It was fan appreciation night in Raleigh but the outcome was not what Caniacs had hoped for as the New Jersey Devils dominated the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-0 on Saturday night in front of 16,073 at the RBC.
The Devils jumped on the home team right away and took a 2-0 lead in the first period. After a scoreless second, Jersey scored again in the third because of the hustle of Zach Parise, then added an empty netter to close the scoring.
Martin Brodeur was not pressured much during the game, but made the saves he needed to make to secure the shutout and add to his all time NHL leading total.
Not surprisingly, the Carolina dressingroom was quiet after the game. The loss, along with the Boston win, means that the Hurricanes have officially been eliminated from post season play.
In the post game press conference, coach Paul Maurice said that his team was "gassed". That is understandable after playing a week on the road, but the Canes had Friday off and did not even have to practice. The Devils lost in overtime in Chicago the night before and had to travel to Raleigh.
If either team should use the excuse of being gassed, it might be the visitors. Yet, New Jersey had the step on the Hurricanes all night long.
The Hurricanes got the first powerplay of the game when Brandon Sutter drew a call while using his newly patented power move to the goal. But the ensuing powerplay was ineffective. The Devils would score on their first powerplay attempt and it went downhill from there for Carolina.
The Canes have now lost 5 of their last 7 at home and have been shutout their last three Saturday home games by the same, 4-0 scores. (Phoenix, Atlanta, New Jersey).
Next on the schedule is a trip to Tampa Bay for a game against the Lightning on Tuesday night.
Game Notes:
- Drayson Bowman had a team high 5 hits. The Canes were given credit for 36 for the game. Bowman is not normally known for being physical, but is trying to earn his way on the team anyway he can. I spoke with him about that and will have another article out soon.
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Jamie McBain and Brandon Sutter led the team with 3 blocked shots each.
- After two slow periods with only 7 shots each period, the Canes mustered up 12 shots near the end for a game total of 26. Eric Staal had a team high 4.
- Carolina only won 39% of their faceoffs. Staal was a team low 6-22 for 21%.