The New Jersey Devils were trounced 6-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4. Carolina has now taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with the series shifting back to Raleigh for Game 5, where the Devils will face elimination.
Game Summary
First Period
Despite the ugly scoreline, it was a great start for the Devils. Just a minute into the game, the “BMW” line hemmed in the Jordan Staal line and applied pressure on the cycle. Ultimately, they went for a change and as the Jack Hughes line came over the boards, a tired Brett Pesce turned the puck over in the slot to Timo Meier.
Meier threw one on net that Hughes deflected home, making it 1-0 Devils just two minutes in.
The Devils continued to control play early, having the better of the chances, but Frederik Andersen continued to fight off pucks. Carolina’s best chance came off a Jack Hughes turnover, but Vitek Vanecek made a nice double save to deny Jordan Staal.
However, play shifted in the Hurricanes’ favor midway through the first period, and it was Carolina that began to apply the pressure.
Eventually, that pressure paid off. Michael McLeod couldn’t get a puck in deep and Luke Hughes was caught out going for a change. Jordan Martinook led a two-on-one the other way. His saucer pass to Martin Necas was deflected out of the air by Damon Severson, but ended up right on Necas’ tape anyway, and the Czech forward made no mistake. Necas beat Vanecek over the blocker to tie the game at one with two minutes to play in the period.
In the first, shots were 9-8 Carolina. At five-on-five, the Devils posted a 48.39 Corsi-For percentage (CF%) and a 35.57 expected Goals-For percentage (xGF%).
Second Period
Carolina began the second frame with 57 seconds of power play time, but the Devils killed it off. However, it was still all Carolina when the game returned to five-on-five.
The Hurricanes continued to chip the puck in, constantly repelling the Devils in the neutral zone. Seven minutes into the period, Carolina found a breakthrough.
A Devils’ giveaway led to an odd-man rush for the Hurricanes. Brett Pesce tried to slide a pass to Martin Necas, but it was deflected by Jonas Siegenthaler, once again right to the stick of Necas who ripped one right under the bar. It was 2-1 Hurricanes and déjà vu for the Devils.
After that, the wheels fell off for New Jersey. Just two-and-a-half minutes after Necas’ second goal, Brett Pesce made it 3-1. The Tarrytown, New York native found open ice in the slot after a successful Carolina cycle play, received the puck, and went post and in on Vanecek.
Then, a minute after that, Carolina began to lean on the Devils again. A point shot hit traffic in front, but Jesper Fast found the loose puck and made it 4-1 Carolina. Head coach Lindy Ruff called his timeout after that, but opted to stay with Vitek Vanecek in net.
The timeout did not change much, though. A minute later, a Brent Burns one-time blast from the top of the circle shot beat Vanecek five-hole, making it 5-1. That was it for Vanecek who was relieved by Akira Schmid. Those four goals by Carolina came in 5:20, the quickest four goals in their franchise playoff history, per ESPN’s telecast.
The Devils righted the ship a little bit after the goalie change, but didn’t create any chances of note. Then, with a minute to go, Jordan Martinook broke down the near-side boards and rifled a shot past Schmid short-side. It was 6-1 Hurricanes after two.
In the second, shots were 10-9 Hurricanes. However, Carolina limited New Jersey to just a 42.31 CF% and a 33.49 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
The third period was very uneventful with Carolina protecting a five-goal lead.
The Devils had an early power play chance, but couldn’t create much after already failing to convert a chance in the second period. Erik Haula took a hooking penalty to prevent an odd-man rush the other way, and it went to four-on-four.
After the Devils killed off the remainder of Haula’s penalty, it was back to five-on-five for the rest of the night, but the Devils created very little. Carolina had the best chance the rest of the way when Stefan Noesen hit the post from a sharp angle in the waning minutes.
Mercifully, the final horn sounded with Carolina securing a dominant 6-1 win.
In the third period, Carolina outshot New Jersey 10-5. The Devils had a 34.78 CF% and a 40.53 xGF% at five-on-five.
Wrap-Up
It was a quiet night for New Jersey offensively. Jack Hughes scored the lone goal with Timo Meier picking up the only assist.
Vitek Vanecek took the loss, allowing five goals on 17 shots. He allowed a brutal 2.86 goals above expected (-2.86 GSAx). In relief, Akira Schmid stopped nine of 10 shots faced, allowing 0.25 goals above expected.
In net, Frederik Andersen was back to his one goal against ways after the Game 3 loss. He stopped 21 of 22 shots, saving 0.47 goals above expected in the win. He has now allowed exactly one goal in four of his five starts this postseason.
For the game, shots were 29-22 Carolina with the Devils posting a 42.50 CF% and a 35.75 xGF% at five-on-five.
Game Notes
Tough Night For Luke Hughes
After an impressive playoff debut in Game 3, things didn’t go as smoothly for Luke Hughes in Game Four. The 19-year-old blueliner had just a 22.83 xGF% at five-on-five. Carolina had a 6-2 edge in scoring chances and 2-0 edge in high-danger scoring chances with Hughes on the ice. He also was on the ice for four of the Carolina goals.
While Hughes’ struggles were disappointing, he was certainly not alone. The bigger concern for New Jersey is that Hughes’ 22.83 xGF% was only the eighth-worst among Devils skaters and fourth-worst among the seven Devils’ defenders. In a game where Carolina completely dominated the entirety of the Devils’ team at five-on-five, the young, inexperienced Hughes was picked on in key moments in Game Four.
Jack Hughes’ Line Struggles
It was a tough night for both Hughes brothers. Although Jack Hughes scored the opening goal, it was a difficult night for the 21-year-old phenom. The line of Dawson Mercer, Jack Hughes, and Timo Meier had a brutal 19.47 xGF% in over eight minutes together at five-on-five. Scoring chances were 12-4 Carolina and high-danger chances were 8-2 Carolina with that line on the ice.
That is not a performance that the Devils can survive from arguably their top line, especially when the goaltending continues to be leaky. When Carolina can force Jack Hughes to defend shift after shift, the Devils lack offensive punch. With the Hurricanes coming in waves with no real counterpunch, the end result is what we saw in Game Four.
Poor Goaltending Yet Again
As mentioned above, the Devils’ goaltending was poor yet again. Vitek Vanecek got the start and allowed 2.86 goals above expected. Even in the Game 3 win, Vanecek allowed 1.1 goals above expected. For the postseason as a whole, Vanecek has a paltry .825 save percentage with a -8.33 GSAx.
This is not just a Vanecek issue, either. Akira Schmid started Games 1 and 2 and allowed 1.19 and 0.55 goals above expected, respectively. For those keeping track at home, the Devils’ starting goalie has allowed more goals than expected in all four contests. Simply put, that isn’t good enough, regardless of how bad the play has been from the skaters in front of them.
Even going back to the first round, the Devils allowed more goals than expected in the three Rangers wins, although the goaltending showed up huge behind Akira Schmid in the four New Jersey wins.
That isn’t overly remarkable given that when goalies play well, a team is far more likely to win than when the goaltender falters. However, stopping more goals than expected in just four of 11 playoff goals is not good enough.
What’s Next?
The Devils face elimination in Game 5 in Raleigh. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick