Devils Ready to Put 'Best Foot Forward' for Game 4 | NOTEBOOK

In their first home game of the Second Round, the Devils beat the Hurricanes 8-4, and picked up their first win of the series.

But as this team has done time and time again, they're quickly celebrating the win and then moving forward. As the Devils look ahead to Game 4 on Tuesday night, New Jersey has an opportunity to tie their series against the Hurricanes at 2-2 after losing the first two games on the road.

"No matter what (we have) confidence in this group," Meier said following Monday's practice. "We believe in each other, we believe in this team. That's what makes you come out of these (deficits)."

The Devils hit the ice Monday afternoon and had full attendance. With a game every other day for the Second Round, it's been a balancing act for the Devils between rest, practice, and games.

"It's a great difficulty to have," Ruff said on balancing practices with the game schedule. "That you're doing this every other day, and going through the playoff run, and deciding how much is going to be enough."

Ryan Graves, who was ruled out of Sunday's game with an upper-body injury, joined the on-ice session, but left early. Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said Graves skated on his own and then joined the team for skate and is doing 'a lot better.'

Today's Workflow

The Devils had the following workflow at Monday's practice:

Palat - Hischier - Bratt
Meier - J. Hughes - Mercer
Haula - McLeod - Tatar
Wood - Lazar - Bastian

Siegenthaler - Hamilton
L. Hughes - Severson
Smith - Marino
Bahl - Graves

Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Mackenzie Blackwood all participated in practice.

Black Aces

With the Utica Comets eliminated from the Calder Cup playoffs, the Devils announced at 12:40 p.m. today that the team added the following players to their Stanley Cup Playoff Roster:

Forwards: Graeme Clarke, Nolan Foote, Brian Halonen, Alexander Holtz, and Tyce Thompson

Defensemen: Simon Nemec and Topias Vilen

Goaltender: Nico Daws

The players haven't reported to New Jersey at this time but will join the Devils in the future.

Game 4

The Devils are happy with their performance in Game 3 but they know they'll have to weather the storm against a Carolina team that is going to want to bounce back quickly.

"We issued this warning about how hard Carolina will play tomorrow," Ruff said about Game 4. "They're a good team. They proved that in Games 1 and 2, how good a team they are and how hard they can play. I think they're going to feel like we did, that they need to play better, that they have more to offer, and we have to be ready to elevate our game at the same time."

The Hurricanes are a strong team when they play with a lead and Carolina was able to score three or four goals before the Devils found their first in Games 1 and 2. In Game 3, the Devils held the Hurricanes off the board in the first period while putting up three goals, before continuing to score early in the second and third periods. Another quick start is key for Tuesday's game.

"It's huge, we have to come out to a similar start," Michael McLeod said following practice. "They're going to have a really strong game and they're going to have a nice bounce back, they're a good team in that way. They're going to play their system … we have to have a strong start."

"We did a good job offensively last night," Severson shared Monday. "Getting the pucks out of our zone, using our speed, a lot of the things we've done well throughout the whole regular season and first round of the playoffs that made us successful, what we did last night. No matter who the team is on the other side we're playing, it makes (us) hard to handle. We got to try to continue that the best we can and limit their chances."

For Brendan Smith, the crowd and the energy on the bench was a big part of Sunday's win.

"I liked the energy. Obviously we had the crowd … that was awesome," said Smith. "We heard (the crowd), it was fantastic. The seventh man is very impactful, and we love having them be loud. We were chatting on the bench, we were lively, there was a lot of emotion. It felt good. We just have to kind of flush it, and then get ready for tomorrow and put our best foot forward."

Big Players Stepping Up

In Sunday afternoon's win,

New Jersey's biggest players stepped up

. Jack Hughes had a four point night (2G, 2A) while Nico Hischier (1G, 1A) and Timo Meier (1G), scored their first goals in the 2023 playoffs. Lindy Ruff discussed the pressure of not scoring despite doing all the right things, following Monday's practice.

"I think you get automatic relief," said Ruff. "You can talk about don't feel the pressure but you do. You know that really every game is such a big game and you want to be a difference maker and you've been a difference maker throughout the year. You can look at throughout the year, every guy went through tough stretches.

"Every guy has it, it just gets magnified in the playoffs."

Meier had 32 shots on goal without one going in, and was credited by his teammates and coaches for his strong effort and play in the playoffs despite not scoring.

"You look at the physicality and it's something we didn't have," said Ruff on Meier. "An elite goal scorer, a big physical guy. A guy that can really bully his way down low, and he's got great quickness. You look at the goal last night, how quickly he picked the puck up from below the goal line and end up putting it in the short side of the net. But he gets into people, he's tough to play against, he's a guy that can just turn his body and protect pucks where physically that's not really possible for some of our other guys."

Meier discussed scoring his first of the 2023 playoffs following Monday's practice.

"It always feels good scoring a goal, and getting the first one," Meier shared. "That's just kind of how it goes sometimes, so you just have to go through it, keep working. Team success is what makes me happy, so that's all I try do. Go out there and try to help the team win and then I'm happy."

Vanecek's Chance

Vitek Vanecek got his first start in the Second Round on Sunday afternoon, after Vanecek came into Games 1 and 2 in relief for Akira Schmid. Vanecek discussed Schmid's great performance to help the Devils win in the First Round and his own performance in Game 3.

"You always want to get as far as possible, Akira took care of the first round," Vanecek said Monday. "He was really good, there wasn't a thing he did bad, and I was so happy for him. I always will be with him. If I'm not playing or if I'm playing, trying to give him confidence. That's what we have to do, us goalies. He had two tough games but the Carolina (team) is very good team and then (the coaches) give me an opportunity. I wasn't great yesterday I know that but the win counts and that's what we need."

Lindy Ruff did not reveal who would get the start on Tuesday and with an optional skate tomorrow, the starting goaltender might not be revealed until warmups. However there are some strong signs pointing to Vanecek getting the nod.

Monday's Videos:

Player Interviews:

Meier

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Smith

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Vanecek

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Severson

Coach Interview:

Lindy Ruff

Devils Now:

Incoming Storm

In Case You Missed It:

VIDEO:

WRITTEN:

• COLUMN: Stars Respond in Critical Game 3 Victory
• GAME STORY: Hughes Has 4 Points. Devils Score 8 in Game 3 Win
• LIVE BLOG: Revisit the Devils Game 3 Win
• FEATURE: Luke 'Ready to Play' for Playoff Debut
• 10 TAKEAWAYS: Enjoying the Ride