Andrei Svechnikov scored a hat trick as the Carolina Hurricanes secured a 4-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils in a gritty battle on Saturday night in Newark, N.J.
Sebastian Aho tallied the primary assist on all three of Svechnikov’s goals and Frederik Andersen made 28 saves for the Hurricanes, who were playing on the tail end of a back-to-back. Carolina exploded for a 9-1 home win against the Florida Panthers on Friday night.
Timo Meier scored the lone goal and Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves for the Devils, who hadn’t played since a 3-2 overtime win at home against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday. New Jersey has lost seven of its last eight games against Carolina.
Carolina didn’t get its first shot on goal until 11:17 of the scoreless first period as New Jersey maintained strong offensive zone time to start the game. The Devils outshot the Hurricanes 9-4 in the first 20 minutes. Both teams had power-play opportunities in the second period but were unable to convert as the stalemate continued before Svenchnikov found his scoring touch.
Svechnikov scored at 13:12 of the second period for 1-0. Aho got the puck on a neutral-zone turnover, and he passed the puck behind him to Svechnikov, whose snap shot flew over Markstrom’s glove.
Svenchnikov made it 2-0 at 14:09 when Aho set him up with a no-look pass. His shot beat Markstrom’s block and crossed the crease five-hole.
Meier put the Devils on the board 2-1 at 4:25 of the third period when Cody Glass set him up for a slap shot through traffic. It was Meier’s first goal in seven games, and New Jersey’s first power-play goal against Carolina after going 0-for-27 extending back to the last regular season.
The Hurricanes’ Jackson Blake made it 3-1 at 8:33 of the third period on a backhanded shot. Aho set Svechnikov up for a snap shot yet again at 15:52 for the 4-1 final.
–Field Level Media
