One More Time
The Devils will play their final game of the season, and despite missing out on playoff action, the team is trying to finish the year with a good result.
“It’s not a great feeling in the morning waking up and knowing it’s the last day,” forward Jesper Bratt said. “I thought the morning skate was good. We definitely brought some joy to just finish this the right way. That’s all we can control now. We played two pretty good games going into this. To finish this off the right way is all we can focus on and do all we can to end on a good feeling.”
Despite being out of the playoffs for the past month – officially the last two weeks – the team still tried to make the final run of the season a productive one.
“Focus on what we can control. Not waste our time and be miserable,” Keefe said of handling the past month or so. “Still trying to be productive in terms of building our team, our team concept, building a belief amongst the group. The players themselves, to leave feeling better about themselves as they go into the offseason.
“The players have handled it well and for the most part given us good efforts, fought back in games, all these things that you like to see just to maintain the competitive spirit.”
For the players, they understood the situation. And to their credit, made the most of it with the right attitude.
“We’re still trying to work on things and good habits and culture,” Bratt said. “Even when the score doesn’t matter as much, play for the group and play for the logo to just end this the right way. That’s where our focus is right now.”
“We’ve got pride and we’ve got good character in the locker room,” defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “You want to show well for your team, for your state, for your organization, for your teammates.”
All the Devils can focus on is one game and finishing with a victory heading into the summer.
“We’re trying to set the tone for next season, set the tone for the summertime,” Dillon said. “We should all have a sour taste in our mouth and be frustrated. We also want to enjoy the guys that around because I’m sure it’ll be different guys next year.
“The last 10 days, two weeks, being eliminated, you almost don’t know what to do. This is playoff time and you’re usually getting ramped up and excited for that. it’s a tough feeling but that’s gotta be what fuels you through the summer, your training, your work ethic. You don’t want to be one of those teams on the outside looking in.”
