A home-and-home set between the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes might be a preview of a potential playoff matchup.
On Friday night, both teams realized they still have a lot of work to do between now and then.
The Devils will look to sweep the weekend home-and-home set while the Hurricanes will aim to salvage a split Saturday night as New Jersey visits Carolina in Raleigh, N.C.
It will be the last regular-season meeting between the teams this season after the Devils won two of the previous three games.
Luke Hughes scored the game-winner 4:15 into the second period Friday night and Dawson Mercer added an insurance goal a little more than four minutes later for the Devils, who earned a 4-2 win in Newark, N.J.
It was the third straight victory and the sixth in the past seven games for the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils, who lengthened their edge to three points over the second-place Washington Capitals while moving eight points ahead of the third-place Hurricanes.
“Massive — very, very important to come out of Christmas like that,” Hughes said following the first game for both teams since a three-day holiday break. “Big divisional games and hopefully it’s an eight-point swing (Saturday).”
However, both squads realized there was room for improvement Friday night. The Devils, who rank seventh in the NHL with an average of 30.2 shots per game while allowing the second-fewest (25.1 per game), were outshot 31-23.
The Hurricanes’ 31 shots were the most by a Devils opponent since Dec. 2, when the New York Rangers had 39 shots. Carolina also ended a streak of seven straight games in which New Jersey’s foe collected 20 shots or fewer, the longest such streak since the NHL began tracking shots in the 1959-60 season.
“I didn’t think it was our best game, by any means,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Playing against a team that’s willing to shoot the puck from the parking lot — they’re going to get it there, so you’re going to get tested.”
The Hurricanes, who sit second in the NHL in shots per game (31.7) while surrendering the third fewest (25.1), generally played according to script on both sides of the ice against the Devils.
“I liked our game overall,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “Giving up four (goals) is not what we want to do, but we didn’t really give up a ton of opportunities. So overall, I didn’t mind the game at all.”
Still, Carolina continued to have trouble finishing its chances. The Hurricanes scored three goals or fewer for the fourth straight game and the 10th time in 13 games dating back to Nov. 29, a span in which they have gone 5-8-0 to fall out of first place in the Metro. They also were leading the entire Eastern Conference before the current stretch.
“Obviously, both teams know how to play against each other,” Brind’Amour said. “There’s no secrets there. We’ve got to find a way to get a few more past them.”
–Field Level Media
