Hurricanes manhandle Devils again in Game 2, take 2-0 playoff series lead into Game 3

The Hurricanes survived an early push from the Devils in Game 2, and fought back the best way they knew how: on the scoreboard.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored twice in quick succession early in the second period and four other Canes added a goal each to lift Carolina to a 6-1 win over New Jersey in Game 2 of the teams’ best-of-seven second-round playoff series at PNC Arena on Friday night.

Frederik Andersen finished with 28 saves on 29 shots to earn his third win of the playoffs, his second of the series.

On the other side, Akira Schmid again got the start for the Devils, and again was chased without completing the game, replaced to start the third period by Vitek Vanecek after allowing four goals — all in the second period.

Takeaways from Game 2

▪ When the playoffs began, Andersen’s status was in doubt. First he had an illness, then “tweaked something,” according to Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour. Everyone on the outside was left to guess.

Now that he’s in net, it might be hard rooting him out, Three games, three wins. It might be the best Andersen has looked since early in the 2021-22 season, when he was stopping everything.

Antti Raanta missing Game 2 with an illness could be a concern, putting Pyotr Kochetkov in the backup role, but Andersen appears dialed in and ready for the work

The Devils scored in the third after defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere turned the puck over at the Carolina blue line, Miles Wood with the goal and his first career playoff point.

▪ Another early departure for the rookie goalie Schmid, and Devils coach Lindy Ruff has a pressing decision to make for Game 3: Schmid or Vanecek in net. Schmid took on near folk-hero status in the series win over the Rangers but allowed seven goals on 36 shots in the two games in Raleigh.

Vanecek won 33 games in the regular season. Schmid got the Devils into the second round and Vanecek might be the best option for New Jersey moving forward.

▪ Speaking of megaton hits, the Canes had two in the opening period. Jesper Fast first smacked defenseman Ryan Graves behind the Devils net, then Kotkaniemi blasted Nico Hischier along the boards.

Not sure if they had an extra swig of Red Bull on the bench or whatever, but it might have been the biggest hits those two Canes forwards have had this season.

▪ Brind’Amour often mentions the relentless energy brought to the game by Jordan Martinook and the winger’s hustle was a big part of Kotkaniemi’s second goal. Martinook crashed into on the forecheck, tying up two Devils and soon was joined by Fast.

The puck popped out to Kotkaniemi, who went from skate to stick and banged a short shot past goalie Akira Schmid.

Martinook wasn’t done. Picking off a weak Hischier pass, he scored on a third-period breakaway, ripping a top-shelf shot past Vanecek.

▪ The Devils’ Timo Meier did play Friday, after all. The big forward, who missed Game 1, does not have a point in his eight playoff games but is a 6-1, 220-pound load in front of the net. He was not a factor Friday but could be as the series moves along, with the next two games at the Devils’ Prudential Center.

Anyone who saw the hit Meier absorbed from the Rangers’ Jacob Trouba in Game 7 of their first-round series might have been wondering if his playoffs were over. It was massive. But he’s back.

▪ Loudest house in the NHL? PNC Arena was rumbling this night as the Canes fans had a lot to make them loud. Martinook’s pickoff and score had the building shaking.

Second period recap

From the drop of the puck in the second period, the Hurricanes had the jump on the Devils, much like the Devils did in the first period. The difference for the Canes?

Kotkaniemi was playing like he was on a mission.

Kotkaniemi scored twice in fewer than three minutes early in the second period as the Canes pressured New Jersey relentlessly over multiple shifts, staking Carolina to a two-goal advantage that grew into a 4-0 lead through two periods.

His first came at 1:35 on the power play, on a snipe from the right circle that hit Schmid in the right shoulder before finding the corner of the cage.

His second came from in tight, where, after a broken play behind the net, the puck found Kotkaniemi’s skate in front. He kicked it to his forehand and roofed the puck past Schmid for a 2-0 lead.

Jordan Staal made it 3-0 at the other end of the frame, converting a breakaway on a backhand deke move after a slick feed from Jack Drury.

The Canes thought they had a fourth goal, but that was waved off for goaltender interference. Brind’Amour did not challenge. Then, the Canes did have a fourth goal.

Playing 4-on-4 after penalties to both teams, the Canes entered the Devils’ zone on an odd-man rush, had Schmid scrambling and after Seth Jarvis rang the post, Martin Necas buried a feed from Gostisbehere with less than a minute to play to bring the total to 4-0.

First period recap

The Hurricanes knew the push was coming. Two nights after running over New Jersey in the first game of the teams’ best-of-seven, second-round Stanley Cup Playoff series at PNC Arena, Carolina knew the Devils would be trying to make a statement early.

And did they ever, pressuring the Canes into a pair of back-to-back penalties and carrying play for the first half of the opening frame.

But, buoyed by the penalty kill — a kill that included more than a minute of 5-on-3 play in favor of the Devils — the Canes climbed back into the flow of the game, and by the end of the first were back to getting the better of play at even strength.

During the kill, Andersen was stellar on a pair of in-tight chances, at one point snaring the puck out of the air and showing to the Devils’ players as they skated away.

The Hurricanes’ late-period dominance also allowed the home team to draw a pair of penalties. They squandered their first chance with an extra skater, and the second came as the first period ended.

Most importantly in the first for both teams, though — no one scored.