The New Jersey Devils found life on Friday night, winning in double overtime to beat the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3. The Canes came back from a 2-0 deficit, scoring a pair of power-play goals in the third period to tie it up. However, the Devils dominated overtime, with Simon Nemec beating Frederik Andersen early in the fifth period to pull his team within a game.
Despite claiming there wouldn't be any changes, Rod Brind'Amour swapped Jack Roslovic for Mark Jankowski, marking the Hurricanes' first lineup change in this series. Frederik Andersen and Jacob Markstrom battled in the nets for the fourth game in a row. Luke Hughes and Brendan Dillon missed their third games. The Devils also played without Jonathan Kovacevic on defense.
It's hard to imagine the Canes could've drawn up a better start than they got on Sunday. Less than a minute in, Andrei Svechnikov spun and fired a shot under Markstrom's glove with layers of traffic blocking his vision. It was a seeing-eye shot that probably didn't have any business going into the net, but it got the visitors on the board very early.
Jaccob Slavin doubled the lead midway through the period with one of the best individual efforts you'll see. He started the play by knocking down an attempted pass by Stefan Noesen before picking the corner on Markstrom from a tough angle. The Canes nearly gave New Jersey life late in the period with a power play, but they killed it to maintain their two-goal advantage through 20 minutes.
The Hurricanes had a power play carry into the second period, and the man advantage stayed hot. Seth Jarvis' pass broke Svechnikov's stick, but he got just enough of the puck for it to redirect over the line for his second of the game. The Devils got one back shortly after as their captain, Nico Hischier, popped home a loose puck, scoring his third of the series.
A potentially series-altering collision in the net came two minutes later. Timo Meier crashed the net and collided with Andersen. It was hard to diagnose what happened initially, though Andersen's head might've caught Meier's hip. Pyotr Kochetkov came into the game, and, naturally, Meier scored the next goal on a spinning shot that should've been stopped.
The Canes escaped into the intermission with their one-goal lead, but the Devils had their way with them after the goalie change. The third period didn't start much better. After a Canes power play came and went, the Devils pushed for the tying goal. Kochetkov, now acclimated to the game, wasn't letting anything through.
It was going to take something fluky to beat either goalie. Fortunately, the next bounce went the Canes' way. Markstrom's rim attempt made it to Brent Burns at the point. His shot hit Markstrom and trickled through. Whether it was Jordan Martinook's doing or not, the puck crossed the line, giving the Canes a late 4-2 advantage.
It felt like time slowed down for the final few minutes, but the Canes added one more into the empty net to put the Devils away for good. Kudos to Jackson Blake and Sebastian Aho for understanding the assignment, getting Andrei Svechnikov his hat trick with the vacant net. With the crowd heading for the exit, the Canes celebrated a 5-2 victory.
It's a little cliche to say, especially with there being three periods, but this was three games in one. The good news is that the Hurricanes won two of them. The first period might've been the team's best in the series, carrying it into the second with their power-play goal. The Devils won the second period for the first time in the series, but the Canes fought through it to win the third and the game.
Rod Brind'Amour shifted the forward lines, inserting Mark Jankowski into the lineup and moving Andrei Svechnikov to the top line. It's safe to say it worked. The top trio combined for seven points, with Svechnikov's three goals, and Jackson Blake and Sebastian Aho adding two assists each. They were almost the entire offense for the Canes, along with a goal and an assist from Brent Burns.
Obviously, Frederik Andersen's injury is a major talking point following the game. Honestly, I understand Timo Meier not being assessed a penalty, though I don't love it. It seemed like a harmless collision, though its severity remains unclear. After allowing a terrible goal off the bench, Pyotr Kochetkov settled in and looked good the rest of the way, finishing with 14 saves in relief.
Special teams remains a big story in the series, in particular, the Hurricanes dominating the battle against the Devils. The Canes' power play has scored in three of the four games against the league's second-best penalty kill during the regular season. The penalty kill remained perfect with a pair of kills at critical points in the first and second periods.
Game 5: New Jersey's victory on Friday ensured the series would return to Raleigh. With Sunday's victory, the Hurricanes have triggered the first elimination game of the series, making it a must-win for the Devils. Andersen's uncertain status leads me to believe Pyotr Kochetkov will be in the net, but the real intrigue will be on New Jersey's defense, with three defensemen currently injured.