Change Is Good for Devils
Kevin Constantine’s reputation as a strict disciplinarian jolted the New Jersey Devils to play scared--and win.
Constantine, behind an NHL bench for the first time since Dec. 9, 1999, did little more than furrow his brow, chew gum and cross his arms in his coaching debut with New Jersey, yet the Devils showed renewed zip Tuesday night in a 3-1 victory against the New York Islanders at Uniondale, N.Y.
“Maybe his reputation made us more worried about what’s going to happen to us, or what’s going to happen to the team if we don’t do what he says,” said Bobby Holik, who scored New Jersey’s third goal. “But it’s still just the first game. We have a long way to go to be where we want to be.”
The Devils responded well to Constantine, hired to replace nice-guy Larry Robinson, who was fired Monday.
Constantine, 43, said he would simply observe the Devils for a few games before instituting his coaching schemes, but he did stress defense before the game.
“Guys were blocking shots who had never blocked a shot before in their life,” captain Scott Stevens said.
Constantine also asked the team to play hard, but that was it.
“If you give too much out on the first night, you can paralyze people,” Constantine said.
New Jersey moved into a tie with Montreal for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Kip Miller scored for the Islanders, who retain the sixth spot, one point ahead of the idle New York Rangers.
“When you make a coaching change sometimes the players want to impress their new coach,” Islander defenseman Adrian Aucoin said. “Sometimes the players are fighting for their jobs. ... It’s natural for them to give a little extra.”
The Devils were still stunned from the firing of Robinson and assistants Slava Fetisov, the Russian Olympic coach, and Jay Leach.
“We’re still going through the change,” Holik said. “Larry and Slava, you will not find two better guys in all of hockey, as human beings.
“It was traumatic. I still feel responsible, as every player should.”
Philadelphia 3, Pittsburgh 2--Keith Primeau scored a tying goal with 17.5 seconds to play in regulation and Marty Murray won it early in overtime at Philadelphia. The Penguins had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Carolina 2, Buffalo 2--Bates Battaglia scored his 18th goal with 9:48 left and Carolina rallied twice at Raleigh, N.C. It was a league-high 20th overtime game for Carolina.
Tom Barrasso, one of three U.S. Olympic goaltenders, started for Carolina but left less than nine minutes in because of a strained groin.
Toronto 4, San Jose 3--Bryan McCabe had two goals and an assist for the Maple Leafs at Toronto.
Jonas Hoglund and Travis Green scored for the Maple Leafs. Todd Harvey scored two goals for the Sharks.