Andrei Svechnikov extended his point streak to six games, scoring on a beautifully executed rush in the second period to help the Carolina Hurricanes secure a 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
Nino Niederreiter and Warren Foegele found the back of the net in the first period, giving the Hurricanes an early lead as they battle for a wild-card playoff spot. Martin Necas and Joel Edmundson added third-period goals, giving Carolina a comfortable 5-1 lead in their return home after a four-game road trip.
“We’re in the final stretch here, and we’ve got to put together a bunch of wins,” said defenseman Brett Pesce, who contributed two assists. “That’s the start we needed.”
Petr Mrazek was solid in goal, making 35 saves for Carolina after dropping his previous three starts. He made four key stops during an early New Jersey power play and delivered two big saves late in the game when the Devils had a two-man advantage.
Sebastian Aho assisted on Svechnikov’s goal but saw his six-game goal-scoring streak come to an end.
Mirco Mueller scored in the first period for New Jersey, and Joey Anderson added a third-period goal. Louis Domingue made 26 saves in the loss. The Devils had won three of their last four games, including a 4-1 victory over Detroit on Thursday.
Interim Devils coach Alain Nasreddine said the game began to slip away in the second period when the team became “disconnected” and “couldn’t get to our game for some reason.”
“We had chances, they really capitalized on their chances,” Nasreddine said. “I think the scoring chances are pretty even, but the problem with us is the scoring chances that we gave up are massive. It sounds old now because I’ve been saying it for a while, but we must be better.”
Carolina entered the game four points behind Philadelphia for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand. They took the lead for good when Foegele scored from between the circles at 11:23 of the first period.
Svechnikov then delivered the highlight of the night midway through the second period. After winning a face-off, the Hurricanes quickly moved up the ice, with Svechnikov dropping a short pass to a trailing Aho along the left boards. Aho then fed the puck cross-ice to Teuvo Teravainen, who found Svechnikov on the left side for an easy finish and a 3-1 lead.
“That’s a highlight-reel goal,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You get those every so often. You have to be careful not to try to do that too often because … when those plays happen, you want to do it repeatedly versus just keeping it a little simpler and taking the shots. But those guys have a little more leeway on that because they obviously have a pretty high skill level.”
Game Notes:
- Foegele’s goal was his first since scoring the game-winner against Arizona on Jan. 10, ending a 12-game goal drought.
- Mueller’s goal was his second of the season, with his first coming on Dec. 13 at Colorado.
- Necas’ third-period goal occurred after Devils defenseman Damon Severson accidentally knocked the puck into his net while trying to clear it.
- Severson’s eight-game point streak came to an end.
- Injured Carolina defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who missed his 10th straight game after suffering a broken left leg, sounded the pregame siren for the Hurricanes.
UP NEXT:
- Devils: New Jersey returns home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
- Hurricanes: Carolina stays home to face the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
