Playoff inexperience will test Devils in first round vs. Rangers

Talk about a bit of a crash course in what the playoffs are like for some of the Devils’ players.

When the puck drops for Game 1 between New Jersey and their Hudson River rivals, the New York Rangers, 10 players will be getting a taste of the postseason for the first time in their careers. That won’t be the case for the Blue Shirts when they take the ice.

In fact, every member on the Rangers roster has at least some playoff time. The lack of experience will certainly be a factor going into the series, but in terms of trying to convey what the postseason is like that’s a tough thing to do.

“I don’t think so. I think you have to experience it in the moment and we’ll get that on Tuesday,” Devils head coach Lindy Ruff said when asked about it. “I think it’s the energy. I think it will be some of the desperation. The intensity of the game is ramped up. So it’s just really a different ballgame.”

Among those that will be experiencing the playoff for the first time includes Nathan Bastian, Dawson Mercer, Jesper Boqvist and Jack Hughes. Even the likes of Nico Hischier, Miles Wood and Damon Severson only have five or fewer games in the playoffs.

Hughes has been the Devils’ biggest offensive weapon this season scoring a career-high in goals with 43 and recording a single-season franchise record for points with 97. The Devils’ star, who shocked even himself with the number of goals he had in the regular season, told reporters on Saturday that he didn’t feel like the playoffs were a test for him since he’s been in the league for a while.

However, he knows he’ll need to be at the top of his game.

“Obviously I had a really good year, but like now it’s just a different season,” Hughes said. “It’s time for playoffs and it’s gonna be difficult. The stakes are going to be higher and guys like me, you want to be playing in those (big) moments, but with that being said it’s going to be difficult. We’re going to have to bring our A-game.”

Trying to help the inexperienced Devils will be the handful of guys in the dressing room that have been there before, like Ondrej Palat, Erik Haula, Brendan Smith and Dougie Hamilton. Between the four of them, they have 309 games of playoff experience between them.

Timo Meier and Tomas Tatar are also players that have been through the grind of a playoff series.

“I feel like everybody will enjoy the moment,” Tatar told the Devils website. “It’s very intense. It’s a lot of fun. You’ve been working 82 games to get to this spot and the first round is coming, we’ll do our best to be prepared. I’m sure guys will enjoy it, the atmosphere is going to be outstanding, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

As for the impact that the lack of experience could have, Palat suggested it could be an issue. He won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay Lightning and knows how tough it can be with a battle-tested team in the postseason.

“I would probably lie if I said it wasn’t, you know,” he said. “Took us eight years or seven years in the playoffs, then we finally got into the finals and then we won and then we won the second. But it took us a lot of years to win. And it’s not easy. You know, somebody never wins. It’s hard, it’s a hard trophy to win.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report