Rachel Barkley
The Carolina Hurricanes did it again.
With their 5-2 win on Saturday, the Hurricanes completed a season series sweep against their Metropolitan Division rival, the New Jersey Devils. The last time they did so was during the 2023-24 season, though the series then only consisted of three games.
During the first period of the game, things were close between the Hurricanes and Devils in terms of pressure and persistence, but a goal from Timo Meier in the late minutes of the frame, thanks to the old-fashioned ‘fly the zone’ strategy, gave the Devils the edge.
It was a strategy they continued to implement throughout the game, making things hard for the Hurricanes.
But, Carolina proved that rest is a weapon once the rust is dusted off, as they struck back in the second frame – with not just one, but three goals scored throughout the period.
Nikolaj Ehlers was the first to score with a goal on the power play, then came a goal from Jackson Blake in the slot, who was soon followed by Jordan Staal with a magnificent tip-in on a shot from Ehlers.
It was a fantastic frame by Carolina offensively and defensively, as they limited the Devils to only five shots.
The Final Twenty Minutes
Leading the game 3-1 as they went into the third frame, the Hurricanes continued to push offensively. Shayne Gostisbehere, who was in his first game back after missing nine straight with a lower-body injury, scored Carolina’s fourth goal. However, less than 30 seconds later, he was given a rare charging penalty after landing a shoulder-to-shoulder blow on Evgenii Dadonov, who had the puck at the time of his commitment to the hit.
Nonetheless, Seth Jarvis found the back of the empty net during the penalty kill, scoring his 30th goal of the season for the third-straight season, becoming only the sixth player in franchise history to achieve the feat.
Even still, the Devils did what they could with what they had, and Dadonov managed to get a goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game – his first of the season.
Onward to the Next Game
As the game came to a close, Ehlers was given the first star of the game and proceeded to the bench for a quick interview with reporter Hanna Yates, discussing the game and goals, before closing it with a simple statement:
“We got some revenge to go get tomorrow.”
The Montreal Canadiens, whom he was referring to, will be their next opponent following a 5-2 loss to them just on Tuesday.
