RAILY, N.C. — Logan Stancoven scored two second-term goals for Devils goalkeeper Jacob Markstrom in his first playoff game against Carolina, and Devers lost 4-1 to the Hurricane to open their first round series.
The Devil was 3-0, and the Hurricanes more than doubled the developer’s shot output, continuing to put pressure on the strong start of the postseason.
“It was pretty obvious now that we thought we were looking forward to a little bit today,” goaltender Frederick Andersen said.
Jalen Chatfield scored the first-term goal of the hurricane, steadily putting pressure on Devils Netminder Jacob Markstrom. Andrei Svechnikov added an empty net clincher in the second half of the third time.
Carolina has lost seven of its last eight regular season games since winning its seventh playoff trip on April 3. In that sense, it has been a long wait to return to home ice with the wild home crowd in playoff mode.
“Maybe you’re getting a little late, and there’s always that worry,” coach Rod Brindamour said. “But obviously it wasn’t. And we were a healthy, healthy group. So, that might have been a calculated risk, but at least after Game 1, that was the right decision.”
Andersen finished with 23 Carolina saves. This includes Timo Meyer’s key stop near the fold in the third half. The Hurricane also turned down a Devils power play with about eight minutes left, keeping it firmly in place.
Nico Hissia scored New Jersey’s only goal by getting a Jesper Bratt cross-ice pass and blowing up the puck past Andersen on a second 4-4 chance.
Carolina finished with a 45-24 shot advantage.
“They don’t do anything special,” Hisia said. “They play simple hockey, hard hockey. We have to match that.”
Markstrom finished with 41 saves in what turned out to be a physically rough afternoon for the Devils when multiple players skating in the tunnels due to injuries.
First advocate Brenden Dillon collapsed in the second term after being entangled with Carolina’s William career, and struggled to stand up before being rescued by the tunnel. Coach Sheldon Keefe said he hopes Dillon will return, but the doctors have stopped him.
The Devils then lost two players in the third one, a chaotic sequence. This was doubled in pain when defensive man Luke Hughes lying on the net reached his left shoulder. Almost immediately, Markstrom slammed on Svechnikov near the top of the fold, accidentally slamming the central Codygrass and knocking him onto the ice.
Hughes returns, but Glass is saved by the tunnel and Keefe has not had a glass update since.
Chatfield quickly started the Hurricane into the game with just 2:24 goals. Then it was a big day for Stankouven, who was the major return of the trade deadline deal that allowed Carolina to be added to scoring winger Mikko Lantanen’s massive January.
Stankoven first zipped the pack past Markstrom from feed from the Jordanian Martinook. He hit it again with a power play. Sternkuven blows up the shot past Markstrom, blowing the 3-0 edge off the inside of the left post.
“In the second period, we just thought we were overwhelmed,” Keefe said. “That wasn’t enough. The third season was good. By then, the damage was done.”
Game 2 of the series is Tuesday.
