Devils Look at Road Trip as Opportunity | BLOG

VANCOUVER – Coming off three wins in a four-game homestand, the Devils look to continue that success with three road games in Western Canada. 

With a record of 8-18-2 on the road this season (versus 14-14-3 at home), the team’s record is a mirror image of last season when the club was a respectable 12-12-4 away from Prudential Center but 7-18-3 on home ice. 

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“Our road record isn’t that great. We’ve got an opportunity with the team we have to put some road wins in,” said Devils head coach Lindy Ruff. 

Devils captain Nico Hischier said that the momentum from the successful homestand should help the club. 

“If you look at the last four games, we played well. We were playing more our structure, more detail,” he began. “Still stuff to improve. On this road trip, we’ve got to keep going. We’ve got hungry teams waiting for us. Desperate teams. But it’s not going to be easy. It should be a fun road trip if we play the right way.”

Tomorrow’s opponent, the Vancouver Canucks, sit three points out of a playoff spot. The team they’re chasing is the Edmonton Oilers who are Friday’s opponent. Sandwiched in between are the Calgary Flames who lead the Pacific Division and are one of the hottest teams in the NHL since the All-Star Break. 

“I look at the home game stretch, the road stretch,” Ruff stated when asked about getting success on the road. “Montreal, St. Louis (both road wins in early February), the reason we won is we scored some goals. The home stretch we played well defensively.

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“We need a combination of both.”

Another key, noted both Ruff and Hischier, is to get off to a good start in these games. 

“On the road, it’s always important to have a good start. Be ready right away. You’ve got to start good on the road,” Hischier stated. 

“Immediately, it’s how you start a game. Get in the game, get in a rhytym. The first 10 minutes are going to be real important in the game,” Ruff added.