The road trip down south started off on the wrong foot for the New Jersey Devils (24-19-3). With fresh legs the Devils could not take advantage of a Carolina Hurricanes team that played the night before. However, it was a closer contest with the Devils falling short, 3-2. 

The Hurricanes stormed out to an early lead and even saw the Devils make a goalie change in the second period. The Devils found a way to get back into the game but it was too late. This game was an important two points and the New Jersey fell short. 

Game Recap

First Period

The storm surged early and the Hurricanes got the crowd into it early on. 90 seconds into the opening frame, Teuvo Teravainen threaded a beautiful cross-ice pass to Sebastian Aho who ripped a backhanded shot top shelf to make it 1-0. Both teams would continue to trade chances the rest of the way but the score remained the same when the period ended. 

This period was closely contested, as the Devils held the edge in shot attempts 16-13. Shots on goal were even at nine but the Devils had the edge in high-danger attempts (5-2), scoring chances (11-4), and expected goals (1.4-0.5). Being down by one stung but the effort was there. 

Second Period

Carolina came in harder and this time two goals were scored by the Hurricanes. Carolina showed how good their third-ranked power play can be and extended the lead because of it. After Aho won the faceoff, Michael Bunting took the loose puck and fed a pass to Teravainen. Tervainen fired a one-timed blast that beat Nico Daws cleanly.

The bleeding would continue and in under 30 seconds, Brady Skjei got on the board. After obtaining the loose puck along the boards, Seth Jarvis fed a cross ice pass to Skjei who got one through traffic to make it 3-0. Daws’ night would be over and Vitek Vanecek would see the crease. The horn would sound and the Devils would be down 3-0. 

Much like the scoreboard, the second period was all Hurricanes. They dominated the Devils and finished with a 65.52% Corsi-for percentage (CF%). They held a slight edge in expected goals (0.48-0.32) and held the edge in shots on goal and scoring chances. Special teams was a factor, which helped further extend the lead. 

Third Period

The Devils pushed back and tallied a couple goals as a result. Justin Dowling scored his first goal as a Devil, as he punched home a great pass by Alexander Holtz. The Devils would continue to pepper Antti Raanta with shots and one more made its way through. It was too little too late but Jesper Bratt helped cut the deficit to one. As the horn sounded, the Devils suffered a 3-2 defeat. 

The Hurricanes went into lockdown mode in the third period, doing what good teams do and defend the lead. New Jersey controlled possession 78.95% of the period and outshot the Hurricanes 8-2 at five-on-five. It was a great offensive period for the Devils, as they generated 11 scoring chances and 1.9 expected goals. Despite the loss, it’s a great way to build confidence heading into the next game.

Game Notes

• Despite the loss, the Devils did a good job and outplayed the Hurricanes. At five-on-five, the Devils controlled 75.76% of the expected goal share. Furthermore, they had more scoring chances (25-9), high-danger attempts (15-4), and had the edge in CF% at 53.25. The team did good things offensively but got stoned by the stellar play of Antti Raanta. Raanta finished the game with 1.81 goals saved above expected. 

• The Devils defense is depleted but as a unit they did a good job suppressing the Hurricanes chances. The Devils mainly kept everything to the perimeter and allowed just five high-danger shots on goal. Carolina did capitalize on the area for two goals but to allow just four high-danger attempts and five shots on net in a strong testament defensively. 

• The goaltending plagued the Devils in this game. Nico Daws had a rough night for the team. He finished the night with -2.2 goals saved above expected and allowed three goals on 12 shots. Given how tight the team was playing defensively and not seeing Carolina generate a lot of quality chances, Daws not being sharp plagued the team. 

What’s Next?

The Devils wrap up the road trip with a game against the Lightning Saturday night..

All Statistics via Natural Stat Trick.