The Hurricanes dealt the Devils a big loss in Game 4, can close out series in Raleigh

Two days after being embarrassed, the Carolina Hurricanes emphatically answered.

The Canes raced past the New Jersey Devils, shaking off a poor start, igniting for five goals in a sensational second period and taking a 6-1 victory in Game 4 of the second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

The Devils had it all their way in Game 3, outskating and outcompeting the Canes for an 8-4 win. The Canes responded by going back to work, practicing Monday, looking to correct mistakes and getting the proper mindset for Game 4. It showed. Add in a strong game in net from goalie Frederik Andersen and it all came together for Carolina.

The Canes and Devils head back to Raleigh with Carolina holding a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Thursday at 7 p.m. at PNC Arena.

Jordan Martinook, suddenly an offensive force for the Canes, had a goal and three assists. Martin Necas had a pair of goals and defensemen Brett Pesce and Brent Burns each had a goal and assist as the Canes chased starting goalie Vitek Vanecek in the second.

The Prudential Center was loud, again, when Jack Hughes tipped a Timo Meier shot past Andersen early in the first period. Hughes, the Devils’ dynamic young star, was the catalyst of the Game 3 romp and was off to another fast start.

But Andersen steadied. The Canes steadied. Necas’ first goal tied the score 1-1 and the Canes then were so super in the second that many Devils fans were left booing when the period ended.

Necas scored again. Pesce scored. Jesper Fast banged in a rebound, Burns ripped a shot from the right circle. Then, Martinook sniped one.

Takeaways from Game 4

▪ Someone jokingly said Jordan Martinook has to be a candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy. Or maybe they weren’t joking.

▪ Another strong game from Canes defenseman Jaccob Slavin, who makes so many good stick plays or rubs out a potential threat by the opposing team. Slavin’s takeaway near the Canes’ blue line, the D-man taking the puck from Michael McLeod, led to Martinook and Necas taking off in transition and Necas scoring for a 1-1 tie in the first.

Slavin also uses his body well when he needs to and at 6-3 and 207 pounds can put a thump on people at times. He did with Jack Hughes in the second., smacking him into the boards.

▪ One thing missing for the Canes in the playoffs had been a goal by Burns. No longer. His snipe in the big second period seemingly startled him – Burns with a did-that-happen look.

▪ Frederik Andersen can’t start every game, can he? Not sure about Antti Raanta’s sickness but he practiced Monday and then was not available Tuesday.

▪ Brind’Amour made the right move by starting Mackenize MacEachern and making Jesse Puljujarvi a scratch. MacEachern played on the fourth line, which gave the Canes some strong shifts.

▪ Can either team score on the power play? The penalty killers for both teams have been all over the ice and making plays, with as many or more shorthanded chances than 5-on-4 chances.

▪ The first five minutes of the game looked like more of the same from Game 3 – that is, all Devils. Jack Hughes made two good plays to give the Devils the lead, getting a piece of Brett Pesce’s pass out of the corner, allowing Timo Meier to pick it off and then going to the front for the redirection.

The Devils had other chances after the Hughes goal but Andersen shut it down until the Canes settled in, starting clearing the zone better and piling up offensive zone time.

▪ Question: who does Devils coach Lindy Ruff start in net in Game 5? He might give Akira Schmid another try.

Powerful penalty kill

While most of the discourse regarding the Carolina Hurricanes penalty-kill after Game 3 was along the lines of, “What if I told you that you scored three short-handed goals ... and lost?” it was also a history-making short-handed performance.

Not only did they tie the NHL record for short-handed goals in a playoff game in Sunday’s 8-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils — and Jordan Martinook’s short-handed penalty shot was the sixth in NHL playoff history and the first penalty-shot goal of any kind for the Hurricanes in the postseason — they’ve also done something in the postseason that hasn’t been done in almost a century.

Through nine playoff games, the Hurricanes had outscored the opposition while the opposition is on the power play, posting a two-goal advantage while short-handed. They went 17-for-18 on the kill in the first round against the New York Islanders and are 8-for-9 against the Devils, while scoring four short-handed goals of their own.

The only other teams to be plus-2 or better on the PK through nine playoff games? The 1933 New York Rangers (plus-3) and 1936 Detroit Red Wings (plus-2). Both of those teams won the Stanley Cup.

“You’re out there to kill a penalty, not let them score,” Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho said. “But you see a loose puck or something happens and you can break, you’re going to go for it, two-on-one or breakaway, whatever. Those are the kinds of cases that happened (in Game 3) and you’re obviously down, uh, many goals, so it’s a time to maybe go for it a little bit more, too.”

Andersen, MacEachern in for Canes

Antti Raanta was well enough to practice with the Hurricanes Monday — and he was even first off the ice, like a typical starting goalie — but it will once again be Frederik Andersen’s net Tuesday in Game 4.

After Andersen surrendered four goals on 12 shots in less than 21 minutes of work in Game 3, and Pyotr Kochetkov allowed another four in the remaining two periods, there was speculation that Raanta might get the call, and Brind’Amour hinted as much, with the one catch being Raanta’s health.

But, in a media briefing Tuesday evening in New Jersey, Brind’Amour confirmed it would instead be Andersen who got the start, his fifth in a row in the playoffs after starting — and winning — the clinching Game 6 against the Islanders.

The other change suggested by line combinations at Monday’s practice happened. Mackenzie MacEachern, who came into the first-round series against the Islanders and provided a spark in a Game 4 skated in place of Jesse Puljujarvi.

“I’m excited to get back in there and help where I can,” MacEachern said. “I’m just going to try and do what I do. Be physical on the forecheck and and create space for my linemates. They’re a fast team, so I think my skating can provide some opportunties for us out there.

“We’ve got to keep our feet on the gas. I think we got a little comfortable when we took that 2-0 (series) lead. We have to keep pushing forward.”

There was also a question mark around defenseman Brady Skjei, who did not skate with the team Monday. Brind’Amour used the word “hopeful” when pressed about Skjei’s availability. Skjei played, and played well.

Staal is Hurricanes’ King Clancy nominee — again

The Hurricanes nominated captain Jordan Staal for the NHL’s King Clancy Trophy for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall. The award is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

“That’s pretty much an automatic,” Brind’Amour said. “I mean, there’s other guys you can say are deserving of the nomination, but while he’s here, he’ll probably be that nomination as long as he plays.”

Ron Francis is the only winner from the Hurricanes, in 2002.