RALEIGH, NC (AP) — Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored twice in about 2 1/2 minutes during Carolina’s four-goal second period, Frederik Andersen stopped 28 shots and the Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 6 -1 Friday night for a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.
Jordan Staal and Martin Necas also scored in that blistering second, which turned a scoreless game between the two best regular-season teams still alive in the playoffs into a resounding victory for the Hurricanes with the support of another crowd. noisy at home.
It was also the second straight game the Hurricanes have chased Devils goaltender Akira Schmid. It only lasted a few minutes into the second half of the 5-1 loss in the first game, then took place after the second with his team trailing 4-0.
Jordan Martinook and Stefan Noesen added game-winning third-period goals to cap off another dominating night for Carolina.
Miles Wood scored for the Devils early in the third, but Andersen was strong in his third straight playoff start for Carolina, dating back to the first-round win over the New York Islanders.
The Devils return home to host Game 3 on Sunday, facing an 0-2 hole for the second consecutive best-of-seven series. They lost the first two home games by scores of 5-1 in the first round against the New York Rangers before rallying to move forward with Monday’s deciding game.
This time they were outscored 11-2 in two games.
Kotkaniemi’s first goal came when he made a solo pass down the right side, then skated to the point before firing a shot that went under Schmid’s right arm and grazed his ribs before finding the net at 1:35.
Moments later, Martinook – whose activity kept him in the mix all night – skated to entangle two Devils players in a possession chase near the boards. That helped free the puck to race to Kotkaniemi for the post clearance at 3:58.
The Hurricanes kept up the pressure. There was Jack Drury crushing the puck at the blue line for Staal, the Hurricanes captain extending his 6-foot-4 frame for the corral before going with the backhand forehand finish and the 3- 0.
And finally, Martin Necas finished one from the slot after Jaccob Slavin grabbed the right post on a rush, pushing the margin to 4-0 and only adding to the already roaring noise in PNC Arena shortly before intermission. .
The Hurricanes dominated the first period of Game 1, smothering the Devils to take the open ice while scoring more goals (two) than New Jersey had shots (one).
The Devils knew they couldn’t repeat that effort and said so Thursday, noting they needed to get pucks on the net and use their speed to force Carolina to expend energy defending its own end at the instead of rolling with his aggressive forecheck.
New Jersey led the game through the first 10+ minutes. But by the end of it, Carolina was celebrating a blast with Martinook’s breakaway score against reliever Vitek Vanecek followed closely by Noesen’s putaway on a perfect 2-on-1 pass from Sebastian Aho.
FIRST BACK
Trade acquisition Timo Meier was back for the Devils after missing Game 1. He ended up with a severed nose and bruising under his right eye for this one, four days after receiving a crushing blow from New York Rangers forward Jacob Trouba in the Game 7 win to close out the first round.
Meier saw 16:49 of ice time in this one and finished with five shots.
SIRENS SIRENS
Former Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward, winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy in the team’s run to the 2006 Stanley Cup, sounded the pre-game warning siren for the Hurricanes to take to the ice.
Charlotte Hornets guard Bryce McGowens and Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Ikem Ekwonu sounded the siren for the following intermissions.
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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap
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AP NHL Playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
