Round two of the 2022-23 Stanely Cup playoffs between the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils has both teams in similar territories as round one at this point. The Hurricanes lead the Devils two to one in the series. For Carolina, they win the first two at home and lose game three on the road. The same results as against the New York Islanders in the first round three games in. On the other side, New Jersey was also down two games to one against the New York Rangers at this point last series. Following two big losses at home against the Rangers, they came back to win on the road in game three.
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils Round Two
After the Hurricanes took Games 1 and 2 at home over the Devils convincingly, New Jersey flipped the script in Game 3.
Game 1 saw Carolina dominate New Jersey in almost every facet of the game. From puck drop it was all Carolina. Winning board battles, heavy on the forecheck and converting on opportunities. After the first period, New Jersey only had one shot on goal. This ended in a five to one victory for the Hurricanes.
Game 2 started better for New Jersey as they came out with some pace for the beginning of the game. But after about midway through the first period, Carolina got back to their game. In the second period Carolina exploded and carried through to end the game six to one.
Game 3 in New Jersey started somewhat even in gameplay with Carolina maybe having a slight edge . But that was about it for Carolina. After Martin Necas rang a good shot off the post, the Devils went back the other way. Timo Meier got the monkey off his back to put the Devils up by one. After that the floodgates opened for New Jersey, including a shorthanded goal. It was all New Jersey heading into the first intermission. Carolina had some spurts showing their game, but overall, they never truly played their game. Rod Brind’Amour stated that he had never seen the team play like that. Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce, the second defensive pairing, particularly had a tough day.
But this game was anything but normal. New Jersey won eight to four, which is crazy for a defensive team such as Carolina. There were four shorthanded goals scored. Three by Carolina, including a Jordan Martinook penalty shot, and one by New Jersey. For as great as Carolina’s penalty kill has been, it finally broke at the end when New Jersey had an extended five on three advantage. With the exception of New Jersey playing game four at home, this series finds itself in the exactly same scenario as round one for both teams.
Board Battles and Grind
To oversimplify what is driving this series is which team is able to win board battles and establish their game. Carolina’s gameplan is to suffocate the other team from generating chances and then get pucks deep and win the puck in the dirty areas. They then look to get high volume shots, largely from the defence or the trailing high forward. This combined with their man-to-man defence means that any weak links can cause troubles for the system.
Meanwhile, the Devils try to also win board battles and create turnovers so that they can transition the puck as quickly as possible. When they do this, they move the puck to their super skilled forwards who can generate chances on the rush or establish the zone and make a play.
Both systems require the team to win the puck, not get beat down low or in transition, and to play at a super high pace. This series shows that whichever team is able to establish their game is looking to come out with a win. From Carolina’s perspective, in games one and two they did not seem to lose board battles, were instantly on the Devils players whenever they had the puck in any zone and had contributions from everyone. The Hurricanes led the Devils in expected goals and shots on goal in both games as well. They were able to finish their chances. When needed, Frederik Andersen was there to shut the door in net as well.
In Game 3, the opposite happened. The Devils got to their game and with the exception of some flashes, the Hurricanes were unable to dominate the play as they had in games one and two. The Devils were winning the board battles as evident by Jack Hughes play behind Carolina’s net to set up the first goal. They were able to transition with speed and generate chances consistently. Vitek Vanecek didn’t necessarily play an outstanding game, but the Devils put up eight goals so it was not super necessary. Their top players showed up as Jack Hughes, Meier and Nico Hischier all found the back of the net. They led the Hurricanes in expected goals and shots.
The Monkey Off the Back
Both of these teams rely strongly on their system and team game, but for New Jersey this series, they have lived and died by the play of Jack Hughes and captain Nico Hischier. In games one and two, neither showed up on the score sheet. While game two saw Jack Hughes lead the team in expected goals percentage at 65%, neither Hughes nor Hischier exceeded 30% in game one. Neither player could generate much and the team seemed to follow in their shadow.
But then in game three, both Hughes and Hischier showed up. They were generating chances, driving play and producing on the score sheet. Hishcier led all players on both teams in expected goal percentage exceeding 80% while Hughes was right over 50%. More importantly, Hughes finished the game with two goals and two assists. This included a great individual effort to win the puck and set up Meier for the first goal. Hughes also got into a scrap with Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, leading by example to the rest of the team. Hischier got the monkey off his back and finished the game with one goal and one assist. When the team needed it, it was their captain and star forward who rose to the occasion.
The Newest Hughes
But there was another Hughes who stepped in and helped the team. Nineteen-year-old defenceman Luke Hughes made his playoff debut for the Devils. This came after defenceman Ryan Graves was injured in game two. While expectations should always be kept in check with young players making their debut, Luke Hughes held his own very well. He finished the game with two assists and did not look out of place. He had some plays he would like to have back like the turnover that led to Jordan Martinook‘s breakaway on the power play. Overall, however Luke Hughes was able to provide a lot of speed to the Devils blue line in their game three win.
The Special Teams Story
One aspect of this series that has been part of Carolina’s story all playoffs is their strong penalty kill. Until the very end of game three, New Jersey had not scored a power play goal on Carolina all regular season or playoffs. Carolina was leading all teams in the playoffs in penalty kill percentage and even had a shorthanded goal.
For as bad as game three was for Carolina, their penalty kill remained strong and was one of the few bright spots from the game. No matter what New Jersey would do, Carolina was aggressive on the puck and able to either stop the breakout in the neutral zone or whether any offensive push the Devils made. Not only did they shut down almost all of the Devil’s power plays, three of their four goals were shorthanded. It was only the fourth time in NHL history that a team scored three shorthanded goals in a playoff game. The Hurricanes still lead all teams in the playoffs with a 92.6% penalty kill. Even more insanely, the Hurricanes lead in net penalty kill with a 107.4%. This means they are scoring more on the penalty kill than they are giving up.
While they sure need to get back to their five-on-five play found in games one and two, and ideally would like their power play to always improve, this is a strength for the Hurricanes and one they will want to keep up moving forward.
Hurricanes and Devils Moving Forward Through Round Two
Going forward, there are many things to look at as to how this series may finish. Like when analyzing the series before it started, many questions still remain. Whichever team is able to play their game is going to have the best chance for success. Meanwhile, can the Devil’s stars like Jack Hughes take over a game? Will the Hurricanes special teams tip the scales in their favor?
And for both teams, who starts in goal? For Carolina, Andersen seemed to have won the net. Then he was pulled in game three after allowing four goals. They likely return to him but his stellar play from before was not present in that game. Meanwhile, New Jersey still has not found consistent goaltending in this series from either Akira Schmid or Vanecek. There have been 14 goals against between the two of them (one goal was an empty netter). While it is very possible a goalie on either team steals a game, this series seems to be won and lost based on total team performance. Which round one will repeat itself? Stay tuned as Carolina tries to get back on track while the Devils look to keep up the momentum from game three.
Main photo by: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
