Lightning face resilient Devils
BRANDON — They are young. They are fast. They have an outstanding goal scorer and a goalie playing out of his mind. And the New Jersey Devils have three wins this season in three games against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Devils (44-29-9, 97 points), the last seed in the Eastern Conference, will face the top-seeded Lightning (54-23-5, 113) in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs starting Thursday.
Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh, the former Ranger who is familiar with the Devils, offered this scouting report:
“They’ve got a good skating team all the way through the lineup. Forwards obviously, a lot of skill. Backend’s got some skill and skating ability as well. They make you go the full length of the ice. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. It’s going to be a very disciplined series. For us to be successful, we can’t force anything. We have to take what they give us and make sure we’re not feeding their transition game with any turnovers or mistakes by us.”
Left wing Taylor Hall poses the biggest threat with a team-high 39 goals and 53 points.
“Obviously his speed, you have to respect it because he can blow by you and understand that defensively when you’re out there against him you have to be aware of him,” McDonagh said. “Doesn’t have to just be the defensemen, it’s got to be all five guys on the ice. You don’t want to make mistakes and turn pucks over and let him play half the ice in that line that he’s on.”
That line includes center Nico Hischier, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, and right wing Kyle Palmieri. Hall, though, makes the Devils go. He has 41 more points than Hischier (20-32-52), who is second on the team in scoring.
Goalie Keith Kinkaid took over the starting job in late January when Cory Schneider suffered a groin injury. He has a 2.77 goalsagainst average, a .913 save percentage and is 19-6-1 since becoming a starter. He also has zero playoff experience.
That could be the biggest factor in the series. The members of the Devils have a combined 590 playoff games. The Lightning have a combined 1,145.
But what about that 0-3 record this year against the Devils?
“I think it’s a pretty fresh start once you get into the playoffs,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. “Regular season is regular season; I think we know that.”
The Orlando Solar Bears announced that forward Jean Dupuy and defenseman Alex Gudbranson have been reassigned to the club by the Toronto Marlies, Orlando’s AHL affiliate, in advance of the ECHL playoffs that open Thursday at South Carolina.
Dupuy, 23, recorded 24 points (including nine goals) and 35 penalty minutes in 33 regular-season games with Orlando.
Gudbranson, 23, registered 15 points (including 11 assists) and 63 penalty minutes in 40 regular-season games with the Solar Bears.