Notes and Quotes from the Hurricanes’ 3-1 Loss to the New Jersey Devils

From the Coach

Bill Peters:

They did a good job checking. They didn’t give up anything, you know, nothing for free. They were above the puck.

Didn’t generate much 5-on-5. Last game we ended up in a similar score. I think we got one Aho on a line change off the bench. Tonight we got one Aho, stayed with it on a re-direction and then off the end boards... but other than that, there’s not a lot of guys generating consistently 5-on-5. We need some guys to get back on the score sheet.

They’re usually close games, and tonight was no different. I didn’t love our game. I didn’t think we exactly played fast. We try to play with a little more pace than that.

I think there’s some reality. I don’t think too many guys in the room are happy about the way we played as a team. You know, we can’t like that and expect results, so that’s the biggest thing. There’s reality there. It’s not like we’re sitting there thinking we played well and deserved a better fate.

Just in general, we played slow. That’s not how we play when we play well... you could tell we were content to play a slow game.

From the Locker Room

Jordan Staal:

We turned over quite a few trying to make plays in front of them. We didn’t execute as well as we’d like to in the neutral zone.

We were really flat all throughout the lineup, I thought, including myself... We didn’t generate enough. We didn’t have an extra gear... to get through that neutral zone and really hold onto the puck and play in their end and do all the things we do well to win games. Tonight, there wasn’t a whole lot of that.

They play well against us. They’ve done some good things, but I think tonight, maybe not the other games, but tonight was more on us and more the way we played and didn’t execute and play well.

They obviously did a great job of clogging up the neutral zone and making it difficult for us to get to a forecheck on the D and wear them down.

Jeff Skinner:

A couple chances on the PP in the first, I think we created some good movement. That’s the way the other team plays, they play a defensive style, and we’ve got to find a way to break through that and create offense and we didn’t do enough of that.

We knew coming into tonight that they won the previous two games against us, and we wanted to have a good response, and we weren’t able to come up with it.

Their goalie made some stops when he needed to, and yeah, gotta keep creating good looks and keep getting on the inside and playing offense from the inside and trying to get pucks to the net, and sooner or later those will go in.

It’s frustrating, but I think we knew it was coming, and you’ve gotta find a way to break through that, I think. It’s their job to protect the lead and our job to go after it and have a good push and get a goal.

Game Notes:

• The Hurricanes saw their 11 game point streak at home come to an end, as they had gone 10-0-1 in those previous 11.
• Carolina’s top-ranked penalty killing unit went 2-for-2 on the night and improved their percentage to 89.0%.
• Teuvo Teravainen extended his career-high point streak to five games with an assist tonight.
• Sebastian Aho extended his point streak to four straight games as he provided Carolina’s lone tally.
• With his assist tonight, defenseman Ron Hainsey is now two assists shy of 200 for his NHL career.
• Carolina fell to 2-7-2 in 11 contests against Metropolitan division opponents, a mark which will certainly need to improve for the team to have any hope of making the playoffs.
• The ‘Canes fell to a peculiar 7-14-3 when outshooting their opponent, as they outshot the Devils by a 30-18 margin tonight. I would not expect that trend to be a very pervasive one.