Oh No, Hurricanes Stomp Devils in Game 1

Goaltender Jacob Markstrom stared at the arena ceiling, lying flat on his back. The heavy underdog Devils were in an early deficit, as New Jersey Devils coach Sheldon Keefe hesitated, debating a challenge on the Carolina Hurricanes’ goal just 2:24 into the first period for goaltender interference.

With the fever pitch of the Carolina storm-surge loving crowd rewarded, Keefe chose discretion instead of gambling on a review. Carolina attacked and never let up, riding the storm surge, to a 17-5 first-period shot advantage. The advantage only worsened for the Devils in the second period as Carolina mounted a 36-9 shot advantage deep into the second period. Overall, Carolina outshot the Devils 45-24.

Carolina dominated the Devils, winning Game 1 4-1 at Lenovo Center Sunday. Carolina leads the Round One series 1-0.

Markstrom kept it respectable until the Devils inched back into the game late in the second period. The Devils’ goalie might need an ice tub and a full massage after that bombardment. He stopped 41 of 44 before exiting for the extra attacker.

Carolina goalie Frederick Andersen stopped 21 of 22. Andrei Svechnikov (1) snared the empty-netter at 17:32 of the third to seal the win.

Late in the second period, the Devils finally found some space with a defensive zone exit. Brett Pesce slid the puck to Jesper Bratt at center ice, and Bratt’s cross-ice pass sprung Nico Hischier alone into the Carolina zone. Hischier (1), who had 35 goals in the regular season, ripped a shot off the far post from behind the left dot at 18:51.

The Devils had life. But not even some hop in the third period and a late power play could get them closer. Carolina’s league-best penalty kill smothered the Devils’ power play with five minutes remaining, and that was that.

Carolina forward Logan Stankoven was part of the consolation prize Carolina received on the NHL trade market after Mikko Rantanen spurned a long-term contract, and GM Eric Tulsky flipped the newly acquired Rantanen to Dallas. Stankoven made that trade look even better for Carolina in Game 1 with a pair of goals.

Carolina’s Jordan Martinook capitalized on more heavy pressure behind the Devils’ net to feed Stankoven’s (1) snipe from the slot for a 2-0 lead at 6:37 of the second.

The goal came on Carolina’s 26th shot on goal. The Devils had managed just eight at that time.

On Carolina’s 29th shot, Stankoven scored his second marker with a vicious wrister from the right circle at 13:08 of the second period for a 3-0 Carolina lead.

The shot attempts indicated the heavily tilted ice. By the middle of the second period, Andersen may have felt like the Maytag repairman. The Devils had attempted just one shot from the slot in the first 30 minutes.

Things started poorly for the Devils and never really improved.

Just a couple of minutes into Game 1, Jalen Chatfield (1) scored the first goal of the series at 2:24. Closer replays showed Chatfield’s long-range shot from near the blue line zipped past Markstrom before contact in the crease, thus Keefe did not challenge.

The teams gave the walls a workout. Thundering hits echoed through the barn throughout the first period as neither team missed an opportunity to finish their checks. Carolina led the NHL with more than 70 shot attempts per game, and they lived up to their billing.

The Devils played with just five defensemen for most of the game, but things got worse in the third period. On the same sequence at 8:25, Luke Hughes seemed to suffer a significant upper-body injury as he crashed into the Devils’ net. It was a possible left shoulder or arm injury. He hunched over and got to the bench during the play.

Glass was unlucky. Markstrom intended to slash Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov, but Glass skated between them at the wrong moment and Markstrom accidentally slashed him across the front of the pants, instead of Svechnikov.

Hughes returned a few minutes later, but Glass did not.

Game 2 is Tuesday at 6 p.m. EDT.

Devils Notes

The Devils’ highlights began and ended with Markstrom. Only two Devils players had three shots on goal (Bratt, Hischier), the rest had two or fewer.

Defenseman Brenden Dillon suffered a lower-body injury and did not return after a seemingly innocuous tangle with Martinook near the Devils’ net at 8:25 of the second period.

The Devils had just 13 shots in the first 40 minutes.