The New Jersey Devils lost 5-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon at the Rock. The Devils weren’t sharp early and were thoroughly outplayed for the first 21 minutes of the game, going down 0-3 before finding their legs. Jacob Markstrom didn’t have his best game, and special teams continued to be problematic. The Devils eventually got to their game and were the better team in most of periods two and three, but it was too little, too late, as the team faces elimination heading back to Carolina for game five.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils had a strong first shift, getting pucks through to Frederik Andersen, but the Hurricanes got on the board first at 00:52, with a weak shot from distance by Andrei Svechnikov that Jacob Markstrom never saw through a screen. Brent Burns and Jackson Blake had the assists.
Markstrom made a big save on the following shift, and Simon Nemec continued his strong play with a good stick to break up another scoring chance.
The Devils started to find their footing, and Jonas Siegenthaler had a good opportunity from the circle, but shot into Andersen’s chest.
Carolina had some extended zone time, but the Devils survived to keep their deficit to one.
The Devils were not good with their puck retrievals, and after a turnover by Stefan Noesen near the blue line, the Hurricanes got a second goal at 9:47. Jacob Slavin scored top-shelf from a sharp angle for an unassisted tally.
Dougie Hamilton fired a heavy shot that got through to Andersen, who was a bit slow to get up, but made the save nonetheless.
Cody Glass beat Andersen clean, but the goal was immediately waived off as the whistle simultaneously blew for offside.
The Devils got a power play after Ondrej Palat was hauled down, but couldn’t get on the board.
Timo Meier was tripped during the power play, but it went uncalled, leading to a rush for the Hurricanes.
The Devils went to the penalty kill with 30 seconds left in the period after Hamilton was tagged for interference, and they went into the intermission shorthanded.
New Jersey was outshot 8-4 in the opening 20 minutes.
Period Two
Carolina scored on the power play, just 00:42 seconds in, with a shot toward the net that was redirected by Svechnikov and slowly trickled past Markstrom for his second goal of the game. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho had the assists.
After winning a board battle, the Devils got some life at 2:45 with a goal from the slot by Nico Hischier for his third tally of the series. Palat and Meier had the assists.
Andersen was chased from the net after a collision with Meier, who was spun into the blue paint by Svechnikov. The officials reviewed the play and correctly determined that there was no penalty on the play.
Pyotr Kochetkov took over the net with just under 16 minutes left in the middle frame.
The Devils were sloppy after the goalie change and allowed a few odd-man opportunities for Carolina. Siegenthaler made a few good defensive plays in his second game back from injury, a great sign for the Devils’ blueline.
New Jersey pulled within one off a face-off, when Meier quickly spun and wired a shot past Kochetkov at 7:34, a well-deserved goal for him. The tally was unassisted.
The Hurricanes struggled in their D-zone as the Devils surged, and Carolina was forced to ice the puck. New Jersey had a few whacks at the puck in a scrum at the net front, but couldn’t notch the tying goal.
The Devils had a good look with a shot by Dawson Mercer that was saved, but Carolina was called for a hook on the play, sending the Devils to the power play. New Jersey had some good looks, but fell to 0-12 on the power play in the series.
The Devils had another good look after a forced turnover by Palat, but Hischier couldn’t tip it home while getting hit.
Siegenthaler was tagged for interference, but the Devils killed the penalty to end a streak of three consecutive power-play goals against.
New Jersey outshot Carolina 12-11 in the middle frame.
Period Three
The Devils took a high-sticking penalty in the opening minute of play, but the penalty kill came up huge in a crucial spot.
Jesper Bratt made a strong move to the net front to get a shot on Kochetkov as the Devils pushed for the tying goal. Erik Haula had a slap shot defended, and the Devils had some sustained O-zone time.
Bratt had another drive to the net, but his stick was tied up by a defender.
The Devils were outshooting the Hurricanes 4-3 as they crossed the halfway mark of the final period.
New Jersey had the better of the play, but had a hard time getting dangerous shots on Kochetkov, who hadn’t been challenged nearly enough.
The Devils couldn’t get the puck out of their zone late, and an unlucky bounce put the puck on Burns’ stick and the shot from distance snuck through Markstrom at 14:14. Jordan Martinook shoveled at Markstroms pads, and the Devils took a long look at the goal to determine if there was interference, but they ultimately decided against a challenge. The goal was unassisted.
The Devils pulled Markstrom late, but the Hurricanes hit the empty net to ice the game.
New Jersey was outshot 30-22 in the loss.
Takeaways
Slow Starts
The Devils allowed a goal just 52 seconds into the game. They allowed another goal 42 seconds into the middle frame. They also took a penalty 52 seconds into the third period. The opening minutes of each period were problematic and put New Jersey on its heels right out of the gate.
Having a strong start and getting the first goal is crucial for the Devils. In the regular season, they are well under .500 when they give up the first goal, with a 13-25-4 record, and that did not improve.
New Jersey had to play from behind almost immediately and was chasing the game for the rest of the opening period. Sloppy turnovers, failed zone clearances, and lost board battles handed way too many chances to the Hurricanes. Additionally, Markstrom didn’t have his best game, but did settle in as the game progressed and the team in front of him played better.
Period two began just like period one, with an early goal that put them down by three, which would ultimately be enough to win. The Devils rebounded much better and quickly took over the game, getting two goals to pull within one, but for a team that is starved for offense, the self-inflicted mistakes had already sunk them.
Special Teams
Special teams were supposed to be the advantage for the Devils in this series, but it has been the exact opposite. The Devils are 0-12 on the power play and have allowed a shorthanded goal against. Additionally, Carolina’s power play is not a strong point, but the Devils’ penalty kill has allowed it four goals.
It would be remiss not to acknowledge the major injuries that have undoubtedly hindered the special teams’ performance. To begin the series, the Devils were already without Siegenthaler, their best defensive defenseman. While they got him back in game three, they lost Brenden Dillon and Johnathan Kovacevic in the meantime, leaving the penalty kill units scrambled. At the other end of the ice, they got Hamilton back, but lost Luke Hughes, a key playmaker for the power play.
While the injuries have wreaked havoc, it’s not an excuse to be 0-12 on the man advantage with a -1 goal differential. The power play, in particular, has to be better if the Devils want to stay alive in the series.
Depth
The Devils’ bottom six has been invisible on the score sheet. Hischier is the only player on the team with more than one goal in the series, with three. He is also one of only three players who are tied for the team lead in points, with three each. Meier and Bratt each have a goal and two assists.
The rest of the scoring for the series includes Nemec (1G,1P), Mercer (1G,1P), Palat (2A,2P), Haula (1A,1P), Hamilton (1A,1P) and Pesce (1A,1P).
As the series moves back to Carolina, they need to find more offense. They have only four goal scorers in the series, which makes the job for Carolina’s coaching staff easy. They will have the final change on home ice and can match their best defensive group(s) against Hischier, Bratt, and Meier to further stifle New Jersey’s offense, like they did in games one and two, where the Devils scored two goals total, one in each game.
Like Nemec did in game three, someone outside of Hischier, Bratt, and Meier has to step up and provide any kind of scoring threat to make Carolina’s job harder.
Up Next
The series heads back to Raleigh for game five on Tuesday night, where the task is simple: win or go home.
Looking ahead, the Devils no longer have any margin for error and need to win the next three contests to advance in the postseason, but first, they will need to win a game in Carolina, something they haven’t done this regular season or postseason.
Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on MSGSN, TBS, MAX, and FDSNSO.
ITR 35: Round One – Inside The Rink
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