The New Jersey Devils face the Washington Capitals at Prudential Center in Newark this Thursday, November 12, with puck drop scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific Time and 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
Ahead of the game, following their morning skate, several Devils players spoke to the media. Among them was Connor Brown.
Below is the full transcript of Brown’s pregame interview ahead of the matchup against Washington.
Brown Says the Devils Must Stick to the Blueprint That Has Brought Success
Question: Obviously coming off this loss, but how important are these two games here, the home-and-home series within the division against Washington? Just how important is this two-game series?
Answer: Yeah, of course. You know, you play against a divisional opponent, so there’s extra intensity. The points are that much more important. But, you know, it’s important for us not to try to do anything out of the ordinary from what we’ve been doing that’s allowed us to find success. So, you know, it’s a pretty clear blueprint at this point as to what’s given us the keys to success. It’s just about building on that.
Q: One of the things Sheldon said the other day is that he thinks this is probably the most intense stretch you guys have had this season, right? Just the pace of games coming, with very little practice time. It almost has that playoff feel to it in terms of the schedule. Do you sense that? And what are you liking about the way you guys are handling all of it?
A: Yeah, I definitely sense that because we’re not practicing. As a player, you want to get touches in practice and stuff. Obviously, morning skates are one thing, but having practice days is important. Being able to persevere without that, I think we’ve done a really good job. So we’ve just got to keep doing it.
Q: When it comes to consistency, we’ve talked so much about that idea. And I think that’s something, you know, I know we’re approaching the 20-game mark here, but what do you take away from the growth this team has shown so far? You haven’t let things slide, right?
A: Yeah, well, as you said, we’re 20 games in, and we’re coming off an emotional loss. So the way we handle these types of situations is really important, more than anything. You know, it’s easy when you’re rolling, and things are going your way, to keep playing the right way. But if we want to be a Cup team, which we do, we’re going to run into more emotional losses in the playoffs. And that was a bit of an emotional loss the other night. So these types of games are important because we need to be able to flush everything and get back to our style of hockey and the things that have made us successful.
Q: Are you feeling anything different in terms of the emotional level? To put it in perspective, after the Colorado loss, going into the locker room, it felt like, all right, that was a bad game. Let’s just move forward. There wasn’t any lingering or sulking feeling. Does it feel a little different this year in terms of that emotional side of things?
A: Yeah, no, I think it’s just the sheer fact that a lot of these guys are getting older and the room is becoming a little bit more complete. I think that’s definitely a factor. And, like I said, even the most experienced teams have emotional swings throughout the season. So if those do show up, it’s just about how you’re going to handle them and what we’re going to do to get ourselves out of those moments. So, you know, just maintaining the way we’ve been playing, continuing to have fun, and enjoying one another. Good things will happen for us.
Connor Brown Makes Clear What the Devils Must Do in Capitals Series