Although many players on a young New Jersey Devils team are not used to playing in a Game 7 atmosphere, the same cannot be said for head coach Lindy Ruff, who coached the Buffalo Sabres to various playoff appearances over 15 years with the franchise.
The 63-year-old shared a comical response when asked how he is dealing with the pressure ahead of a do-or-die game against the New York Rangers on Monday night.
“Good. I take blood pressure medication,” Ruff said with a laugh after the team's morning skate, according to Devils team reporter Amanda Stein.
The Devils have an opportunity to be the final team to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they can defeat the Rangers in Game 7 at Prudential Center on Monday night.
The winner of the series will take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 2, with Game 1 of that series set for Wednesday night in Raleigh.
“What a game to be in,” Devils' Lindy Ruff said about Game 7, per NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale. “Where would you rather be? Playing at home in front of your fans. Game 7. It's something that if you're a little kid growing up, you're going to sit there and go, ‘Man, I'd love to play in that game.' So, we worked hard all year to get this point. I know that team that's in that locker room is going to give me everything they got.”
The Devils are 0-for-2 against the Rangers in Game 7; New York won 2-1 in the 1994 Eastern Conference Final and 8-4 in the 1992 Eastern semifinal round, per Morreale.
But both of those games were at Madison Square Garden in New York, and the Devils will have a chance to rewrite that history on home ice at the Prudential Center.
“Win or go home, that's it,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said ahead of the biggest game of his young NHL career. “Game 7 is pretty much self-explaining, so it's all or nothing.”
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