Andrei Svechnikov netted the shootout winner and Antti Raanta made 24 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes secured a franchise-best 11th straight victory by edging the New Jersey Devils 5-4 on Sunday.
The Hurricanes are on a 15-0-2 run in their last 17 games, with their last defeat dating back to Dec. 6, when they lost in overtime to Anaheim. Their previous regulation loss was on Nov. 23.
Raanta, now 10-2-2 this season, had shutouts in his previous two home games against Florida and Chicago.
“Great battle from the whole team,” Raanta said. “We keep playing the same way. We don’t change what is working.”
Both goaltenders made impressive saves in overtime, including New Jersey’s Mackenzie Blackwood stopping a breakaway from Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin. Blackwood finished with 43 saves.
“At the end of the day, that was a good two points,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We’ll take it.”
With the teams playing four-on-four, New Jersey’s Jesper Bratt scored his second of the game and 14th of the season from between the circles at 13:48 of the third, putting New Jersey ahead 4-3. However, Carolina’s Martin Necas tied it again with a power-play goal, his 16th of the season, at 15:32.
“We always know we have a chance to return,” Raanta said. “Today was a great example of that. We won the game 4-4, battled through overtime, and won in a shootout.”
Hurricanes forward Derek Stepan scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season at 8:04 of the third, giving Carolina a 3-2 lead. Devils captain Nico Hischier responded 34 seconds later with his 16th goal to tie the game.
Bratt had tied the game 2-2 at 6:15 of the third, scoring from the left circle after Carolina led 2-1 thanks to Sebastian Aho’s shorthanded goal late in the second.
“We’re not satisfied with one point,” Bratt said.
Aho intercepted a mishandled clearing attempt by Blackwood, scoring his 12th goal into an empty net at 18:14 of the second period.
Devils coach Lindy Ruff praised Blackwood’s ability to stay composed and make key saves after his error, helping New Jersey push the game to overtime.
“I give him much credit for keeping his composure,” Ruff said. “We got a point; we’d like more. Every point is crucial.”
Stepan had initially broken a scoreless tie eight minutes into the second period, finishing off a two-on-one rush. The 32-year-old former Rangers forward is in his second season with Carolina.
New Jersey’s Jack Hughes tied the contest at 16:18 of the second, sliding a backhand past Raanta for his team-leading 21st goal. Dawson Mercer and Erik Haula assisted.
The Devils were coming off a 4-2 road win at Pittsburgh on Friday. New Jersey is now 2-7-2 in its last 11 games. It will play six of its next eight games on the road, where it is 13-2-1.
Game Notes
- The victory marked the 199th win for Hurricanes coach Brind’Amour.
- Carolina won the first meeting this season 4-1 at home on Dec. 20. The teams meet again on Jan. 10 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and March 12 in Newark.
- The Devils were without injured defenseman John Marino and also scratched forward Alexander Holtz and defensemen Tyler Wotherspoon and Nikita Okhotiuk.
- The Hurricanes scratched defenseman Dylan Coghlan.
Up Next:
- Devils: Visit Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
- Hurricanes: Visit New York Rangers on Tuesday.
