Devils Beat the Hurricanes at Their Own Game in 4-2 Win
The New Jersey Devils neutralized one of the best five-on-five teams in the NHL in their 4-2 win vs. the Carolina Hurricanes.
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The New Jersey Devils had a tough test last night against the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that has given them trouble since the 2023 playoffs. The Devils played well in the first matchup against the Hurricanes this season, but they raised their game to another level yesterday.
In what was Jacob Markström's 500th career game, the Devils beat the Hurricanes at their own game for the 4-2 win. They now sit 13-7-2 on the season and conclude this difficult five-game stretch with a tilt against the Washington Capitals tomorrow night.
Devils Showed They Can Compete With the Hurricanes
You can say what you want about the Hurricanes' system. It's not the most entertaining to watch, but it sure gets the job done. The Hurricanes suffocate you defensively, then counter aggressively with their team speed. On top of that, they're playing off the rush a bit more this season.
That's caused problems for the Devils in recent years, and it did for maybe the first 8-10 minutes of the first period yesterday. But for the most part, the Devils beat the Hurricanes at their own game, specifically at five-on-five.
The Hurricanes have been the best five-on-five team in the NHL this season. They came into last night's game with an expected goals share (xG%) of just under 60 percent, but the Devils controlled the shots and chances and did it by playing the Hurricanes' game.
The Devils suffocated the Hurricanes at five-on-five, allowing just five high-danger chances. They clogged up the neutral zone and did well to prevent the Hurricanes from sustaining offensive zone time, apart from a few exceptions; they had only 16 shots on goal at five-on-five.
It felt like things could unravel when Andrei Svechnikov scored a power-play goal 12 seconds into the third period. It probably would have last season, but the Devils stuck to what they did well over the first two periods and answered with two goals.
The game-winning goal was emblematic of the Devils' effort last night, too. Dawson Mercer forced Spencer Martin into a turnover behind the net, and then Tomáš Tatar and Mercer went to work on the forecheck and set up Dougie Hamilton for the game-winner.
Those are the types of goals the Hurricanes beat teams with, but it was the Devils who used it to defeat the Hurricanes yesterday.
Peanut Butter & Jelly
More often than not, you need your star players to defeat a team like the Hurricanes. Fortunately for the Devils, their star players showed up in a big way.
Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt were electric and played a significant role in the Devils coming away with the 4-2 win. After the Hurricanes took a 1-0 lead, the Hughes line responded with great individual efforts from all three players.
Ondřej Palát forced a turnover at the blue line. Hughes then made a terrific redirected pass to Bratt, who had an empty net to score on. The pass was so good that I thought it went off a Hurricanes skater on live TV.
Hughes wasn't done, either. With the Devils on a 5-on-3 power play to begin the second period, he made a fantastic saucer pass that Stefan Noesen batted out of mid-air to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.
Hamilton had the eventual game-winner, but Bratt added some insurance on the power play when he picked a corner and sniped Spencer Martin to give the Devils a 4-2 lead late in the third period.
Hughes and Bratt each finished with three points; Hughes totaled three assists, while Bratt had two goals and an assist. Peanut Butter and Jelly showed why they're star players last night.
Devils Fourth Line Looked Much Improved
In what was an overdue change, head coach Sheldon Keefe finally pulled the plug on playing Kurtis MacDermid on the fourth line. And boy, did it make a difference.
Replacing MacDermid was Shane Bowers, who played a fair amount for the Devils last season. Bowers won't wow you with skill or flash, but he played with some pace and finished with an xG% of 74.57 percent. That's about 40 percent better than MacDermid, which will make a noticeable difference.
It wasn't just Bowers, though. Justin Dowling had a solid game and nearly scored a goal when he hit the post on a beautiful individual effort to get to the net front. He led Devils forwards in xG% at 80.9 percent and played solid defensive hockey.
Tatar played a bit higher up the lineup later in the game, but he was mostly on the fourth line. He carried that unit as best as he could when MacDermid was his linemate, but he should post much better results now that Bowers has taken his spot.
The Devils probably still need to scour the trade market for fourth-line help, but if they get the results they did last night consistently moving forward, the fourth line shouldn't be a liability.
Quick Hits
Maybe it went unnoticed, but Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic were fantastic. Siegenthaler finished with an xG% of 85.09 percent, while Kovacevic totaled an 84.05 xG%. Each defenseman was on the ice for just 0.11 expected goals against. They completely locked down one of the best five-on-five teams in the NHL.
You have to feel for Timo Meier a bit because he probably should have found the scoresheet. He hit the crossbar on a grade-A chance and totaled five scoring chances at five-on-five but didn't come away with anything. The good news is if he keeps playing like this, the goals and points should come in bunches.
Markström's rebound control was a bit iffy at times, but he played a solid game for the most part. His ten-bell save on Jordan Staal in the third period helped keep the game at 2-2. Had Staal scored there, the Hurricanes may have come away with the win. Markström gave up two goals on 2.04 expected goals, so he stopped what he should have. That'll do when the Devils play as they did yesterday.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
Agreed on Timo. Bummer he didn’t get rewarded but it was great to see him playing with confidence. He was calling for the puck in the neutral zone and putting every opportunity he had towards the net. Hope he keeps it up.