Like a lot of hockey fans, Devils coach Pete DeBoer will be watching Game 7 between the Rangers and Capitals.

But when it's over tonight, he won't just turn off the TV and go to bed. He'll start working.

“Yes. We won’t get together as a staff but my video coaches and I will be in communication as soon as the game ends,” DeBoer said.

“It’s a little tough. We know we’re playing one of two teams. We have full preparation on both those teams. It’s just a matter of that game ending tonight and fine-tuning whichever team comes out of it.”

Finally he will know which team the Devils will meet Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Rangers at Madison Square Garden or the Capitals at the Prudential Center in Newark.

"Both these teams have a different style of play than the first two teams we faced. Not any tougher, I don't think, or easier. I think it's just a different style of play we're dealing with. We've made the appropriate adjustments and preparations for that.



"We know both these teams well. We have a lot of tape on them and we've had a lot of time to prepare. So there's no excuse."

“The guys are excited. It was a good practice. We got through a lot of stuff,” DeBoer said. “Again, it’s managing the six or seven days off and making sure we’re ready for Monday night.”

If it's Washington, it will be Alex Ovechklin and coach Dale Hunter, a longtime nemesis of DeBoer in their junior hockey coaching days.

“Dale coaches like he plays and his team’s play is a reflection of him. That’s been the case wherever he’s been,” DeBoer said.

And Ovechkin?

“He’s a one-of-a-kind player," Zach Parise said. "But I think the Rangers have (Brad) Richards and (Marian) Gaborik both playing very well. Both teams have players you are aware of when they’re on the ice. You have to pay special attention to them.”

Parise now says he will also be watching the game.



"Even if I say I'm not going to watch, I'm sure I will," Parise said.

Goalie Martin Brodeur and DeBoer spoke today about telling young players the opportunity they have getting this far in the playoffs.

"That's something that any guys who have been around the league long enough, coaches and players, try to impart on guys," DeBoer said. "It's hard to get here. You look at the board in our room and you're used to seeing 30 teams up there. Tonight there will be four.



"This is a hard level to get to and a hard stage to get to. You're also close enough to the end that you can almost see it there. You want to make sure you take full advantage of the opportunity."

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Games 1 (Monday, 8 p.m.) and 2 (Wednesday, 8 p.m.) will be broadcast on Bloomberg 1130AM radio.