2023-05-10 01:40:52
Summary
Jordan Martinook was the heart of the storm with a goal and two assists as the Carolina Hurricanes battered New Jersey en route to a 6-1 win over the Devils.
With the win, the Hurricanes put the Devils in a bad spot by taking a 3-1 series lead.
After being shut out in six games in the first round, the 30-year-old forward now has nine points, three goals and six assists, in four games in this series, putting him one length short of the club record set by Cory Stillman in 2006, the year the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. Stillman needed six games to amass 10 points in the Conference Finals.
Martinook also became the first player in Hurricanes history to score two points in four straight games.
Martin Necas also had a strong game finding the back of the net twice. Defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Pesce both produced a goal and an assist. Captain Jordan Staal added two assists.
After being kicked out of the final game early in the second, Frederik Andersen was solid in net with 21 saves.
For the 4th game in a row in this series, a goalkeeper was kicked out of the game, a first in NHL history. This time it was Vitek Vanecek who gave way to Akira Schmid in the second period after conceding five goals on 17 shots. Schmid yielded once on 11 pucks thrown his way.
It was also the 4th time in NHL history that the first four games of a series ended with a difference of four or more goals.
After a two-assist performance in his first career playoff game, guard Luke Hughes had a tougher night with a minus-3 record.
Defender Ryan Graves missed a second straight game. Prior to the game, both teams announced their candidate for the King Clancy Trophy which recognizes leadership and community involvement. On the Devils side, Jack Hughes has been named, while the Hurricanes representative is Jordan Staal.
The Hurricanes can advance to the conference finals on Thursday, in a game to be played at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, Carolina.
The Devils, buoyed by an 8-4 win on Sunday, wasted no time and put their work boots back on early in the game. After just 1:44 of play, Timo Meier fired a wrist shot from the point and Jack Hughes redirected the puck with his pad behind Frederik Andersen.
The goal roused the Hurricanes who began to gain the upper hand over their rivals, but Vitek Vanecek held the fort. The hard work eventually paid off for Carolina. On a zone entry, Jordan Martinook handed the disc to Martin Necas who, even with a bouncing puck, was able to place it behind the goalkeeper to create equality.
The Hurricanes continued the work in the second period getting the better chances but Vanecek was solid early on.
Carolina ended up taking advantage of its opportunities. On a play similar to the one in the first period, Necas beat Vanecek, this time on a pass from Brett Pesce.
Once the breach was found, the storm hit New Jersey. Just 2:25 later, Pesce beat Vanecek with a wrist shot that rattled the post before hitting the ropes.
Jesper Fast added a layer of that 76 seconds later on a rebound before seeing Brent Burns chase Vanecek with a slapshot from the point just 89 seconds after Fast’s goal.
It was the 4th goal of the Hurricanes on 6 shots, and this, in the space of five minutes and twenty seconds. Martinook was complicit in this goal to collect his second assist of the match.
Coming in relief, Akira Schmid was unable to stop the bleeding. The hero of the match, Martinook, came with speed on the right wing before thwarting the goalkeeper with a wrist shot to make it 6-1 to collect his 3rd point of the match.
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