Devils 3, Hurricanes 0: Statement made

The Devils sucked the life out of the Hurricanes' attack in a huge win that earned them a share of top spot in the Metro Division.

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A few notes following New Jersey’s crucial inner-division victory over the Carolina Hurricanes:

The Devils played with playoff intensity

Last night’s game was not just played between a pair of teams competing for top spot in the division; we saw two teams on a warpath towards a (likely?) second round meeting. It showed.

From the very beginning of the game, everything about it felt like a playoff contest. The crowd had a bit of nervous energy. The intensity was really high. Skill players were laying hits and mixing it up in scrums. There was very little open ice to work with. It was a battle.

We know the Devils can play the run and gun style of hockey and score with anybody. But they have proven time and time again this season that they can hold their own in grind it out affairs where every inch is fought for and chances are few and far between. Sunday night’s game was yet another example of it.

Andrei Svechnikov not playing was a factor, of course, but the Hurricanes are legitimately one of the best shot and chance generating teams in the league; and their offense has shown even more life since the addition of Shayne Gostisbehere. They give opponents fits night after night.

Even in a back-to-back situation, the Devils never once looked overwhelmed by the Hurricanes’ attack.

They were happy to sit back over the final 30 minutes or so after earning themselves a three-goal cushion. They allowed the Hurricanes to dominate the puck and more or less said ‘beat us with it.’ The Hurricanes couldn’t.

While Vitek Vanecek played much better than he has of late, it was not exactly a goalie steal. The Devils gave up very little.

In 48 minutes of 5v5 play, the Devils held the Hurricanes to just six high-danger chances. That equates to ~7.5 over 60 minutes, which is about half of their season average (14.85 per 60).

The Devils did a fantastic job of clogging up the middle of the ice and managing the puck when they had it. Almost everything got out. There weren’t bad miscues on the breakout (save for a Miles Wood muffin over the middle). It was a very clean effort; the kind they’ll need to play at times over the course of a hopefully lengthy playoff run.

Jonas Siegenthaler was excellent