Kinkaid, 28, went 26-10-3 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .913 save percentage this season, setting NHL career highs in games (41) and starts (38). His 13 wins since Feb. 21 tied with Winnipeg Jets goalieConnor Hellebuyck for the most in the NHL, and Kinkaid went 7-0-1 with a 2.25 GAA and .931 save percentage in his final eight games.
If Kinkaid starts, Game 1 would be his Stanley Cup Playoff debut.
\[RELATED: Complete Lightning vs. Devils series coverage\]
"If I am given the go, I'm ready to go," Kinkaid said. "If I'm not, I'm there for whatever the team needs. Just a fun time for us. ... Any level you're at, you dream of playing playoff hockey. It's always the best time of year, so I think everyone is amped and ready to go."
Schneider, 32, was 17-16-6 with a 2.93 GAA and .907 save percentage, but is 0-10-2 with a 4.04 GAA and .863 save percentage in 12 games since Dec. 27. He's 1-4 with a 2.59 GAA and .922 save percentage in 10 postseason games (six starts). He last started a playoff game for the Vancouver Canucks on May 7, 2013, a 4-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
"You always want to play," Schneider said. "Whether you're a scratch, the sixth defenseman, the top forward, goalie No. 1 or No. 2, everybody wants to get in and play. When it's my turn, it's my call and I'll be ready to go and excited to play, and that's all I am thinking about right now."
Hynes said he had no reason to make his decision public.
"We're just going to keep the routine the same where I know what we are going to do," he said. "Usually we talk about it, let the guys know when we get in, and then go from there."
The Devils, who finished as the second wild card in the East, had an extra day to practice because their series against the Lightning, who finished first in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, doesn't start until Thursday.
"We get to work on what we need to work on," Kinkaid said. "We haven't really had practice days at the end of the season because we were playing every other day. It's good to refocus. We had a few days off too. I think we are ready."
