Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discussed whether the New Jersey Devils have it in them to even up the series against the Carolina Hurricanes on the latest episode of Daily Faceoff Live.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The New Jersey Devils, they crawled right back into their series against the Carolina Hurricanes so let’s go there. It was the Hughes brothers doing a lot of the work, granted there were a lot of active pieces in that Devils lineup. Jack scores twice and adds a couple of assists, Luke in his playoff debut picking up a couple of apples. Devils fans were chomping at the bit to see that guy in the playoff lineup and the payoff was immediate for Lindy Ruff.
It almost makes you think, why weren’t you playing him earlier on in the playoffs? Timo Meier scores, he’s maybe finding his game have the Devils woken up or is this just one game where the Canes were a little off?
Frank Seravalli: No, I think the Devils have woken up and I think that’s a scary thought for the Carolina Hurricanes. Because you think back to last round between the Devils and Rangers and how ugly that looked in the first two games for New Jersey before they found themselves their footing. And I think that’s maybe the most impressive part about this Devils playoff run to this point is their ability to flush the past.
Yes, they’re a young team. Yes, they’re not scarred by some of the playoff demons that some of the other teams have sleeping under their beds like the Toronto Maple Leafs. But I will say in this case, the Devils' ability to bounce back from that and saying that all that matters is what is right in front of us. Well, here’s what they’re staring at right now, is an ability to pull even in this second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes team that has been good. They’re mostly a disciplined and consistent team, you know what you’ll be getting from them night in and night out.
But the top-end scoring talent of the New Jersey Devils has the ability to burst through and rise above that. We know what the Hurricanes are missing in terms of the scoring department. They’ve been able to do it mostly by depth, stealing a page from the Seattle Kraken. You saw the Jordan Martinook penalty shot goal, like they’ve gotten it from all sorts of different people in this series to this point. Can the Devils find another gear now and do it one more time. I know this is going to boil it down to maybe the simplest way I can say it but the winner of game four for me, wins the series.
If the Devils can find a way to draw even, they’re going to be the team advancing to the Eastern Conference final. And obviously, if the Carolina Hurricanes put them down in a 3-1 spot, I think they’re going to be in a prime position.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Any shot you think the Hurricanes change their goalie for game four and go with Pyotr Kochetkov or is that an overreaction?
Frank Seravalli: I personally don’t think it’s an overreaction. I think Kochetkov has looked really steady and look, he’s one of those guys, you heard Sheldon Keefe say this morning about Joe Woll, the moment isn’t too big for him and I think on a pure skill-for-skill basis, he’s just as good as Andersen or Raanta or whoever the Canes want to throw in that net. I don’t think it’s really going to make a difference but I would go with Kochetkov.
You can watch the rest of the episode here…
More must-reads: