The Carolina Hurricanes returned from the Christmas break on Friday night in New Jersey, trying to return to their game from the beginning of the season. They entered the holiday by failing to build from their win in New York by losing 5-2 to the Nashville Predators on Monday night. The Canes fell behind 4-0 and tried to climb out, but couldn't get all the way back into it.
With the Hurricanes and the Devils set to meet for a weekend home-and-home, both sent their starting goalies into battle on Friday. Pyotr Kochetkov was phenomenal in his last start before the break, recording two assists against the Rangers on Sunday. Jacob Markstrom entered the game after back-to-back shutouts before Christmas, needing to make just 12 stops in each win.
Against a team that hasn't been giving up many shots lately, the Hurricanes started well. They were throwing shots from every angle at Markstrom to find some daylight. Midway through the opening frame, the Canes would break the ice. Jackson Blake tipped Brent Burns' shot from the point. It looked like Markstrom had stopped it, but the puck squeaked through. Eric Robinson jumped on it and put it into the net. The assist snapped an 11-game drought for Blake as the fourth line got off to a strong start.
Everything disintegrated at the end of the period. With 3:48 left, Ondrej Palat redirected a point shot past Kochetkov to tie the game. Less than a minute later, Luke Hughes sent Stefan Noesen and Nico Hischier on a 2-on-1. The former Hurricane found his captain to put the Devils in front to destroy the Canes' good start. The Canes earned a late power play, but nothing was connecting as the Devils owned a one-goal lead after 20 minutes.
While the power play faltered and was killed to begin the second period, the Canes tied it immediately after Dougie Hamilton left the box. Jack Roslovic placed a pass in the slot for Burns to skate into and snap past Markstrom. The Devils' goalie was going one way as Burns shot against the grain for his third goal of the season and second point of the night.
The Devils didn't allow the tie to last long. The younger Hughes benefitted from the Canes losing sight of a bouncing puck. Brett Pesce's shot was blocked but landed perfectly in the slot for Hughes to snap past Kochetkov to regain the one-goal lead. It felt like whenever the Canes built any semblance of momentum, the Devils were there to squash it.
One sequence perfectly captures the pain of Friday night for the Caniacs. The Devils made it a two-goal game before the halfway point after Jack Hughes' shot was kicked out and Dawson Mercer jumped on the rebound. Immediately after the goal, Sebastian Aho tried to capitalize by skating past a fallen defender and setting up Jack Roslovic for a one-timer. Markstrom got over to rob him, keeping it a 4-2 game.
Over the final 30 minutes, the Hurricanes tried to find anything that could elude Markstrom. The Swede was having none of it. Burns hit the post with Kochetkov on the bench, but that's as close as the Canes would get. For the third time in this season's series, the home team won the game, 4-2. On Friday night, it meant the Devils prevailed.
The two key areas the Canes lost on Friday were offensive-zone capitalization and goaltending. It felt like every high-danger chance the Devils had ended up in the back of the net. Meanwhile, Markstrom was going into full splits and getting the right bounces to prevent the Canes from finding life.
Brent Burns looked like he turned back the clock in New Jersey. He was absolutely buzzing in all three zones. He was ready to shoot all night. On the Canes' second power play late in the second period, it felt like he was firing everything, even if it wasn't hitting the net. Burns was responsible for starting the play that led to his goal, eventually finding a soft spot in the slot.
I also loved the fourth line's game at The Rock, especially Jackson Blake. The rookie had hit the wall that most rookies find at some point during the season, struggling to find the scoresheet. Blake was another player flying around the offensive zone looking for even the slightest bit of space to create something. Rod Brind'Amour showed faith in this group by putting them on the ice with the goalie pulled.
Up Next: The Hurricanes and the Devils will turn around and play in Raleigh on Saturday night, concluding their season series before the end of the calendar year. After ending 2024 in Columbus on New Year's Eve, 2025 begins in Sunrise against the defending champs for the third, and final, meeting of the season.