The Devils have not hosted a playoff game since 2012 and are excited to give their fan-base the experience again.
"It's important," Coach John Hynes said. "It's important to come home. Our building has been fantastic, particularly late in the year. To have our first playoff game here [since 2012], I know our players are excited about it and I'm sure the fans are excited about it, and we'll be ready to go."
Coach Hynes has elected to make some lineup changes, one is a goaltender swap and another is a player returning from injury.
Cory Schneider will start in goal, (his sixth start since March 1) and his first of this postseason. He replaced Keith Kinkaid in Game 2 and played 24:31, while stopping all 10 shots that he saw.
"It's exciting," Schneider said. "Playoff hockey is a lot of fun. It's a big game for us, a real important game in the series. To get the chance to start it means a lot to me. I just have to keep my focus where it's at, move on and be ready to play 60-plus minutes tonight."
"Cory has been a big part of our team," Hynes said. "I've never wavered once down the stretch - we believe we have two very good goaltenders. Keith had played extremely well, and we're not taking Keith out really because he was bad, we have two guys that we feel can both help us win and it's an opportunity to get Cory back in the net. He came in and played pretty well the other night, which was good to see, so we'll give him an opportunity here at home."
Game 3 will also mark the return of forward Marcus Johansson. Johansson has been on the sidelines since Jan. 23 with a concussion. The Swedish-native is eager to get back on the ice and be an impact player.
"There are a lot of feelings," Johansson said. "It's a bit relief. I'm excited. It's frustrating sitting on the sidelines and watching. It's been a long time now, so I'm just happy to be able to go."
"Marcus is a very good player," Hynes said. "He's got great puck skills, I think five-on-five he's one of our most productive players. He's got good hockey sense, playoff experience. Those are all the reasons we made the move for him [this summer]."
The Devils lineup will look as follows:
Hall-Hischier-Palmieri
Johansson-Zacha-Maroon
Coleman-Zajac-Noesen
Wood-Boyle-Stafford
Greene-Vatanen
Moore-Severson
Butcher-Lovejoy
Schneider
Note:
The Devils have recalled seven players from Binghamton who will skate on Tuesday at Prudential Center.
Forwards
Christoph Bertschy, Nick Lappin, Michael McLeod, Blake Pietila and Kevin Rooney
Defensemen
Michael Kapla, Brian Strait
