Planted 5 to 1, the Devils claim to have been in the game

BET À DAY

Manhandled by the Carolina Hurricanes at the start of their second-round series on Wednesday in Raleigh, the New Jersey Devils nevertheless retain positive elements from their bad evening and hope that the sequel will resemble their spectacular comeback from the previous round.

As was the case against the New York Rangers in the quarter-finals of the National Hockey League Eastern Conference, head coach Lindy Ruff's squad began hostilities with a 5-to-5 loss. 1. In this initial duel between the two best teams in the Metropolitan section in the regular season, the visitors never posed a threat: they were limited to a meager shot during the first 20 minutes of play and the goal on a breakaway from Nathan Bastian in the middle period was the only real moment of celebration for the Devils. /strong>
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Nevertheless, it is far from being defeated by the performance of the club. He obviously wants the past to guarantee the future. Against the Blueshirts, New Jersey suffered another 5-1 thaw in Game 2 before waking up and racking up four wins in five outings. 

“The score is that, but on the bench, the sensations were not bad. We think we were in the game for most of the game, Bastian told the club's official website. The scoreboard tells a story. On the other hand, I believe that the first game against the Rangers was much worse. Here, it was not great, but we can build on what we have done in the last two periods. 'they didn't own very often. The reality is that they were consistently second in the race.

“The difference is that they were at their best, wanted to justify the player before Jesper Bratt. The application of their game structure has been superior, as has their competitiveness.” 

“We didn't follow our plan. We were a little nonchalant on the pucks and slow to try to get them or support each other, he added. When you're not doing that and you're not skating against a similar team, it gets tough. The match is difficult and you don't have too many chances to score. 

Do better everywhere 

In concrete terms, Ruff wants his troops to improve in all aspects. The total of shots (18), the performance of the goalkeeper – Akira Schmid took the path of the bench after giving up three times in 11 shots – and that of certain key elements like Jack Hughes and Ondrej Palat, who both posted a differential of -3, are to be modified. The party is over. 

“We were coming back from an emotional victory and there was a quick turn to be made, underlined the coach. With their energy deployed, they cornered us on the spot. We didn't do the right thing. We have to give them credit, because they applied a lot of pressure. Their defensemen got involved in the forecheck and we didn't win enough one-on-one battles for the puck in the first period.” 

The second game of the series is will be held Friday at 8 p.m. on TVA Sports.