G3 New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Make it a series

With a win tonight on home soil, the Devils could claw their way right back into the series – and they'll have reinforcements to help them do it.

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The New Jersey Devils will attempt to get back into the series with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes on home soil.

Here are a few notes to get you set for the game:

Finishing touch

The Devils have lacked finishing touch in this series. They are in a 0-2 hole for plenty of reasons but one of the biggest is an inability to score. They’ve had chances to make games interesting and haven’t converted.

The Devils have piled up 7.09 expected goals through two games. I think the entire organization, and any analytically inclined fans, would have signed up for an average of more than 3.5 xG per game against an elite defensive team. I certainly would have. Unfortunately, the Devils only have two goals to show for it.

New Jersey has shot just 4% in this series. Almost shockingly, they’ve also finished on only 4% of their high-danger chances. 4%.

Do you know how absurd that is? I shall tell you!

The San Jose Sharks, who won 20 games this season, finished dead last in the NHL with a high-danger shooting percentage of 16.20%. That is more than 4x higher than what the Devils have mustered up thus far.

Crazy things are more prone to happening in small samples but that should tell you all you need to know about how poorly the Devils have finished and how unlucky they’ve been.

If they are going to get back into this series, they have to start cashing in on some of these Grade A opportunities. The chances are there. It’s time to make them count.

Siegenthaler likely to return