So far, so good for the Carolina Hurricanes after the NHL’s trade deadline that saw them ship out a slew of veterans including former team captain Eric Staal, as the team picked up a 3-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
With 1:29 left in regulation, forward Elias Lindholm drove down the middle and fired a shot that Devils goalie Cory Schneider made the initial save on. Fortunately for the Canes, forward Joakim Nordstrom was there to pick up the rebound and put it past Schneider, notching the late game winner to lift the Hurricanes (29-26-10) over the Devils (30-27-7).
Starter Eddie Lack was excellent for Carolina, stopping 29 of 30 shots to pick up the win, and defenseman Jaccob Slavin had two assists for his first-career multi-point game.
It was not a good first period for the Hurricanes, as they were outshot 9-5 and showed some sloppy play in their own end, and it was the Devils who got on the board first about halfway through the period. After Canes defenseman Brett Pesce was clipped by a high stick that went uncalled, New Jersey came up with a loose puck behind the net and sent it to defenseman Andy Greene at the point, whose slap-shot was tipped in by forward Adam Henrique for his 20th goal of the season and a 1-0 Devils lead.
Each team got a power play inside the period’s final six minutes, but neither could convert, and the Canes headed to the locker room down 1-0.
The second period got off to a much better start for Carolina. With the Canes on a power play about five minutes into the period, journeyman forward Derek Ryan, who made his NHL debut, walked in from the half wall and sniped a shot top-shelf past Schneider from the right faceoff circle to tie it at one.
Each team got a few good chances the rest of the period, but Lack and Schneider took care of business, and the second intermission saw a 1-1 tie.
The third went similar to the first for Carolina, with the Devils generally carrying the play and getting several good chances over the first several minutes. However, Lack kept them in it, and it was the Canes who cashed in late as Nordstrom picked up the game-winner. With 22 seconds left, forward Nathan Gerbe stole a puck at the Canes blue line and raced down the ice to deposit the puck into an empty net, icing the 3-1 victory.
