With under three minutes to play, the Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-0) found themselves in a tie game against the New Jersey Devils, despite seemingly outplaying New Jersey (0-1-0) all night. Many teams would’ve crumbled under frustration —- but not the Canes.
With one swift move, center Seth Jarvis delivered the kill shot, a heater into the left corner of New Jersey’s goal to give Carolina a 4-3 edge. Jarvis wasn’t done yet though. Aggressively moving its entire team on offense, a steal for the Canes set up an empty-net goal for Jarvis to effectively end any comeback hopes for New Jersey. Just for good measure, Carolina tacked on a third goal in the final stretch, this time courtesy of left wing Eric Robinson as the Canes secured a 6-3 season opening victory over the Devils.
Carolina opened the game by pressuring New Jersey’s defense with nine shots on goal in the first period. It didn’t take long for the Canes’ strategy to pay off as left wing Taylor Hall scored the first goal of the season. Defenders Shayne Gostisbehere and Alexander Nikishin assisted on the goal. After joining the Canes via trade last season, Hall’s quickly establishing his presence as a key piece in Raleigh.
“I’m just trying to be the best player I can be with the shifts I’m given,” Hall said. “… I love it here, I love the guys, I love how we’re pushed by the coaching staff.”
Taking a 1-0 lead into the second period, the Canes appeared poised to breakaway. While the team only had one goal, several shots were close to scoring and multiple had bounced off the goal. However, the Devils had other plans and posted a pair of goals in the second, challenging Carolina’s defense. With his defense allowing easy paths to the goal, goalkeeper Frederik Andersen could only do so much to combat New Jersey’s front line.
Fortunately for the Canes, a hero emerged to keep the Carolina offense rolling: defenseman K’Andre Miller. The former New York Ranger made an instant impact after arriving in Raleigh over the summer via trade. It quickly became Miller time in the second period as the new addition scored his first of two goals. With his brace, Miller became the first Carolina defenseman to score twice in a debut. As the Canes pursue the Stanley Cup, Miller’s impact will be critical moving forward.
“I thought [Miller] was exceptional,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “Take the goals away even, he was impactful. For a guy who hadn’t played a game yet, he’s been out for however many months, [Miller] stepped right in and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.”
Carolina and New Jersey entered the final period deadlocked at two apiece. Neither side could gain an edge in the first half of the period, but once the scoring started it didn’t stop. Miller opened the third period fireworks with his second goal of the evening only for New Jersey to respond a minute later with a goal. However, nothing could prepare the Devils for the Canes onslaught of goals to follow as Carolina poured on a trio of goals, balancing out the bevy of missed opportunities earlier to put the Devils away.
“We stuck with what was going on,” Brind’Amour said. “There was never anything on the bench like getting down, everyone felt good about the game and the way we were playing. What’s the alternative? There’s no other choice, it’s about the next shift, always focus on your next shift.”
Next up, the Canes will host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday Oct. 11 at 7:00 p.m. The Flyers will be searching for their first win of the season after they fell to the Panthers in their opener.
