Hey, Devils Fans!
What a huge game the Devils have ahead of them tonight before heading out to Western Canada. I hope they can take advantage of the two days' rest and make it three in a row tonight, because it’s crunch time leading up to the Olympic Break!
FINAL 10 GAMES TO THE OLYMPIC BREAK
As we approach the Olympic break, essentially every team in the East – other than the Rangers, who have become a dumpster fire! – still has eyes on the possibility of finding their way into a playoff spot at that point.
From the Devils’ perspective, it appears the best path to a playoff spot going into the Olympics would be to finish third in the Metro, but that’s not going to be an easy task by any means. If we break things down as simply as we can, and exclude all tiebreaker rules, the Devils would need to play .800 hockey in the hypothetical circumstance that PIT, WSH, & PHI all played .500 hockey from now until the break.
This just goes to show that the Devils need to get going on a heater immediately if they want a chance at a playoff spot heading into the break, and quite frankly, to stay in the race after the break, too. It’s go time!
BRATTER’S 600th GAME
HUGE Congrats to Bratter, who will be skating in his 600th career game tonight, and joining Pally as one of 18 players to ever be drafted in the 6th round or later (not undrafted, like Andy Greene, for example!) and play 600 games with the team that drafted them!
But, wow, 600 for Bratter?!?! Crazy… I remember my “rookie season” in this role back in 2017-18, which coincided with Bratter’s rookie season. Bratter had forced his way onto the opening night roster as a 19-year-old, just one-year removed from being a 6th-round draft pick, and everyone was like, “Who is this kid?!” (...which was quickly answered when Bratter put up 3-3–6 PTS in first 3 career games!)
Fast forward over nine years, and I've now had the fortune of watching Bratter’s 600-game evolution as a player and person right from Day 1. What’s been most impressive to me in this timeframe, past just Bratter’s progression into an elite player on the ice, has been his maturity and preparation off the ice, as well. I can’t say enough good things about him, and I look forward to pumping his tires on our pregame show when I chat with him during warmups!
In Bratter’s 500th game, back on Dec. 6 last season, Bratter had a goal and an assist, and the Devils won 3-2 in OT at home… So, hopefully, it is a similar happy story for this next milestone! 👏
GET OVER THE HUMP
Just 13 days ago, the Devils had won two in a row, and CAR came in from Raleigh on a second half of B2B.
Simply put, the Devils gifted them a win that night, and that can’t happen again tonight in a similar situation, as you are once again looking to extend your streak to 3, and have the Canes coming in from Raleigh on the second half of a B2B. (Not to mention, the Devils are rested this time!)
This game could really propel the Devils into that real, long win streak they desperately need going into the Olympic Break. At the end of the day, they have to take advantage of a potentially fatigued CAR team, who are coming off one of their biggest emotional wins in a long time against their nemesis, the Florida Panthers.
The Devils need to push past this mental block that they can’t beat the Canes (look at some of the crazy & ugly stats below...) and make a statement against their nemesis, just like CAR did vs. FLA in their 9-1 W last night!
Join Rupper, Rachel, and me for tonight's pregame show at 6:30 p.m., as we will have lots to unpack after I chat with Bratter ahead of his 600th game. LGD!
-Sal
