Jersey always a trap;Campbell, B's ready for crush
WILMINGTON - Bruins center Gregory Campbell has immersed himself in the stifling methodology of the Devils and now must implement the strategies learned in practice when the Bruins face them in their North American opener tonight at 7 in Newark, N.J.
''You need quick puck movement, and it's about not letting them set up,'' Campbell said of New Jersey's effective neutral zone trap. ''If you drag the puck back into your own end and need to make a couple of passes, you play right into their hands.
''What the coaching staff has stressed is once you get that puck, you want a quick up to the wingers, and the quick transition is part of our game. When we use our speed, it doesn't allow them to do what they want to do.''
First coming to prominence during their 1995 Stanley Cup run under coach Jacques Lemaire, the Devils' insidious trapping schemes remained under subsequent bench monitors, including Bruins coaches Robbie Ftorek, Pat Burns and Claude Julien. (Current Devils coach John MacLean played in New Jersey for almost all of Lemaire's five-season tenure.)
Campbell saw plenty of it as well during his five-plus seasons with the Florida Panthers. His role with the B's, to whom he was traded with Nathan Horton in exchange for Dennis Wideman and draft picks on June 22, is to center their checking line with the annoying Brad Marchand and the rugged Shawn Thornton on the wings.
Depending on how Julien and MacLean match up things, Campbell's line could draw the line of Ilya Kovalchuk, Travis Zajac and Zach Parise. Those three skaters have a combined seven points in the four games prior to New Jersey's home meeting last night with the Colorado Avalanche.
''Everybody brings something different to the table,'' Campbell said. ''We've been told not to just go out there and be safe and be careful, we have to create that trust with the coaching staff that they can put us out there against any line at any time in the game.
''Our goal is to go out there and play with the puck and create that energy by being physical, that's certainly part of our game. There are certain things we have to do. We always have to get the puck deep instead of trying to make plays at the lines.''
Even if Campbell and his mates break the trap, control the corners and cycle the puck, the Devils have formidable goalie Martin Brodeur at the back end. The future Hall of Famer has struggled early, though, taking a 1-2-1 record and a 2.99 goals-against average into last night.
''Obviously there is not much you can say about him that people don't know,'' Campbell said. ''The thing with him is you have to get a lot of pucks on net, especially from different angles because the puck can get lost in his feet.
''With Hall of Fame goalies, you have to have traffic in front of the net, because if he sees the puck, he'll stop it.''
- rthompson@bostonherald.com
