Spoiler alert: Devils fans were leaving after the second period.
I’m convinced walking my dogs before the game on Sunday brought bad luck to the Canes, so they ran around the backyard instead today. After tonight, there are definitely no walks on game days!
Admittedly, my expectations for this game were low after Sunday, but there’s always going to be one rotten apple in the bunch. Tonight kicked off with a goal from New Jersey forward Jack Hughes, who now has 6 all-time career playoff goals and 88 career ones. Thankfully, Hurricanes forward Martin Necas snagged a goal just before the period ended, giving him his third goal of the 2022-23 playoffs and tying the game at 1-1. A delay of-game penalty from Devils forward Erik Haula gave the Canes a powerplay, which continued into the second period.
New Jersey got another penalty shortly after the start of the second period, this time against forward Timo Meier for interfering with the goaltender, which gave Carolina another powerplay. No one scored on the powerplay, but Necas did when regular gameplay resumed, marking this game as his second multi-goal career playoff game. Back-to-back goals from defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Pesce, along with forward Jesper Fast, added to Carolina’s lead. Burns earned his first goal of the 2022-23 playoffs, and I guess you can say that that scoring streak was fast considering it happened over a span of three minutes. An interference penalty against Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei gave the Devils a powerplay, but that penalty was killed. Just before the second period ended, Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook earned his third goal of the 2022-23 playoffs.
Powerplays for both teams occurred early in the third period. Hurricanes forward Stefan Noesen got a holding penalty around the 16-minute mark and the game went to 4-on-4 hockey thanks to a hooking penalty against Haula. No further powerplays happened and no more goals were scored.
Frederik Andersen stepped up in net for Carolina tonight and now has a 2.03 GAA and .925 save percentage. Overall, I’m pleased with how Carolina played and sometimes you got to find that spark that ignites your drive. The Hurricanes certainly found that spark in the second period.
Until next time fellow Caniacs, what are your playoff superstitions?