The New Jersey Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening period, then held on the rest of the way to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1 in front of 17,890 at the RBC on Saturday night.
Needless to say, the home team did not come out with the same fire and fight that they did the previous night, when they jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the game after watching Rod Brind`Amour's jersey retirement ceremony.
Before the Canes could blink their eyes in this one, the red hot team from Jersey took the lead as Dainius Zubrus tipped in a Mark Fayne shot to make 1-0 just 1:14 into the game.
The Devils went on to draw two penalties and score twice more in the period while the Canes could get little going.
Carolina created a few chances in the second, but Johan Hedberg was equal to the task.
The Canes finally lit the lamp about seven minutes into the third when Patrick Dwyer tipped in a Jamie McBain shot. Jerome Samson made a nice play keeping the puck in the zone and picked up the second assist.
But later in the period, Zubrus would strike again to wrap it up for the Devils, who have now compiled a 15-1-2 record in their last 18 games. They looked unbeatable on this particular night.
Quick Stats and Thoughts:
- After the game, Paul Maurice said that he didn't necessarily think the Canes came out flat, but Jersey is just that good right now. Once they get a lead, they make things that much harder. There is no denying, that is one very confident team at this point in time.
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Troy Bodie dropped the gloves with David Clarkson in the second period and helped to spark the troops a bit. The fourth line was finally rewarded with a goal in the third.
- Once again, Tlusty and Sutter came close to scoring a few times, but could not finish. They should see some results sooner or later from their hard work.
- The powerplay was fruitless once again. The Canes are now 1-for-25 in their last six games. That stat will need to change if the Canes want to remain in a playoff spot.
- Give credit to newcomer Derek Joslin. The youngster took a red-eye flight and arrived in Raleigh at 10 a.m. After a few nervous shifts, he seemed to do well. Maurice was satisfied with the performance and said that he didn't look much different from the rest of the group. He played about 11 minutes, had two hits, and one takeaway.
- Maurice said that Joni Pitkanen would be back on the ice soon. He suffered a minor ailment.
- The Canes were credited with 32 hits led by Chad LaRose who had seven.
- Shots of goal ended up at 25-25, but the Devils led by a 15-8 margin in the first period. Jay Harrison, Jeff Skinner, and Samson led the team with three each. (When defensive minded Jay Harrison leads the team in shots on goal, something ain't right.)
- After tremendous efforts the previous night, Jussi Jokinen and Erik Cole were both minus(-4) in this one.
- The Canes will take Sunday off and will be back to work on Monday when they start to prepare for Tuesday night's match against the New York Rangers.
post game interviews: