Pat Burns has seen plenty of teams make an unexpected run at the Stanley Cup, and the New Jersey Devils' coach doesn't want a repeat of last season.
A year ago it was the Carolina Hurricanes. They stunned the Devils in the first round and won the Eastern Conference final before losing the Cup to the Detroit Red Wings.
"Everyone was pumped to play Carolina," center Scott Gomez said Wednesday after the Devils practiced at the Continental Airlines Arena. "Everyone wanted Carolina. Guess who got them, and they stuck it to us."
Six games into the playoffs, the Devils were through, which was something no one expected from a team that won the Cup in 2000 and came within a game of repeating the following year.
That's why Burns is making sure the Devils are paying particular attention to Game 1 of their conference semifinal with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
The Lightning are one of the surprising teams this year. They won the Southeast Division when no one expected it, and they came back from an 0-2 deficit to beat Washington in six games in the opening round.
"Nobody wants to see us win, except our fans," Burns said. "They would like to see Tampa win, that's the normal feeling of everybody. `Hey lets see, these guys win. They are the Cinderella team.' You see it every year. People want to see those upsets."
Burns wants the Devils to go into the best-of-seven series with the idea they are the underdogs.
The regular-season should have given the Devils some respect for Tampa Bay. The teams went 1-1-2.
"We're the underdog, and rightfully so," Tampa coach John Tortorella countered. "Jersey has been, throughout the whole year, one of the best teams in the league. But we need to use it to our benefit. I still think people don't really feel we're legit. And even the team we just beat, they don't think we're legit."
The Lightning have one of the best lines in the playoffs with Vincent Lecavalier, Vaclav Prospal and Martin St. Louis, who combined for 11 goals in the first round against Washington.
Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin also gives Tampa Bay one of the NHL's top goaltenders, someone who can compete with the Devils' Martin Brodeur.
Brodeur allowed only three goals in the Devils' four postseason wins over Boston. He gave up eight in the five-game series.
"Marty's got a lot of experience," Lightning captain and former Devils player Dave Andreychuk. "He thrives on these kinds of situations. He's a guy who wants more shots. He doesn't get a lot, but we're just going to have to get to him as best we can."
St. Louis, who had the series clincher in Game 6 against Washington, said the Lightning have gained plenty of confidence.
"I think we've grown as a team already in the playoffs," he said. "You have to learn fast. We've done that. I think everybody around here realizes what we have to do to win a series because we've won one now."
Veteran Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko agrees.
"We know how good they are," Daneyko said. "They have a great goaltender and we're not taking anything for granted. We're not making them underdogs. We know how good they are. They are as talented, if not more talented than we are."
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A year ago it was the Carolina Hurricanes. They stunned the Devils in the first round and won the Eastern Conference final before losing the Cup to the Detroit Red Wings.
"Everyone was pumped to play Carolina," center Scott Gomez said Wednesday after the Devils practiced at the Continental Airlines Arena. "Everyone wanted Carolina. Guess who got them, and they stuck it to us."
Six games into the playoffs, the Devils were through, which was something no one expected from a team that won the Cup in 2000 and came within a game of repeating the following year.
That's why Burns is making sure the Devils are paying particular attention to Game 1 of their conference semifinal with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
The Lightning are one of the surprising teams this year. They won the Southeast Division when no one expected it, and they came back from an 0-2 deficit to beat Washington in six games in the opening round.
"Nobody wants to see us win, except our fans," Burns said. "They would like to see Tampa win, that's the normal feeling of everybody. `Hey lets see, these guys win. They are the Cinderella team.' You see it every year. People want to see those upsets."
Burns wants the Devils to go into the best-of-seven series with the idea they are the underdogs.
The regular-season should have given the Devils some respect for Tampa Bay. The teams went 1-1-2.
"We're the underdog, and rightfully so," Tampa coach John Tortorella countered. "Jersey has been, throughout the whole year, one of the best teams in the league. But we need to use it to our benefit. I still think people don't really feel we're legit. And even the team we just beat, they don't think we're legit."
The Lightning have one of the best lines in the playoffs with Vincent Lecavalier, Vaclav Prospal and Martin St. Louis, who combined for 11 goals in the first round against Washington.
Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin also gives Tampa Bay one of the NHL's top goaltenders, someone who can compete with the Devils' Martin Brodeur.
Brodeur allowed only three goals in the Devils' four postseason wins over Boston. He gave up eight in the five-game series.
"Marty's got a lot of experience," Lightning captain and former Devils player Dave Andreychuk. "He thrives on these kinds of situations. He's a guy who wants more shots. He doesn't get a lot, but we're just going to have to get to him as best we can."
St. Louis, who had the series clincher in Game 6 against Washington, said the Lightning have gained plenty of confidence.
"I think we've grown as a team already in the playoffs," he said. "You have to learn fast. We've done that. I think everybody around here realizes what we have to do to win a series because we've won one now."
Veteran Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko agrees.
"We know how good they are," Daneyko said. "They have a great goaltender and we're not taking anything for granted. We're not making them underdogs. We know how good they are. They are as talented, if not more talented than we are."
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