DANEYKO: KINKAID, COLEMAN, KEY IN PLAYOFFS
TROY, N.Y. » The New Jersey Devils are set to embark on their Stanley Cup playoff matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many of their players once called the Capital Region home. Among them are former Union College Dutchmen and Albany Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid, ADevils Blake Coleman, Brian Gibbons, Miles Wood, Pavel Zacha, Damon Severson, Albany River Rat Travis Zajac and Ad- irondack Phantom Patrick Maroon.
In the lead up to Game 1 of their series, I had the pleasure of speaking with Devils’ MSG Network and NHL Network analyst Ken Daneyko, a three-time Stanley Cup champion defenseman with the Devils.
With the Devils snapping a five-year playoff drought, I asked Daneyko if there were any similarities between this team and his 1988 squad, which broke their own drought and went on a nice surprising run of their own.
“Well if you believe in some karma, some people kind of believe in that thing, some don’t. Yeah, sure, certainly there is some parallels as far as the ’88 team and very similar from the standpoint of nobody really gave us a chance back then. We were a bunch of young kids and had a mix of some veterans, so some similarities in that regard,” Daneyko said.
“Sean Burke was a little different, came from a Canadian Olympic team, kind of unheralded, didn’t know much about him, we knew he was a pretty good goaltender,” Daneyko said of his former teammate.
“A little different from the standpoint, Keith was the backup to Cory Schneider, he got hurt and Keith got his opportunity when Cory came back he just kept playing so well that he kind of wrestled the job away and he’s done a real good job once he got his opportunity to his credit, nobody knew if he was capable of it or what he was capable of and he took advantage of it and then took his game to another level, so from some
of those standpoints sure there’s some similarities.”
As with any playoff series, a hot goalie can be the difference maker. According to Daneyko, Kinkaid is no exception, facing a high powered Lightning club boasting the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point.
“It’s going to be everything. Obviously Tampa Bay may be the most prolific scoring team in the National Hockey League with their depth and their skill sets, so he’s going to have to be just as good if not better come playoff time,” Daneyko said.
“This is uncharted waters for him as well, playoffs are a little different obviously, everything is magnified even more and ramped up but hopefully down the stretch when everything was kind of playoff hockey for the Devils, I guess we didn’t know a month ago but that they would have to have this remarkable record, Keith this remarkable run, something along the lines 16-3-1 in his last 20. I believe if you would’ve told me that, I would’ve said it’s going to be impossible but certainly that’s what transpired and now the playoffs are a whole other animal, a little more of a pressure situation, so Keith hopefully just continues doing what he has of late and the Devils just in general as a team.”
Daneyko also noted how the Devils have rallied around each other, adopting a slogan of “New Jersey Devils vs. Everybody.”
“They believe in themselves, they came together all season long and kind of with a chip on their shoulder because nobody thought they’d be anything this year. In fact, most people thought they were going to be last place in the Metro and maybe 27th, 28th place team in the National Hockey League and that’s always a little extra motivation, you want to prove people wrong,” Daneyko said.
“They did it, they came together very quickly and it’s a good group. These guys believe in themselves and that’s what counts in the playoffs and anything can happen. We know in hockey, more so than any sport, that lower seeded teams upset top teams with regularity over the years,” Daneyko said of the propensity for crazy upsets in the playoffs.
While New Jersey had missed out on the postseason every year since 2012, many of the former A-Devils I mentioned at the outset have garnered Calder Cup playoff experience against St. John’s, Utica and Toronto. I asked Daneyko if he thought that winning experience could translate to the next level.
“I think playing together and winning at any level in the playoffs, it gives you some experience for sure, from a standpoint that everything does get more intensified and every play is crucial, every period, every shift where everything counts as far as the difference between winning and losing a game. Obviously the importance of any single game in the playoffs, compared to an 82 game schedule, it’s magnified. Any of that little experience helps but the National Hockey League playoffs is a whole other level,” Daneyko said.
“A lot of these guys will be experiencing their first taste of it but they do have some veteran guys like Travis Zajac and [Andy] Greene who’ve been to a Stanley Cup Final, not in the playoffs for quite some time, they’ll be revved up and certainly can reach back for the experience they have and lend a hand. Brian Boyle’s seen a lot of playoff action. Sami Vatanen had some good runs with the Anaheim Ducks. There are a handful of guys, even John Moore, back with the Rangers when they went to the Final,” Daneyko said.
“These guys have had some experience, so I think there’s a nice mix to lean on certainly veteran guys and leadership qualities going into this year’s playoffs, with guys who’ve come through the system and paid their dues and that’s certainly something that’s part of it, like a Blake Coleman, who took his game to a whole other level, who was terrific all year long and he’s going to be a key guy in the playoffs, especially on the penalty kill and he’s been able to chip in offensively more than his first few times up and down the last couple of years with the Devils,” Daneyko said.
“So these guys have got a nice mix and I think they can compete with Tampa and that’s half the battle,” Daneyko said. “I don’t take as much out of the regular season as a lot of people do, like fans and media to an extent where they were 3-0 against Tampa Bay (20-1), it’s a whole new ballgame in the playoffs. Having said that, the only advantage maybe for some young kids who haven’t been there is you’re not overwhelmed. You’re saying, we have competed against Tampa in the past so, we can look at this that even though we’re pretty big underdogs that we feel we can skate with them and certainly maybe give them a series.”
I also asked Daneyko for his thoughts on Devils’ Hart Memorial Trophy candidate Taylor Hall and his first chance at the dance.
“He’s been remarkable, there’s no question about it. He really has been the driving force for this team offensively all season long. He’s shown a lot of great leadership,” Daneyko said.
“You know Ray Shero, who’s made some terrific deals here along the way, really built this team the right way and was able to acquire the talent of a Taylor Hall but he needed to learn and he’s learned a lot from coach Hynes and his staff from the standpoint of it’s fine and good to be a real talented and skilled hockey player but in the confines of a team and how to lead the way and Taylor’s been exemplary in that regard,” Daneyko said of Hall’s maturation as a player.
“He’s about winning, he wants to win, yeah he knows he needs to produce for them to be successful but just everything he’s said all season long has shown great leadership in my estimation,” Daneyko said.
“Taylor Hall’s won two Memorial Cups, it’s one of the hardest trophies to in all of sports in the hockey world, the Memorial Cup and he was the MVP both times. So, Taylor Hall is a winner. It hasn’t transpired in the National Hockey League and that was because of some circumstances and things not going well in Edmonton in his time there, a lot of different coaches and voices over the years, it can be pretty tough for a young player to really find his way even though he put up some good numbers in Edmonton at times but the team overall didn’t have success,” Daneyko said of Hall’s early career struggles.
“He’s finally on a team that’s got a good supporting cast but he’s been the catalyst and the leader of the band certainly for most of the season and he’s going to have to do it again in the playoffs but I know he’s relishing this opportunity for sure,” Daneyko said. “It’s got to be exciting to play over 500 games and get in, it’s all about having a chance to win a Stanley Cup and be a winner and he gets that opportunity here. I have no doubt in my mind he’s going to excel as far as his play.”
Lastly, I asked Daneyko if he thought the Lightning’s roster boasting of a handful of former New York Rangers’, would make for an even more intense series.
“I don’t know if that’s going to have any barring, that’s just kind of the way Tampa is built. For whatever reason, that’s been a familiar trading partner that happens among general managers in certain organizations. I don’t think it’s going to have a lot of barring, they’ve just tried to add veteran pieces and they happened to be from the New York area,” Daneyko said. “I think it’s more about Tampa Bay being one of the best teams in the league and best teams in the Eastern Conference and these guys believing they can win and I certainly think going into this the Devils have been a real nice story just to get into the playoffs but they believe in their group and they think they can compete here and make this a heck of a series, if not win.”