The Carolina Hurricanes pushed the New Jersey Devils to the brink on Sunday afternoon, besting them in Newark to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Andrei Svechnikov recorded the franchise's second postseason hat trick, setting the tone in a 5-2 victory. With the series back in Raleigh for at least one more game, the Canes hoped to finish the job in front of the Caniacs.
Pyotr Kochetkov made his first start of the series and the third of his postseason career, replacing Frederik Andersen after he left Game 4 following a collision with Timo Meier early in the second period. Jacob Markstrom stood across from him for New Jersey. The Devils played without Luke Hughes, Brendan Dillon, and Jonathan Kovacevic, who've all been hurt throughout the series.
If the script for Sunday's start was perfect for the Hurricanes, Tuesday's start was the stuff of nightmares. New Jersey sped to a massive lead in the first ten minutes, courtesy of a few former Hurricanes. Brett Pesce started it by throwing a puck at the net with Kochetkov down and getting it redirected by Dawson Mercer's hip. Less than two minutes later, he set up Meier to make it 2-0.
The Hurricanes' penalty kill was about the only good thing to happen in the opening 20 minutes, coming up with a kill to stay perfect. Stefan Noesen ruined that the second it ended, redirecting a shot past Kochetkov to stretch the lead to three goals. It was an overall disastrous period for the Canes as the Devils made them pay for their sleepy start.
To call the second period "wild" might be a disservice. The rookie takeover began with Logan Stankoven. Right after a carry-over power play ended, Stankoven squeaked one through Markstrom's pads, and Taylor Hall tapped it home to give the Canes life. Just over two minutes later, Jackson Blake got his first playoff goal with a spinning shot to the blocker. All of a sudden, it was a one-shot game.
The big guns took over from there. Andrei Svechnikov tied the game 99 seconds later with a shot from beyond the dot as Blake screened Markstrom. The Canes scored three times in 3:54 to even the game, notching the fourth-fastest trio of goals in the organization's history. The tie was short-lived after Nico Hischier came off the bench and snapped one past Kochetkov to restore the Devils' lead.
The power play has been red-hot in the series, and they'd draw the group even a second time. Shayne Gostisbehere and Sebastian Aho drew tripping infractions, giving Carolina 55 seconds with a two-man advantage. Aho finished a one-timer from the right dot as Markstrom couldn't find the pass, tying the game at four to get the crowd back into it.
After a whirlwind second period, the scoring came to a halt in the third. The penalty kill stepped up twice to prevent the Devils from pulling ahead again. The Hurricanes carried the play for the final 20 minutes, but Markstrom found his game. He made a pair of unreal stops on Stankoven late in the period to get the game to overtime for the second time in the series.
For the first half of overtime, Jacob Markstrom continued his brilliance from the third. The Hurricanes had an abundance of chances to put the series away, but the Devils' netminder stood on his head. By the time the ice crew came out after the halfway point in the period, the Canes were outshooting the Devils, 12-1.
The only reason the game made it to a fifth period was Markstrom, but not even he could stop Sebastian Aho's bullet on the power play. Dawson Mercer clipped Jesperi Kotkaniemi with his stick, sitting for four minutes. The first half went without much excitement, but the top unit got the job done. Gostisbehere put the puck on a platter for Aho to wire home and end the series in five games.
After the first period, it looked like the tickets to Newark were booked. The Devils bashed the Canes' teeth in during the opening 20 minutes. Pyotr Kochetkov looked jumpy, making life easy for the Devils. Slowly, the Canes started creeping back into it before exploding in the second period. By the time overtime hit, the home team was dominating, earning the series win in the fifth period.
I'll expound upon how the Hurricanes won this series in the coming days, but everything from the second period onward is a microcosm for how they got it done. At the forefront was special teams. The Canes' penalty kill didn't break late in the third period when they took two penalties before the power play got the clincher, finishing the series with six goals on the man advantage.
Big players make big plays in big games. It's a tale as old as time. Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Andrei Svechnikov stepped up to get the job done. Aho scored both power-play goals and added an assist. Jarvis assisted on both of Aho's goals. Svechnikov was the only player who looked invested in the first period, scoring a goal in the second and throwing nine shots at the net.
Up Next: As the first team to clinch a spot in the second round, the Carolina Hurricanes have to play the waiting game. They'll face either the Washington Capitals or the Montreal Canadiens in the next round. Washington holds a 3-1 series lead and has a chance to advance in Game 5 on Wednesday night in D.C. It's anyone's guess when the next series will start, but I'd guess early next week.