Devils Debrief 2025/26 - Episode 28 - Devils 3-0 Dundee Stars

Dan, Gaz and Franny give their thoughts as the Devils beat the Stars 3-0 at the Vindico to kick start the double header weekend

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Today's podcast is brought to you by Minerva Hearing. Hear the cheers, protect your ears. Shimai Paul Bachrois. Hello, everybody, and welcome to Devils Debrief. After the Devils have beaten a Dundee Stars by three goals to nil here on Saturday night at the Vindico. Dan Ruther, alongside Gareth Ewish and Neil Francis. And guys, it wasn't pretty at times, but it's a result that the Devils will be very happy with. 3-0. They get in and out and then they set up another game against the stars tomorrow, guys.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Yeah, absolutely. Uh decent start, I thought. Um, I thought there was definitely signs of trying to keep that tempo going and trying to keep that sort of work rate from uh the week uh end before at Nottingham. And uh I thought Pellini was the guy who kind of was on the front foot the most uh in that first period. And uh that's great to see that he's had that confidence from the weekend before, a couple of assists carry through. Um and yeah, I I I think certainly for uh for that first 20 minutes, that first period, and probably most of the second, uh, I thought, yeah, it that the guys did seem to respond and want to keep that kind of level of uh consistent play going from the weekend before.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Yeah, I thought that the start that the Devils made, you know, getting those goals on the board fairly early, it just meant that they were quite comfortable for the rest of the match. Uh, it almost worked against the Devils, and I'm sure from a coaching point of view, the coaches won't have been pleased with what they saw maybe in the last 20, but it it happens that way sometimes that the the players are that comfortable with the lead that they maybe try stuff that they otherwise wouldn't have done. And I think there was you know some guilty of being a bit sloppy again because it was so comfortable, they were just kind of trying these plays, and uh you've got to be really careful that you don't slip into bad habits, you know, when you're up against a team and dominating them so much.

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Yeah, I think that's a really good way of putting it. It it felt especially in the third as if the game was petering out. And I said on comms, it's weird in a in a double header that you get a third period where okay, if a team's 3-0 down, they're not the opposition aren't at least trying to like leave a few elbows in, have a few you know, digs and and and whacks at you to at least set something up for tomorrow and try and put a bit of jeopardy in the game.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

Yeah, and I mean I thought Dundee approached the game really well. They came out, you know, pretty hard and the the tempo was really good. Um, you know, there were there were a few sort of hits of note and a few incidents, but it did seem to peter out as the game went on, and the devils were in so much possession. Um yeah, it'd be an interesting one coming into tomorrow because sometimes you can get lulled into a false sense of security when you have been that dominant against a team that you know subconsciously are you're gonna have an easy night, and those are the ones that really get away from you. So devils will really need to be switched on tomorrow. Approach this with the the same way they approach the first period today and look to get in the uh the puck as much. And you know, get used to playing with the puck because when you play the teams like your Belfast and your Nottingham Sheffields, you don't get that much time on the puck. Where you know, we have said that sometimes the the games that the Devils fail to dominate are when they have so much time on the puck. So um there's there's stuff to be taken from games like this, and of course, you know, you want to put in a good performance, and it's those good habits that you want coming into the playoffs, and you know, the devils were getting away from those habits as the game went on tonight.

SPEAKER_02 3:31

Yeah, let's chat quickly about uh two guys I think stood out tonight. Gaz, you've kind of isolated one of them already and Brett Pellini, a guy we spoke to in the week on inside after his good performance against the Panthers as well. I think it was a really nice moment when he got that goal because you could feel just the weight off his shoulders. He gets one on the board, first one since early December, which you know is crazy to think of when you look at his early season form. And very much deserving of that, a guy who's, like we said on comms, maybe been playing too much, overplaying it a little too much in recent weeks and months, and is finally just seemingly relaxed and playing good hockey.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Yeah, he seems uh a lot more comfortable on the line he's on at the moment. It feels like the role he's assigned on that line fits him really well. That sort of, you know, he has a bit more license to sniff around goal, I think, a little bit on that line. And he mentioned as well midweek he he likes playing with Brandt because Brandt is always where he needs to be, so he doesn't have to kind of worry about him. Um, so yeah, really, really pleased um for for Brett tonight. And you're right, I love it when you get a bit of a surly like that, where you know it means something to him. It's not that just he's been going through the motions and you know, not worrying about not getting some goals. It's obviously had an effect on him. So uh great to see him uh have that little bit. And even during, like I said, the first period, I thought he was the guy who was really got the tempo and sort of led us, and he had a couple of good looks, a couple of good passes that could have led to goals as well. So really influential today, Brett.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

Yeah, very much so. The other guy as well, Franny, we're we're gonna speak about, and it's the guy that Tomo in his post-game interview, kind of immediately when I said, What did you think of the game? He turned and mentioned Stover straight away and said, you know, huge amount of props to that guy tonight because he was great.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Yeah, he had a lot more work to do than the dominance of the game would suggest. So that says that there's been some sloppy turnovers that have created sort of two-on-ones, and you know, he made some huge stops on that. I mean, one thing I just want to call out as well is the Kowan Olipchevsky back check uh on the turnover, which was absolutely superb, and Stover still had to make it a stop on that. But yeah, there were too many sort of odd man rushes, um, but he dealt with them so well, and he did look very commanding there, and even in that last minute or two of a game where you'd hope that the devils would kind of um park the bus and take um take control of the puck and eliminate any chances. A few giveaways meant that he was called into action and he really had to fight for that shutout, and I was delighted for him that he got it.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Interestingly, I I asked Tom though post-game about tomorrow and and who might get the start because, of course, when you have a weekend like this, you look to probably split it between bounds and stover. And he turned around and and by the time this goes out, people will have would have seen the interview. But he turned around and said, no, Stover's getting the start tomorrow, and I think he's earned it.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yeah, maybe that's just the interviewer uh catching the interviewee off guard. He's uh he's shown his cards already. Um, but no, I I kind of like that approach to say that he's really happy with Stover's form. Um, not that he's not happy with Bouncy, but he just feels that Stover is um he's merited uh a good run, and you know, he obviously played really well in the Nottingham game and um tonight as well, was made to work really hard and look very commanding. So he's given him tomorrow as well. And so uh, I mean that's one thing you get from Tom. Are you you ask him an honest question and he'll give you the honest answer, and he's given you the reasons why he's going back with him.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Yeah, I think final thoughts, guys. Um it sets us up for tomorrow now, and like I said, I probably would have wanted more from Dundee in the third period just to kind of give us something to chat about, maybe a narrative around tomorrow's game. But equally, you know, Martin LaFay said that those guys are going to reset and they didn't play badly necessarily tonight, so they come in tomorrow with a similar kind of mindset.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

No, no, they certainly didn't play uh like a team that's just given up on the year, and I think you have to really commend them uh for that. I think what I want to see from the Devils tomorrow is getting back involved in those personal battles, leaving sticks in a little bit on a goalie. We I think I agree with you, like you said on commentary. I think uh Jarrett Fisk will play tomorrow. I think there will be a swap there. But I think it's important we get back in that sort of combative element because I felt as the game went on tonight, it started to feel less and less like there was a need to get that little spark. But you can't carry on like that from tonight going into tomorrow. There needs to be a spark for tomorrow, and you know, maybe that's you know, uh there were a couple of incidents tonight that I I don't think were particularly great. So I think there are a few things, you know, there are little personal battles there to that I I think can get the spark going.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

Yeah, we saw Capone and Matthew Budens go at each other a little bit. Inglis was involved as well. So there are battles there that are gonna simmer away, which is good to see.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Yeah, I mean there was uh a couple of hits, obviously Dundee weren't happy with, but then there were some things going the other way. So, yeah, a little bit of spark to brew, and you never know how that carries over, especially in the early part of the game. I think the first 20 minutes will tell us all we need to know about you know how much of these personal battles are looking to be settled.

SPEAKER_02 8:34

Well, those first 20 minutes will be with us before we know it. The devils take on the stars once again at the Vindico tomorrow at five o'clock. That's all for debrief tonight. We'll be back tomorrow on Devils TV if you're not down here at the rink. And we'll have debrief after the game again tomorrow. It's a double dose for you this weekend and inside of next week. So, yeah, thank you very much for listening. We will see you, I'm sure, tomorrow night. And yeah, good night to everybody. Thank you very much once again to our sponsor, Minerva Hearing, for today's podcast. And remember, Minerva Hearing, hear the cheers, protect your ears.