In their second game in two days, the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in an all-around great performance. Center Sebastian Aho, left wing Teuvo Teravainen and goaltender Antti Raanta put on a show for the home crowd, elevating the team’s play to new heights.
The Canes (27-15–5) had yet to take on the Devils (24-19-3) so far this season, but Carolina came into the matchup reeling off of a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins — one of the top teams in the NHL — just 24 hours prior. Seven players on the Canes recorded points and five players now have multi-game point streaks.
“There was such a good effort last night [against Boston],” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour. “It was a big game, plus travel, and I don’t think we were great, but we got a couple of nice plays and kind of just hung around. Got to give the guys credit though because we made it count.”
Carolina fans didn’t have to wait long to see the Canes score. Aho got a one-on-one breakaway chance a minute and a half into the first frame and put the puck past New Jersey netminder Nico Daws. Aho’s score was assisted by Teravainen and defenseman Jaccob Slavin. With this goal, Teravainen has now recorded an assist on 40.4% of Aho’s 235 career goals. The pair of Finns joined the team together in 2016 and have been unstoppable since.
Raanta got the start between the pipes for the red-and-black and showed his grit throughout all 60 minutes of play. With a scrappy New Jersey offense coming into the Carolina zone throughout the first period, Raanta made many clutch saves to keep the score 1-0 heading into the first intermission.
“That’s the game, in today’s game,” Brind’Amour said. “If you’re playing great you need them [goalies] to just hold the fort down, and if you’re not playing well you need them to make some saves and give us a chance to get back in the game.”
Carolina saw multiple scoring chances through the first 20 minutes of play and that continued into the second frame. However, the Canes weren’t focusing on shooting the puck, but rather were trying to make fancy plays out on the ice. That quickly changed when the team was given a power play opportunity three minutes into the period.
Teravainen got his name on the scorecard three seconds into the power play off of a lethal slapshot. Center Jordan Staal recorded a goal of his own not even a minute later to bring Carolina’s lead to 3-0. The back-to-back goals caused New Jersey to pull Daws and place netminder Vitek Vanecek between the pipes.
“Obviously happy that it went my way this time,” Staal said. “It was nice to contribute that way. … I know I’m not crazy and counted on to score goals around here, but it’s always nice to have a goal in the back of the net, especially if you get a string of losses.”
After holding the Devils to zero shots on goal through the first 10 minutes of the second period, it was safe to say that the visiting team was ready to create some momentum. Raanta halted the visitors’ efforts by making stellar saves against New Jersey, including a one-on-one glove save that robbed Devils’ right wing Alexander Holtz of a scoring opportunity.
“I think our defensive core is one of the best in the league,” Staal said. “They’re quick on the penalty kill, and your goalie is always going to be your best killer too.”
The Canes went into the third period 17-1-1 when leading after the second period, and they were able to add another win to that list after the final minutes. It didn’t come easy though — New Jersey scored its first goal of the night just over five minutes into the period courtesy of center Justin Dowling, who hasn’t played in the NHL since his 2021-22 season with Vancouver.
The rest of the period was filled with shots back and forth between the zones and another handful of power plays. Aho had a few more opportunities to score, but was unable to execute against the young Devils’ defense. The most surprising goal of the night came from New Jersey left wing Jesper Bratt, who scored with three seconds left in the game and brough the final score to 3-2.
Carolina has now played seven of the last eight games at home and is set to play four more at PNC Arena before going back on the road. Fortunately for the Canes, they only have to play one more game before going on a week-long break courtesy of the All-Star game. The Canes will take on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
