RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Martinook and Frederik Andersen performed with the regular veteran composure that comes solely by means of recreation after recreation of postseason depth.
It’s an enormous cause why the Carolina Hurricanes maintain a 2-0 lead in a playoff sequence but once more.
Martinook noticed a gap and pounced on his probability to interrupt free for what became the go-ahead shorthanded aim within the second interval. And Andersen got here up huge in web all evening, placing them on the forefront of the Hurricanes’ 3-1 win in opposition to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in Sport 2 of their first-round sequence.
The win improved Carolina to 11-0 when taking part in for an opportunity to take a 2-0 sequence lead relationship to its run to the Stanley Cup in 2006.
Shayne Gostisbehere additionally scored within the second for Carolina, whereas Seth Jarvis added a clinching empty-net breakaway aim within the ultimate minute. That was sufficient for the Hurricanes, who had a a lot harder battle on their arms in opposition to the shorthanded Devils than in a Sport 1 romp.
Martinook, who additionally assisted on Jarvis’ empty-netter, continues to thrive in opposition to the Devils within the postseason. Going again to a second-round win two years in the past, Martinook has 4 objectives and 9 assists with no less than one level in all seven of these video games in opposition to New Jersey.
“I love playoffs, I feel like it brings the best out of me,” Martinook mentioned when requested about that success. “I don’t know. Just, I love the emotion, the energy, of the games. It’s the funnest time of the year for a reason.”
Then there was Andersen, who stood up for 25 saves and didn’t enable the Devils to search out the again of the web for the ultimate 56 minutes. That together with an enormous cease on a shot by Nathan Bastian with about 6 minutes left.
“You see his demeanor,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour mentioned. “Whether he has a great game or a game he’d like to have back, you would never know. It’s just very, very calm. I think the way he plays in net is very calming, too.”
Jesper Bratt scored the Devils’ lone aim whereas Jacob Markstrom completed with 25 saves for New Jersey.
The Hurricanes had dominated the sequence opener in Sunday’s 4-1 win, leaving coach Sheldon Keefe and his gamers lamenting the Devils’ incapability to match Carolina’s relentless edge in what captain Nico Hischier described as “simple hockey, hard hockey.”
It didn’t assist, too, that New Jersey was down defensemen Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon from Sport 1 accidents. However the Devils obtained the decided effort they wanted to remain on this one.
“I liked a lot about our game today,” Keefe mentioned. “We showed attitude, we showed competitiveness, we showed care.”
It began when the Devils pinned Carolina in its personal finish early to arrange Bratt’s clean-up of a rebound for the sport’s first rating at 3:51 of the sport.
It additionally included former Hurricane Brett Pesce personally saving two objectives for the Devils on free pucks in opposition to Markstrom, together with one coming seconds after Gostisbehere pounced on his personal rebound to beat Markstrom. On that one, Pesce knocked a puck out because it laid on the aim line — however not absolutely throughout it — behind Markstrom.
He additionally cleaned up one on Taylor Corridor’s close to rating on a push underneath Markstrom in visitors.
“I thought we could’ve easily won that game,” Pesce mentioned, an icebag resting underneath a shirt on his left shoulder within the locker room. “I think we gave it everything we had and came up short.”
The winner fittingly went to the veteran Martinook on a robust attacking evening, coming moments after the Devils had been lined up for a faceoff to begin an influence play. Dmitry Orlov collected the free puck and despatched a transition tempo to spring Martinook, who blasted a shot previous Markstrom on the 5:54 mark of the second to place Carolina forward for good.
“I can’t think of enough good things to say about that game in particular,” Brind’Amour mentioned. “It might have been his most impactful game as a Hurricane. … So he was all over this game for us.”
The sequence now shifts north to Newark for Sport 3 on Friday evening.
