The Carolina Hurricanes are up 2-0 in the series, headed to New Jersey. The Canes will be off Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for the two games up north. The Hurricanes had key performances from goaltender Frederik Anderson, forward Logan Stankoven and forward Jordan Martinook.
Game 1 started quickly as defenseman Jalen Chatfield scored a wrister from the blue line to get the ball rolling. Carolina continued to put pressure on the Devils’ defense in the first, but did not capitalize till the second period when Logan Stankoven leaked one through Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom to make it 2-0 Canes. The Devils fell shorthanded, not long after the second goal, leading to Taylor Hall finding Stankoven with a beautiful pass through the slot, and Stankoven then ripped a shot from the right face-off dot that pinged off the post and in. In less than ten minutes, the Canes were up 3-0. The Canes and Devils had a player in the box due to a scrum that led to two roughing calls. This led to 4-on-4 hockey for the rest of the second period; the Canes left space for Nico Hischier to shoot past the glove of Frederik Andersen to make it 3-1 heading to the third period. The Devils and Canes each had their chances, but Andrei Svechnikov then put the icing on the game with an empty-net goal to make it a 4-1 win for Carolina.
The New Jersey Devils were expected to open the game with more energy and aggressiveness to prevent Carolina from going to New Jersey with a 2-0 series lead. The Devils showed that and went up 1-0 early when forward Jesper Bratt scored between the legs of Frederik Andersen. The Canes then picked up momentum in the second half of the first period but did not score in the first. The Hurricanes did not waste time in the second period when Shayne Gostisbehere ripped a snap shot to tie the game three minutes into the second period. The Canes then went shorthanded less than three minutes after, but that did not seem to matter as Jordan Martinook then ripped a shot that went bardown past Markstrom. The Canes were in a good spot, headed to the third period. In the third period, it was all Frederik Andersen as the Devils could not find an answer to beat him. Andersen has only allowed two goals in the two games so far and has been a key reason for the Canes being up 2-0. Jarvis then got an empty net goal to ice game two, and the Canes were heading to New Jersey undefeated.
While the Canes had individuals who played great, they needed everybody to do their part. The Penalty Kill was phenomenal and did not allow a single power-play goal. While the power-play only had one goal, the PP unit has been creating chances and showing great puck movement. In the playoffs, teams need to have elite goaltending, and Freddie Andersen has been just that. Andersen has a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of .960 through his first two games. With the way Andersen has played, the expectation will be that he starts for game three.
The Devils, on the other hand, now have their backs to the wall heading home. The Canes’ suffocating defense and great goaltending have not allowed the Devils to gain any momentum. As mentioned earlier, the Devils haven’t scored on special teams and have looked sloppy on the penalty kill. New Jersey has also been dealing with injury problems with the Hughes brothers, both injured. Their blue line was not only affected by the loss of Luke Hughes but with the loss of Jonas Siegenthaler. Jacob Markstrom has also been left vulnerable on the upper region of the net, as the majority of the goals for Carolina have been high blocker or high glove. Markstrom sets his arms lower, leaving the upper region available to shoot at, and the Canes have taken advantage of his flaw. The Canes will look to sweep the Devils over the weekend and punch their ticket to the second round.
