Evidently, Ray Shero has the room.
In their first game since Shero pleaded that his team compete harder, the New Jersey Devils showed the requisite tough their general manager demanded in a dominant performance over the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday night.
Three line brawls broke out in the first period alone, with the Devils responding to cheap shots in each. And after the teams racked up 80 minutes in penalties, the Devils had limited the Flyers to 16 shots in a 4-0 victory.
"You could tell the emotions, the passion, and commitment were there," Cory Schneider, who earned the shutout, told NHL.com's Mike G. Morreale.
"I think we're just tired of losing, just tired of not winning. That could manifest itself in a lot of ways and (Thursday) it was a positive."
P.A. Parenteau added, "It's nice to get back on track and play some good, hard hockey. There's no reason to believe we can't play like this more often. This was a tough stretch and no one was happy in this locker room."
Leading goal scorer Mike Cammalleri was one of the combatants for New Jersey, his third career fight underscoring the investment put forth, and precisely the response Shero wanted to counteract an opponent looking to bully its way to two points.
"Now it's one win, we haven't accomplished anything by any means. But I think we got the message," Parenteau told Andrew Gross of The Record.
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