The Carolina Hurricanes hold a 1-0 series lead over the New Jersey Devils and prepare to make it 2-0 Tuesday night.

Before Game 2, Jaccob Slavin met with the media in Raleigh to discuss the series. Here's what he had to say:

Jaccob Slavin

On the series: Anytime you get into a Game 1, the first round, first game, I feel like the energy is buzzing and I don't think Game 2 is going to be any different. This is the best time of year and we all love playing playoff hockey, so both sides are going to be out there trying hard and doing whatever it takes to win.

On playing against Brett Pesce: He's an unbelievable player. I tried to rim a puck around last game and he knocked it down. So you just know he's capable of doing that kind of stuff. It's fun to play against him because you know he's going to be out there competing as hard as he can, but at the same time, you're friends after the series is over, but during it, we all want the same thing. We all want to win. We're going to do whatever it takes on our end and he's going to do whatever it takes on his end.

On the kind of player Pesce was: As a teammate, he was awesome. We came into the league in the same year together and had been together for nine seasons. He's willing to do whatever it takes, put his body on the line, block shots, that kind of stuff. As a friend, just an awesome guy off the ice. Definitely have a good friendship with him there.

On if the weird schedule throws off any of his routine: It's not too different. It's not too bad. We play 7 o'clock, we play 5 o'clock, so we're kind of used to it. Just everything on the timeline just gets moved up an hour. It's not too bad.

On playing on Easter Sunday: That was a weird one. It was still a 3 o'clock game. Those are probably my least favorite games, the 3 o'clock ones, but it was okay. I mean, it was fun playing on Easter Sunday. I knew at the end of the day, whether we won or lost, Jesus was still victorious that day. But it was a fun day to play on.

On the value of experience in the playoffs: It's important. Just understanding the grind that it takes and the mentality that you have to have to play those types of games. Obviously the physicality gets notched up a little bit and so just expecting that and knowing what to expect there is huge, but then, just over the course of a series, how that plays into it. We have a lot of guys on our team who have been in the playoffs, have won the Cup, so it's good to have that sort of veteran leadership in that regard.

On defending against Jesper Bratt: It's hard to slow him down. He's a fast player, but you just try to take away time and space just like any of the other high-skill, high-pace players in the league. You can't give them room to make plays. As a D-core and as an individual, I have to be able to match his speed and be able to take away that time and space and anticipate where he wants to go.

On the defensive gameplan: I think we just try to keep the hammer down. We don't really change much, we just emphasize more and more what we do as a D-core. Making sure we're tight, making sure in the neutral zone, there's tight gaps, making sure our reads, whether we're pinching in the o-zone or whatnot, making sure those reads are correct. A lot of time in the regular season, you can get hosed if you have a bad pinch. In the playoffs, you just can't have those reads so just making sure, mentally, we're all there, locked in. Just have to emphasize how we play as a D-core even more.

On his impression of Alexander Nikishin: I've only seen him in practice, but he's big, he's fast, he's strong, he's got a really hard shot. All the hype about him. Obviously haven't seen him play yet, but I think it's all there. Excited to eventually see him in a game.

On what he expects to see from the Devils tonight: They're going to be better. We're not going to change anything that we do though. We just have to keep playing our game and worry about us. They're going to make their adjustments and we know they're going to come with a strong game, so we just have to be ready for it.

Be sure to check out the Carolina Hurricanes 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Hub for all postseason stories!  

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