"It was his first start this year in Columbus (Feb. 8), they lost 3-2 late, Jack Roslovic scored a goal, and I reached out to him the next day," said Tracy, the longtime Hurricanes analyst on Bally Sports South. "I said, 'I thought, Alex, you looked comfortable last night.' His response was, 'Tripp, I can, and I will dominate in this league.'"
Tracy told co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke that he didn't tell anyone what Nedeljkovic said at the time, choosing instead to keep it to himself, but it was something he loved hearing from the Hurricanes goalie.
"Because you have to have that, in particular in this division (Discover Central Division) if you're going to beat an Andrei Vasilevskiy or down the road a Marc-Andre Fleury," Tracy said. "You have to believe you're better than that guy."
Nedeljkovic was better than the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, making 32 saves in a 3-0 win in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup First Round at PNC Arena. He made 22 saves in a 5-2 win in Game 1 on Tuesday.
The Hurricanes have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 3 is in Nashville on Friday (7 p.m. ET; USA, FXX-CA, TVAS2, BSSO, BSSO).
"You have to have that belief in your capabilities and that's Alex Nedeljkovic," Tracy said. "He has that true belief between in his ears. The more pressure, the more fun he has."
Tracy also talked to Rosen and Roarke about how the Hurricanes have found success, the importance of how they've allowed their young players to grow and develop, the team's mindset going into Nashville after winning their first two home games and much more.
The co-hosts also discussed the rest of the first round and John Davidson returning to the Columbus Blue Jackets as president and alternate governor on a five-year contract.
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