Are the Devils ready to ramp up their emotional level against the Los Angeles Kings after an opening game in which both teams showed a lot of respect for the other?



Devils coach Pete DeBoer said he doesn't anticipate the level of hatred that prevailed in the Eastern Conference finals against the Rangers.



"I don't think so. You're playing for the Stanley Cup," DeBoer said today. "If the compete level isn't at the highest point it's ever been during your career or during the season, then there's a problem. I don't think that's an issue.



"I would doubt you're going to see any fighting. I think both teams' discipline is at a premium. We're both good five-on-five teams. I don't think either of us wants to get into a specialty team game. You're not going to see any of that stuff.



"But that doesn't mean that it's not a war at ice level for ice and puck battles and space. As you saw by the head count the other night, it was 70-something huts, which is a high, high number."



Devils winger David Clarkson doesn't expect to fight.

"Everybody has that same goal you always dreamed of as a kid," Clarkson said. "There's always that—I don't like to use the word hatred—but you don't want to let that person take anything away from you. We definitely have that in here."



DeBoer said his players' intensity has been high for weeks.



"I think we've had to red line our game really from Game 7 against Florida through the Philadelphia series and through the Rangers series," DeBoer said. "I'm not sure there's another level of emotion or compete in our group. It's just consistently bringing that to the rink every night.



"If we hadn't red lined our compete level through those other series, we wouldn't have survived them."



Clarkson spoke about what to expect in Game 2.



"I'm sure you'll see a bit of a different game. I don't know about scrums. Nobody wants to take penalties, but we're going to come out and hopefully play a little better game," he said. "We're going to get on the forecheck more and get around the net, do the things that got us here today."

Rich Chere: rchere@starledger.com; twitter.com/Ledger_NJDevils