Coach Lindy Ruff said his Devils got their “first taste’’ of playoff hockey Tuesday night at Prudential Center.
Needless to say, after the 5-1 shellacking the Rangers administered in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round series, the Devils left the meal with indigestion.
On Wednesday, Ruff and his players vowed to change the menu for Game 2 on Thursday night at the Rock.
The Devils, with less playoff experience than the Rangers, insisted they’ll be a different team than the one that was wiped out on Tuesday.
“You got your first taste,’’ Ruff told his players in a team meeting Wednesday morning.
“It was the first playoff game for a lot of players, first pro playoff game for a lot of them,’’ Ruff said. “And until you live it, until you’re actually out there, you don’t have that experience. The playoffs is always a different picture, so adjustments to your game are always made. We talked about it before this series started: how to put away wins and how to put away losses and take what you can from losses and move on.’’
Ruff insisted the confidence in his locker room has not been shaken.
“Everyone’s feeling good [but] obviously disappointed,’’ Ruff said. “I talked to them about it … that you’ve got to put the disappointment away right away. The mood is great. That’s the one thing we guaranteed ourselves, that we were going to put the game and focus on the next game. We’ve been a group that’s been resilient, that has been up for every challenge.
“We’re not the only team that’s being challenged in the league, not the only team that has had a disappointing loss. So, you look at it, you move on and you go get Game 2.’’
Indeed, six of the eight home teams lost Game 1 in the opening round of these NHL playoffs.
On Dec. 6, the Devils had a 21-4 record and were flying.
Then they lost eight of their next nine games and doubters emerged, wondering if this would turn into the fifth consecutive season without a playoff berth despite the fast start.
Then came a 16-5 streak that righted the season.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Rangers vs. Devils NHL playoff series
The Devils finished by winning six of their final eight games and fell just one point short of Carolina for the Metropolitan Division title.
“Whenever you lose, there’s obviously going to be disappointment,’’ Devils wing Miles Wood said Wednesday, referring to the Game 1 loss. “But we have a hungry group in here and we’ve bounced back a lot this year. I expect that same response for Game 2. We’re down one [game] in the series now and it’s another bounce-back opportunity for us. It’s up to us to do it now.’’
Devils defenseman Kevin Bahl called Game 1 a lesson learned and believes Game 2 will be much different.
“As long as we can control our emotions, I have no doubt we can get the result that we want,’’ Bahl said Wednesday.
“They have a lot more experience than us, and for the most part it was a pretty new experience for most of us,’’ Devils wing Nathan Bastian said. “In the second game, I think there’s a ton of excitement to have that one behind us. There’s a ton of teams that started at home and are one down in the series. … [W]e figured it would be a long, hard battle in this series anyway.
“Being new for a lot of us, the style of play [in the playoffs] is definitely a bit different,’’ Bastian went on. “A lot of us were pretty anxious and nervous, maybe throwing pucks away a little bit. When we got to the third period, there were a lot of us that felt a lot more comfortable even though the game was out of reach. And I think by start of the game [Thursday] night we’ll feel a lot better.’’
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