LAST STOP, CAROLINA

Hey, Devils fans! Here are some of my pregame thoughts as I get set for our broadcast here in Raleigh.

FINDING THEIR 3rd GEAR
Going back to Sheldon’s comments in the postgame on Thursday, one encouraging trend we are seeing from the Devils in this last stretch of games is the fact that they are shutting down and winning 3rd periods now. The Devils won the 1st period against both DAL & NSH, and while they bent under in the expected pushback in the 2nd, they did not break in the 3rd and won both games.

Simply put, these were games they were losing before this stretch (see graphic below). And because they are now winning these games consistently, you can authentically communicate in the room that yes, while there were periods or stretches of hockey you did not like, you weathered that pushback and still got the job done. As we all know, it becomes so much easier to talk past those “did not like” narratives when the team wins, because you can always focus on the bigger positive, which is that they're finding ways to win.

CORE 4 IMPACT
At the end of the day, the number one reason the team is suddenly winning these games is the Core 4 scoring timely goals. As Bratter said, the mental refresh from the break is paying dividends, and when your star players are feeling it and burying their chances, it has a trickle-down effect through the lineup. Now, your meat-and-potatoes and role guys can just play to their identity rather than feeling like they have to think about creating offense above their individual expectations. As a former defensive defenseman, I’ve been there many times myself. When you need to play outside of your identity for extended periods of time, it is not a fun weight to have on your shoulders!

CONTINUE TO FINISH STRONG
It all ties into the bigger focus now, which is to continue finishing the season strong. At this point, it is less about overanalyzing every stretch of every game and more about making sure the group keeps building on the positives it has found here late in the year.

From a player’s perspective, that absolutely matters heading into this offseason. When you have a season where not only were the team’s expectations not met, but you yourself had a down year, too, you need to finish strong. It’s not necessarily that your work ethic or motivation in the summer changes, but psychologically, there is a big difference between ending the year thinking, “hopefully I am going to find my game right away in September,” and questioning “where did I go wrong in my preparation this past season?” versus ending it saying, “maybe it was a down year for me, but I finished strong, and I proved to myself that this was just a one-off season.” Then, you find yourself exerting less energy on the mental side of things, and you can focus purely on enjoying the summer and your training, feeling confident in your game heading into camp.

My point here is that if the Devils can continue to finish the season playing to their highest standard, it gives them something real to carry into the offseason. As Brownie and the Captain talked to Rachel and I about these past couple games, building back that inner-belief for in the bigger picture that this team can still win is critical heading into the offseason. Even though I was injured the entire season, I’ll never forget when our team went 28-10-3 in the second half of the 2010-11 season. We missed the playoffs that year, but that stretch of hockey really galvanized our group going into the 2011-12 season.

OPPORTUNITY FOR A PSYCHOLOGICAL BUMP
Beating this CAR team could be a huge psychological bump for the Devils that carries into next season. Ending this 11-game winless streak in Carolina – and hopefully, squashing the narrative that you can’t solve their PK – would be one of the best ways for the Devils to validate that things are really changing now.

WEATHER THE CATEGORY 5 FIRST PERIOD
The Devils have to be ready to match the Canes' pace and intensity in the first period tonight if they want a chance in this game. CAR has won 12 of their last 15 home games, and a lot of that success is due to how dominant their starts have been. They’ve only trailed once after the first period in these 15 games, so if the Devils can find a way to be at least tied (or within one, worst case), you will see a happy Sal and Rachel on the first intermission report for the third straight game. 😉