"THE FINNISH NEXT ICE HOCKEY POWER"ILKKA PIKKARAINEN

Did Ilkka Pikkarainen get the message when NJ Devils sent him to minors?

December 04, 2009, 11:43AM

Lemaire said Ilkka Pikkarainen is playing with more intensity since returning from Lowell (AHL).There is a noticeable difference in Ilkka Pikkarainen since the Finnish right winger was sent to Lowell (AHL) for conditioning on Nov. 25.

He may have played only one AHL game, but he returned with the edge the Devils expected when they signed him last summer.

"He's more intense. I wish he would've started the season like this. He would've played more," coach Jacques Lemaire said Friday morning. "He's skating. He's better with the puck."

Perhaps it was a wakeup call for the winger who has yet to score a goal in 15 NHL games this season.

"He's not (young). He should've known," Lemaire said. "But maybe when we sent him down, he came back and said, 'I think I like it a little more in the NHL than in the minors. I like the planes more than the bus.' "

Pikkarainen, whose English is still not great, said he hasn't been motivated by fear.

"I don't think that because, if I start thinking too much, I can't play good," he said.

So what changed?

"I don't know if anything changed," Pikkarainen said. "I just try to stay here and be in the lineup."

He will be in the Devils' lineup Friday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Of course I'm happy when I'm playing here," he said. "Of course I want to score. I just need to work hard to get that first one."

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Lemaire was asked about Tampa Bay's fourth line, which can change the complexion of games.

"You do think about it," he said. "When teams have a better fourth line than you do, you try to manage it so you get a little more power on your fourth line," Lemaire noted. "I look at what they have right now and I think we'll be fine tonight.

"Some teams have that, a fourth line with energy. They're on the puck and they're aggressive. A lot of times they put that line on to start a game so they start the best way they can. I tried that last game with our line. It didn't work out. Batteries were low. We didn't have the Energizer."

The Devils started Ilkka Pikkarainen, Rod Pelley and Andrew Peters against the Islanders.

* * *

Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos enters the game with 29 points (17 goals, 12 assists) in 26 games this season.

"He's good," Lemaire commented. "They were wondering if he would start the season like ended last year. That was their worry, because he was playing really well at the end of the season.

"What he did this year is show he's going to be a real player. The games he played against us, he's quick, he's fast, he's got a great release and a touch for scoring goals. He controls the puck well and he has good hcokey sense. He'll be a real one."

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Devils rookie defenseman Matt Corrente has played in five NHL games. He said nothing has caught him by surprise.

"Practicing before games I knew what the intensity would be," Corrente said. "Even the practices are so intense here."

What has he enjoyed the most?

"Just being around this professional atmosphere," he said. "It's the highest level of hockey and it's an honor to be here. Every day is a privilege."