Carolina Hurricanes Get Frustrated, Lacked Effort in Loss to New Jersey Devils

On a night plagued by frustration and lack of effort, the Carolina Hurricanes come out on the wrong side of a 5-1 score.

Scoring Summary

1st Period

NJ Goal (15:17) – Mike Cammalleri (8), assisted by Tyler Kennedy (1)

The Hurricanes got all three forwards caught in the offensive zone, and the Devils were able to break out on an odd-man rush. Good tic-tac-toe passing and a good finish by Cammalleri put New Jersey on the board first.

2nd Period

NJ PP Goal (11:03) – Adam Henrique (12), assisted by Lee Stempniak (14), John Moore (5)

The Carolina Hurricanes were all caught flat-footed on the penalty kill, and Adam Henrique was able to enter the zone and get a short breakaway chance, and he roofed it on the backhand.

NJ Goal (13:10) – Stephen Gionta (1), assisted by Brian O’Neill (2), Adam Larsson (5)

Gionta grabbed a puck out of the air next the Canes goal, and he thew it down and put in a wrap around goal to make it a 3-0 game.

CAR Goal (17:36) – Brad Malone (2), assisted by Jay McClement (5)

Chris Terry won a board battle to Jay McClement, and his pass to Brad Malone in the slot was sniped home with a great release to make it a 3-1 game.

NJ Goal (18:57) – Jacob Josefson (1), assisted by Mike Cammalleri (17)

After a non-call in the New Jersey zone, the Devils broke out and capitalized on a 2-on-1 chance. Josefson shot in short side from the left of Eddie Lack to give the road team a 4-1 lead.

3rd Period

NJ Goal (12:47) – Mike Cammalleri (9), assisted by Patrik Elias (2), John Moore (6)

As the Devils powerplay expired, Cammalleri one-timed one home on a wide open net after some good, quick passing in the offensive zone. The goal made it a 5-1 game.

Three Stars

1st Star – Mike Cammalerri (NJD) – 2 goals, 1 assist, +3, 20:11 TOI

2nd Star – John Moore (NJD) – 2 assists, +2, 3 hits, 20:14 TOI

3rd Star – Brad Malone (CAR) – 1 goal, 4 hits, 5 PIM, 8:06 TOI

Recap

The Carolina Hurricanes set out to end a two-game losing streak on Thursday, but instead, the New Jersey Devils came to Raleigh and embarrassed the Canes by a final score of 5-1.

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Carolina showed frustration and anger in the latter stages of the game. Fights from Brad Malone and Justin Faulk and a big hit followed physical play from Eric Staal made it apparent that the team was not happy with the outcome of the game, but that didn’t change much.

From the first period on, the Hurricanes just didn’t put forth nearly enough effort to win the game. The Devils wanted this game much more than the Canes did, and that’s why they are on the cusp of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

New Jersey was quick and deadly on offense, and they took advantage of the many mistakes made by the Carolina Hurricanes. They played lock down hockey in the neutral zone as well, which made it very difficult for the guys in red to create an sort of consistent offense.

Eddie Lack got his first start since November 23, and other than some impressive saves scattered throughout the game, he certainly didn’t wow anyone with his performance. To his credit, the team playing in front of him was much, much worse.

Ultimately, Thursday’s game came down to horrible defensive mistakes, a lack of effort, and frustration. The Hurricanes were outplayed in every sense of the word in route to their most disappointing game of the season to date.

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The Carolina Hurricanes will wrap up their three-game homestand this weekend, taking on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.