Hurricanes bruise, batter, beat Devils to take 1-0 first-round series lead
There are no friends in playoff hockey, certainly not in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
From the drop of the puck in the opening game, it becomes a mano a mano test all over the ice. The only acceptable outcome is to win the game, and players must be prepared to do anything to do it.
It might mean Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes leveling old teammate Brett Pesce with an open-ice hit. Or Dougie Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils putting a cross-check into the back of Andrei Svechnikov, once a close friend when Hamilton played for the Canes.
So it went as the Hurricanes and Devils went at it Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series, and the Canes secured a 4-1 victory at Lenovo Center.
Game 2 is set for Tuesday at Lenovo Center, with a 6 p.m. start.
The Canes, maintaining their focus, their play sharp, got a pair of goals from foward Logan Stankoven and some timely stop from goalie Frederik Andersen in getting off to a strong start.
“For us to win, we’re going to need 20 guys chipping in and after a game saying, ‘Okay, I contributed someway, somehow,’” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I think that’s what we got tonight.”
Canes defenseman Jalen Chatfield had the first goal of the series, with a shot from the point in the first period.
“The building was already rocking and after we got that first one, it got even louder,” Chatfield said.
The second period belonged to the Canes and Stankoven, who had two goals and nearly a third as the home team built a 3-0 lead and kept the home fans roaring for nearly the full 20 minutes.
But not all of it. Devils captain Nico Hischier, muzzled much of the game, wristed a shot from the left circle past Andersen with 1:09 left in the period, finally finding a way to quiet the crowd. The Devils had a third-period power play and a chance to pull closer, but the Canes easily killed off the penalty.
Svechnikov, who had a physical presence throughout the game, had an empty-net goal to close out the scoring with 2:28 left in regulation.
The Hurricanes, who claimed home-ice edge in the series by finishing second in the Metro Division, dominated nearly everything in the first two periods — the pace, the physicality, board battles, offensive-zone time, shots on goal.
The Canes outshot the Devils 17-5 in the first period and had a 38-13 edge after two as Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom tried to fend off a constant wave of offensive thrusts. The Devils had 11 third-period shots as the Canes finished with a 45-24 margin.
“The guys came out really hard and dominated from the first period,” said Andersen, who had 23 saves.
Stankoven is the player the Canes got back in the Mikko Rantanen trade with the Dallas Stars. Placed on a line with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook, and with the Canes having the last change at home, Stankoven often was on the ice and matched against Hischier’s line. Until Hischier’s four-on-four goal late in the second, the Staal line controlled play on the forecheck.
On Stankoven’s first goal, Martinook swiped the puck from Hischier behind the Devils net and fed Stankoven breaking open down the slot. Stankoven didn’t miss and Markstrom, sharp in net much of the game, couldn’t make the stop.
Stankoven’s second came on a power play after New Jersey was called for delay of game after a puck sailed over the glass. Taking a pass from Taylor Hall in the right circle, he sniped a top-shelf shot past Markstrom to make it 3-0.
Until the third, Andersen didn’t have a lot of work but Markstrom did. Canes forward Jack Roslovic hit the post in the first period, and Markstrom had to make a stop on an Eric Robinson breakaway in the second.
Andersen made a few sprawling saves in the third. In one sequence midway through the period, he first stopped a Brian Dumoulin shot, then stuck out his right pad to deny Timo Meier’s attempt off the rebound.
The Devils had defensemen Brenden Dillon and later Luke Hughes leave the game with injuries. Dillon was hurt after a faceoff, colliding with the Canes’ Will Carrier and falling to the ice. Dillon did not return but Hughes was back in the third period.
This story was originally published April 20, 2025 at 2:17 PM.
