It seems like the Canes will never escape the road-game curse, especially after their performance in this matinee game.
The Carolina Hurricanes came into game three of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs leading the series 2-0 – beating the Devils 11 goals to two between two games – but they were a completely different team today. The New Jersey Devils were all over the Carolina defense and kept creating offensive chances.
When the puck dropped for the first inning, the momentum was automatically on the Devil’s side. Three different Devils players scored within the first period alone, with one goal coming off of a Canes power play, and the Canes could not stop the younger team across the ice.
Goaltender Frederik Andersen got the start for Carolina, but this choice would soon be called into question by both Caniacs and the coaching staff. Despite playing on-point in the first two games of the series, Andersen finished his 21 minutes of game three with a SV% of .667, far worse than his average .960 from his last three starts. After Jersey center Nico Hischier scored less than a minute into the second period, Andersen was pulled from the net and replaced with netminder Pyotr Kochetkov.
It was in the second frame when Carolina finally slipped one in the net, as center Sebastian Aho scored two minutes into the period to make the score 4-1 and extend his point streak to six games.
After the Devils responded with another goal of their own to make the score 5-2, left wing Jordan Martinook got one more goal for the Canes to finish the period with a little bit of momentum.
As the third period came around, both teams looked more trigger-happy than normal, and the goal sheet reflected that. While the Devils scored three goals within this period, the Canes were able to put another two on the board. Center Jordan Staal made the score 7-3, and center Seth Jarvis gave the Canes another goal before time ran out. A power play goal from the Devils brought the final score to 8-4.
The Carolina Hurricanes might have come into this game with swagger, but Caniacs aren’t surprised by this loss. During the 2022 postseason, the Canes lost all six away games in the two rounds they played in. This season seemed to see some improvement, winning two of the three away games against the Islanders in round one, but this loss to the Devils might be a revival of the away-game curse.
The Hurricanes will look to reclaim the series lead in game four, which is set for Tuesday, May 9. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
