The Carolina Hurricanes were leading shot attempts by a margin of 12-1 when Brett Pesce danced across the blue line and released his wrister through a maze of bodies to beat Akira Schmid and give them a 1-0 lead in the opening game of their second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series with the New Jersey Devils.
By the time one period was complete, they had not only made it clear to the Devils they were going to present a much greater challenge than the New York Rangers did in a Round-1 series that still went seven games, but they had also served notice that the minuscule gap between both teams in the regular season could become a Grand Canyon-sized chasm in these playoffs.
They suffocated the Devils’ speed, scored two goals, peppered Schmid with 10 shots and had him spinning in his crease as they fired off 29 attempts.
At the other end of the ice, they put up an impenetrable fortress and left Frederik Andersen twiddling his thumbs behind them.
In the second period, the Hurricanes spared Schmid a case of vertigo—scoring 1:55 in and chasing him from a game they went on to win 5-1 in such decisive fashion it left you wondering if the Devils will find a way to solve them at all before this series slips completely out of reach.
Oh yes, we’re aware of how good the Devils were this year.
They were full value in establishing the NHL’s third-best record, in notching just one point less than the Hurricanes, in blistering their opposition with burning speed and scoring the majority of their goals off rushes that tantalized and filled highlight reels. They got Timo Meier at the trade deadline, adding massive talent without sacrificing the chemistry and balance that carried them to such an impressive showing from October to March. And, by the time the season wrapped in April, the Devils had also taken two of four games against the Hurricanes.
So counting them out of this series after one lopsided game would be shortsighted, especially after watching them erase a 2-0 series deficit to the Rangers in such impressive fashion.
But this game at PNC Arena showed to what extent Carolina’s style of play is the antidote to New Jersey’s poison, and it’s not hard to imagine it prevailing in three of what could be six more games.
It won’t be four more if the Devils don’t find a way to assert themselves quickly.
They couldn’t generate more than one odd-man rush over 60 minutes.
At least Nathan Bastian capitalized on it, scoring on New Jersey’s second shot of the game, which came 5:02 into the second period.
Incidentally, Bastian had the Devils’ first shot, too—a backhand from 70 feet away, which came from closer to Andersen than most of his talented teammates got throughout the rest of the game.
Meier missed this one after that heavy hit Jacob Trouba laid on him in Game 7 of the Rangers series and the other Devils stars may as well have missed it too.
Jack Hughes, who led the Devils with 43 goals and 99 points in 78 regular season games and produced three goals and five points against the Rangers in Round 1, was held to two shots on net and zero scoring chances. He was given no space to let his skill shine and even less air to breathe, with Hurricanes centre Jordan Stall smothering him.
Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Ondrej Palat combined for three shots—none of them remotely threatening—with Hurricanes defencemen neutralizing them at every turn.
The forwards in red were brilliant on the forecheck, and in managing the puck, and they accounted for three of five goals.
Pesce and Brady Skjei scored the others to help give the Devils a glimpse of what this Hurricanes team could do even without Max Pacioretty, Teuvo Teravainen and superstar Andrei Svechnikov available. Five goals from five different goal scorers might be a harbinger.
If it isn’t and scoring becomes an Achilles’ heel for the Hurricanes, that could provide the opening the Devils need.
But that doesn’t change being up against a Carolina team that suppressed the most scoring chances per game in the NHL this season.
They are a team that held the New York Islanders to almost no rush chances in the six games they played against them in the opening round of the playoffs and a team that looks as well-oiled as can be.
The statement was made early in Game 1, and it was punctuated by the end of it.
We’ll see if the Devils have an answer in Friday’s Game 2.
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