The New Jersey Devils came alive in Game Three against the Carolina Hurricanes. Hope you like goals. This game had goals. (Note: I’m covering the Devils this postseason, which apparently sucks for the first two games of each series?)
The first goal of the game was Timo Meier’s first point of the playoffs, a stuff made possible by Jack Hughes. It was Hughes himself who scored the second goal at the end of a nasty passing sequence with Brendan Smith. Michael McLeod’s shorthanded goal made it 3-0 after one period.
In the second period, Nico Hischier worked in the paint to chase Carolina goalie Freddy Andersen, but Sebastian Aho engaged his cloaking device to score moments later, making it 4-1. Damon Severson kept piling it on with a wristshot from the faceoff. Jordan Martinook converted a penalty shot before the period was up.
In the third, Miles Wood finished off a strong shift with a goal, then Jack Hughes scored again — between the legs of relief goalie Pyotr Kochetkov. Jordan Staal scored a shorthanded goal to make it 7-3, then Seth Jarvis scored another, separate shorthanded goal 50 seconds later. It was at this point I started to black out from all the goals, but I believe Ondrej Palat scored after that.
Devils win! Canes still lead the series 2-1.
- Frederik Andersen allowed four goals on 12 shots, which makes it seem like he was The Problem for the Canes. He was merely one problem among many. The big one was that the Devils stopped letting the Hurricanes’ forecheck dictate play.
- Kochetkov
- In his ninth game of the postseason, Timo Meier finally got on the scoreboard. Meier was the prize of the trade deadline, earning four player and three draft picks in return for his services. He’s been targeted all playoffs, even before the Trouba controversy, and had been unable to produce… anything. Sometimes you just need a Hughes to serve you the puck in the paint.
- Speaking of: Luke Hughes entered the lineup, and he was a revelation. Hughes was exactly what the Devils needed on the back end, allowing the Devils to get on attack more reliably. Luke combined with brother Jack to assist Severson on his goal in the second period. Has there been a brothers assist combo since the Sedins?
Luke keepin' plays alive like a DAWG. pic.twitter.com/y7rTvAmKid
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) May 7, 2023
- But Luke wasn’t flawless. During a second-period power play, he gave the puck away along the attacking blue line, setting up a shorthanded chance that led to a converted penalty shot. That one will haunt him.
- The Devils say that Luke Hughes is the first Devils player to earn a point in his first postseason game since April 2023, when Jack Hughes did it.
- I don’t know if Martinook deserved that penalty shot by the way. It looked like a clean stick-lift to me.
- Four shorthanded goals, three for Carolina if you count the Martinook penalty shot, which I do. The Hurricanes seemed ready for every lateral pass along the blue line.
- Feels like maybe Erik Haula lost this fight, right?
- Vitek Vanecek got his first start since early in the first round, and he did… not great despite a light workload. I don’t think anyone thought Jersey was struggling in net in games one and two, but I’m just happy to see VV get some real playing time again. If I were Lindy Ruff, I’m not sure I’d go with him again in Game Four.
- Feels like maybe Erik Haula lost this fight, right?
Things getting chippy now.. Haula and Noesen going at it 🥊 pic.twitter.com/sjLqpLprPt
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) May 7, 2023
The Devils needed this. They weren’t just beat in Games One and Two, they were dominated. It took them two hours of play to figure out how to read Carolina’s forechecking pressure and what to do about it. In one case, the answer was just “be faster,” which they were.
In any case, this is now a competitive series with actual entertainment value, so I’m amped.
Headline photo: @jared531
