SUNRISE, Fla. -- Devils coach Pete DeBoer said there was "friction" in his relationship with Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen, but chalked it up to a Florida team that was not playing well.

Clemmensen, on the other hand, said DeBoer was a "kick in the (butt)" kind of coach and he wasn't the only player on the team whose relationship was strained for the former Panthers' boss.

"There was friction between (DeBoer) and a lot of players at some point. I just think that was his coaching style," Clemmensen told me. "There's the pat on the back type of coach and the kick in the (butt) type of coach. I think he was more of the latter.

"It didn't mean we weren't all pulling in the same direction. Everybody wanted the same thing here and it was frustrating at times. To say the least."

DeBoer said: "When you work the last two years like I did, under the circumstances we were in and how we finished, there was friction with everybody," DeBoer said. "That's the bottom line. You miss the playoffs two years in a row, I think I said it at the time: If guys are walking out after two years like that saying what a great job you're doing, there is something wrong.

"We pushed people maybe beyond what they were capable of doing. And there was friction there. But I don't think you go through a situation like we went through for two years without friction with everybody. It's not personal. That's just the spot we were in."

Panthers coach Kevin Dineen would not reveal whether Clemmensen or Jose Theodore would start in Game 1 against the Devils Friday night at the BankAtlantic Center but it appeared it would be Theodore.

"I'll give it a few more hours and have a gut check," Dineen said in his press conference.

DeBoer walked in for his press conference and joked: "Last time I was in this room I was getting fired."

He laughed. "It's a little nicer feeling, that's for sure."

DeBoer said defenseman Adam Larsson would not play in Game 1. Peter Harrold will play.

The Devils held an optional morning skate. Only left winger Petr Sykora did not participate.

Clemmensen spoke further about DeBoer.

"Well, he was very detail-oriented. Everything got nipped in the bud," the goalie said. "Everything was very strategic and very detail-oriented. He was a very high energy type of coach. That was kind of indicative of our team."

And Clemmensen probably got on his bad side by speaking out publicly about the way the team played.

"I don't know. I don't have a lot of games played in this league, but I feel I've been around for a while," Clemmensen told me. "You're not going to see eye to eye on everything.That goes with any coach you have. There are going to be rough spots every season. I don't believe I'm any more important or less important than anyone else. I don't know how much input he took from players, including myself. There were other outspoken guys on this team as well. I'm certainly not the only one to go through it or be yelled at or to speak up. It doesn't mean I'm right or wrong, either, or whether he was right or wrong."

Clemmensen felt he should have been playing more than he was under DeBoer.

"I was primarily used in a backup role," the goalie said. "When I got a chance to play I tried to make the best of my opportunities. Other than that, I think (DeBoer) had bigger things to worry about than to worry about me.

"I don't say that in a negative way. I say it matter-of-factly. I believe we both wanted the same thing. No matter if we agreed or disagreed, I don't think that was important. I'm one of 20-plus guys on the team. I'm not going to stand here and say I'm more important or less important than anyone else. He's got manager all 23, 24 players. Myself included. It's a coaching style he had and it fits with other coaches I've had in the past. You're a professional, you work with it and you play the hand that you are dealt."

Clemmensen also called it a tough period for the Panthers.

"Last year at the trade deadline it was a very difficult time for everyone. Players and staff alike because of the activity we had and the direction the team was going," Clemmensen recalled. "It was very difficult to go through that. The guys that were here the entire season last year, to end the season the way it ended, wasn't easy.

"Going into the offseason was a time of uncertainty and a time of rebuilding. Uncertainty for a lot of people. And rebuilding as far as (GM) Dale Tallon was concerned started at the trade deadline. We all understand-- coaching staff, players, trainers-- that job security isn't a luxury we have in this business."

Clemmensen said he believes he will play in this series and he's been looking forward to it since the regular season neared its end.

"Anytime you play in the playoffs it's going to be tough. It doesn't matter who you play," he said. "Different teams present different problems. There are key players you have to focus in on and really worry about. There are goaltending differences. Everybody has good goaltending.

"I don't think who you are playing is as important as how you are playing. In order to keep up with the Devils, and everyone else in the playoffs, we're going to have to keep on top of our game. Obviously the matchup has been setting itself up for a good month. It worked out that way. That's kind of who we've been expecting to see."

* * *

DeBoer on his first playoffs: "It's exciting. It's not just the run. The whole season has been exciting. The slow build we had as a group to get to this point and how we played the last 20-25 games of the season. It's been a good year and now you throw all that out. Obviously playoff success is what matters. I like how we got here and I hope that translates."

He spoke of Ilya Kovalchuk, who will appear in his 10th postsaeson game.

"When you spend any time around Kovy, a lot of it is situational. On a different team he could have multiple Stanley Cups with the way he plays. He's a team guy. That's the situational part of the game. I think he's in the right spot, the right environment and he really believes this is his time to make some noise.

"I can't say enough about his buy-in or what he did this year for us. I know he's excited."

Kovalchuk has had a lot of success against the Panthers over the years.

"I was behind the bench for some of those successful nights he had against us here," DeBoer said. "He's a world class player and a game-breaker, one of those guys you want on your side. He wants to be on the ice at key times to make a difference."

More on Kovy: "He bought in right away. I think it took us the first half of the season to really play seamlessly system-wise. Some new stuff for guys when I came in compared to what Jacques (Lemaire) was doing. Not major tweaks, but minor tweak. I think it took us half the season to get up and down the ice as a five-man unit and work through that seamlessly. Once we did I thought we played some great hockey in the second half of the season."

* * *

Clemmensen was asked if he knows Devils' secrets.

"Secrets? No. I know some tendencies of some players," he said. "Other than that, it's take it as it comes. I don't have to explain to Theo that Zach Parise is a great player. I don't have to tell the penalty-killers that Kovalchuk has a good one-timer from the side. But, yes, there are some little things to try to tell people. Maybe that's a little bit of a benefit in playing a former team."

He said this feels like his first Stanley Cup playoff series.

"This isn't my first playoff series, obviously, having been with the Devils for two three playoffs, I think," Clemmensen said. "But I pretty much knew I wasn't going to play unless something bad happened. So I think this is a unique playoff for me in the fact there is a very real possibility I'll get playing time. It might not require an injury. So for me it feels a little bit like my first playoff serie even though I have some experience before in the playoff atmosphere.

"Hoping that type of attitude works well for me. I'm going to be more ready and more prepared this year because I fully expect to get that possibility of playing."

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