The Carolina Hurricanes proved they were the better team in Game 2 of their second-round series against the New Jersey Devils, scoring four second-period goals en route to a 6-1 domination Friday night, in front of a raucous crowd in Raleigh.
Carolina allowed New Jersey (1-2) little room to skate with their suffocating defense, exploded offensively and enjoyed a stellar goaltending performance from Frederk Andersen. Canes winger Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored consecutive goals two minutes apart, Jordan Martinook added a goal and an assist, Stefan Noesen and captain Jordan Staal added tallies, while eight different players dished out assists.
Carolina also chased Devils starting goalie Akira Schmid from net for the second-consecutive contest. The Canes scored seven goals against Schmid in two games – he allowed that same total in New Jersey’s first-round series against the New York Rangers.
In short, the Carolina Hurricanes looked like a serious Stanley Cup contender in Game 2.
They looked far from that on Sunday afternoon in Newark.
The Devils scored the game’s first four goals, including one on a Canes power play, then continued to overpower Carolina in an 8-4 mauling.
One of the greatest differences, if not the difference-maker proved to be goaltending.
While New Jersey goalie Vitek Vanacek didn’t exactly turn heads, he proved strong enough for the victory by saving 26 of 30 shots. The Canes helped him out by hitting the post with a couple of first-period chances, but Vanacek nonetheless played a solid game.
Andersen, who enjoyed a 3-0 start to the postseason, looked lost on Sunday.
He ended up being pulled for promising young goalie Pyotr Kochetkov, early in the second period, after allowing four goals on just 12 shots,
The first goal Andersen allowed came on a solid chance from the side of the net. New Jersey star Jack Hughes battled for the puck with Carolina defenseman Brett Pesce, passed the puck to Timo Meier, who then poked it through Andersen’s legs to give the hosts a 1-0 lead just six minutes in.
Five minutes later, the Devils beat the Canes on an uncharacteristic defensive mishap.
New Jersey earned a 2-on-1 chance after sending a long pass along the boards. Hughes took a pass into the Carolina zone, dropped it back for former Cane Brendan Smith, who then found Hughes for a one-timer that beat Andersen glove-side.
Goal three from the Devils came via the shorthanded variety.
Michael McLeod made a couple beautiful moves during the sequence – first to push the puck out of New Jersey’s zone against Brent Burns, then to turn on the jets and skate past Seth Jarvis. McLeod kept the puck at his stick and pushed a shot through Andersen’s pads – 3-0 Devils.
Andersen’s night was done just a minute into the third period.
New Jersey skated behind the Canes’ net and tried a wraparound goal. After missing their initial chance, a diving Jesper Bratt passed the puck across the crease to Hughes, who buried it for a 4-0 advantage.
If there were some positive takeaways from the blowout defeat – Carolina is still up 2-1 in the series and it scored three short-handed goals, including Sebastian Aho’s team-leading fifth. Martinook scored for the second consecutive game, this time on a penalty shot. Jarvis continued to make his case as a top scoring option for the Canes, netting his fourth postseason goal on a breakaway shorthanded chance in the third period, closing the deficit to 7-4.
There’s no telling what Carolina will do in net for Game 4 Tuesday, but they have three solid options.
Andersen entered the game leading all playoff netminders with a 0.97 goals against average and .963 save percentage. Antti Raanta won three games in the Canes’ first round series against the New York Islanders. Kochetkov, who saved 17 of 21 shots in the Game 3 loss, has playoff experience dating back to last season.
Don’t panic – there’s still plenty of hockey left to be played in this series. Carolina’s going to go back to the drawing board, get in a couple solid practices and come back with a stronger effort on Tuesday.
Follow us on Social media for the latest news on the Carolina Hurricanes
Facebook: SportsCarolina Monthly
Twitter: SportsCarolina Monthly and Aidan Jensen
