The Devils did everything right in the OT win, from feeding off the home crowd to dictating the game’s tempo.
The old cliche goes that a playoff series hasn’t started until the home team loses a playoff game. After the Carolina Hurricanes held serve by winning their first two home playoff games, it was the Devils’ turn to answer as the series shifted to Prudential Center on Friday night. The home team answered by showing resolve in winning 3-2 in double overtime to make this a 2-1 first-round series in the best-of-seven.
The word “resolve” comes from not just winning a game the Devils had to get, but responding to a 2-2 tie after blowing a 2-0 lead. It could have been easy for them to give up after Carolina scored two power-play goals in the third period. After all, they did all they could to outplay Carolina for the first two periods, to see it disappear.
It was easy to wonder if the Devils had enough to survive Carolina’s punch from that third period.
There’s a reason the hockey wonks picked the Canes to win the series in five. The Devils don’t have secondary scorers to keep up with the Hurricanes, and they are up against it without their superstar Jack Hughes. They were also missing a couple of integral blueliners in Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon, which makes all of this even more impressive, how the Devils showed resolve.
The home team went to work in overtime by dictating play and making sure the visitors did not have much of the puck. They set the tone in the first period by generating eight shots and delivering 11 hits, which was good enough for them to take a 1-0 lead.
The defense did not give room for the Canes to score. On this night, it’s fair to give this unit credit for putting in a yeoman’s work against the other team’s forwards, who can score in bunches.
Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom made the saves in overtime to give his team a chance. He finished the night with 25 saves. It was why he was good enough to get the game’s second star.
You could make a case that Markstrom should receive the first star of the game award, which typically goes to the player who scores the game-winning goal in overtime. Simon Nemec earned that honor by scoring the game-winning goal.
It would have been a shame if the Devils had lost this game. They outplayed Carolina most of the game. They did everything right to win, from feeding off the home crowd to dictating the tempo of the game.
For the first goal, they took advantage of the Hurricanes’ napping, which left an open Nico Hischier to score in the first period. Then, Dawson Mercer found the open slot to score in the third period, making it a 2-0 game.
You had to know Carolina would be heard from. That team didn’t win all these games and go deep in the playoffs for nothing. They showed that in the third period, when Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho tied the game. The Hurricanes have guys who know how to score at this time of the year.
It was a test to see what the Devils were made of, and they passed it. That says something since they haven’t shown the goods of winning playoff games since Lou Lamoriello left the franchise as its hockey boss. Too often, the Devils are known as a front-running team that only does well when things go well.
That doesn’t guarantee they will win the series. They are up against a proven team. They have to win the next three games, and they have to win at least one on the road, which is why it’s going to be challenging. But on this night, the Devils should feel good about themselves. They showed they are not soft and finesse. They were not going to be pushed around.
They learned plenty from this game moving forward. Maybe they can make this a series after all. If nothing else, the Devils showed they have toughness that can help them grow up into being a Stanley Cup contender one day.
Maybe we can look back at this game where they finally grew up. That’s why there’s significance to this win that goes beyond avoiding being swept.
