, the stakes are obviously greater, but I think a coach?s job at this point of the year is just consistency in message and consistency in how we?re doing things. I don?t think they?re looking for dramatic changes on my end and I?m not looking to make any. That?s my feeling on it.?
All they know now is that it will be in either Florida or Washington on Wednesday or Thursday. Regardless, they will start the playoffs on the road for the first time since 2004 and that?s fine with them.
Although earning home-ice advantage would have been nice, the Devils never seemed to stress trying to get it down the stretch. After missing the playoffs last season, their focus was more on just getting in.
?I think what we went through last year puts a lot of stuff in perspective,? goaltender Martin Brodeur said today. ?To get into the playoffs was our goal. It was key to us and we?re glad that we?re back in it now.?
The Devils don?t even seem to mind that they won?t have home-ice advantage despite having at least six points more than their first-round opponent. The division winners get the top three seeds in each conference and the Devils happen to be in a division in which they?re in fourth place with 100 points.
That leaves them as the sixth seed in the East while their opponent, the Southeast Division winner, will be the third seed.
?That?s what it is and you can?t do anything about it,? Ilya Kovalchuk said.
The Devils were also a 100-point team and a sixth seed in 2004. They lost in five games to Philadelphia that season, so that is not something they would like to repeat.
In fact, they have not won a first-round playoff series in which they opened on the road since 1995. It worked out well that year, though, as the Devils started on the road in all four rounds on their way to their first Stanley Cup.
Plus, starting on the road might be a nice change. The Devils have lost their last three first-round series and had home-ice advantage in all of them.
?The last time I played in the playoffs (in 2010) against Philadelphia we started at home and we lost one game and you?re kind of rattled a little bit and you try too much,? Kovalchuk said. ?But when you start on the road, it?s two chances to get a game and then you?ve got the home-ice advantage. So, it?s nice. We?ll go there ? wherever we go, Washington or Florida ? and spend quite a few days together again and it?s always nice.?
The Devils have been solid on the road all season. Their 50 road points equal their home total and rank fifth in the NHL.
?I don?t think that bothers our group,? Devils coach Pete DeBoer said of playing the road. ?I think we feel comfortable on the road. We?ve played well on the road all year and I think that home ice isn?t an issue for us.?
?When you start on the road, it?s a bonding, knowing it?s you against the world right from the get-go and you can build good momentum,? Brodeur said. ?It?s important to play well, but I think early on the series it can go both ways. That home team gets that jolt, but if you?re able to surpass that, you can get a lot momentum coming home after.?
***
The Devils will be the lower seed and won?t have home-ice advantage, but will have more points than their first-round opponent. So, who will be the favorite?
?I?m not a big guy on playing the favorite/underdog game,? DeBoer said. ?For me, the group is the 16 that are left standing at the end of 82 games and really from there on I think you throw everything out and everybody has a chance. The history of the playoffs has proven that out. So, starting at home, starting on the road, underdog, favorite, point totals, they don?t mean anything to me. They really don?t.?
***
DeBoer often coached in the playoffs at the junior level in the OHL, but this will be his first time in the NHL playoffs.
He doesn?t believe coaching in the playoffs is a lot different than coaching in the regular season, though.
?I think the key is that you don?t make it different, that it?s business as usual,? he said. ?Obviously, the intensity ramps up, the stakes are obviously greater, but I think a coach?s job at this point of the year is just consistency in message and consistency in how we?re doing things. I don?t think they?re looking for dramatic changes on my end and I?m not looking to make any. That?s my feeling on it.?
