The New Jersey Devils host the division rival Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. They came away victorious in their first game, beating the Hurricanes 4-2. Jacob Markstrom stopped 29 of 31 games and had a goals-save average of +3.99, which was above expectations. (via MoneyPuck)
The Devils have now won three in a row and will be competing for their fourth straight tomorrow night. Their record improved to 24-11-3, while the Hurricanes fell to 21-13-1.
The Devils struck early, but the Hurricanes struck first when Eric Robinson tipped a loose puck past Markstrom. The Devils struck back quickly with two goals of their own: Ondrej Palat blocked a shot from Kochetkov and 42 seconds later, Nico Hischier ) scored on a two-on-one play.
Just 22 seconds into the second quarter, Brent Burns tied the score at 2. But Luke Hughes hit Pyotr Kochetkov to put the Devils back in front.
Luke, what would you do if you found a loose puck and an open net? 👀 pic.twitter.com/2i0xaLOpWE
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 28, 2024
Dawson Mercer then hit a shot to extend the lead to 4-2 and grabbed a rebound. The Devils thought Hischier had scored shortly after because the puck appeared to be knocked in during a scramble in the crease. However, after review, it was deemed that there was a whistle, so no goal was awarded. When the final whistle blew, the score was still 4-2, with Markstrom making some key saves when needed.
In the third quarter, the Devils shut down their opponents like they do almost every third quarter. They currently have a record of 19 wins, 0 draws and 19 losses this season when leading by two points.
Sheldon Keefe told hockey writer, “We didn't play our best here today, you know, today's game was good enough to win today, but not enough to win tomorrow's game. We have to get better; we'll look at it and think about it tactically Some things we can do better and strengthen today. The defense wasn't a masterpiece today.
Carolina's 31 shots were the most the Devils have allowed in quite some time, but in the end, the two points were all that mattered. Keefe's “never satisfied” attitude is a big reason why the Devils are so successful. He asked a lot of them and he received a lot.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at 7:00 pm at the Legend Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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