After two road losses to the Carolina Hurricanes, the New Jersey Devils came back to the Rock in a
desperate but familiar situation. Two years ago, the Devils were down 0–2 and being outplayed by an
opponent most experts were predicting to win. It took an overtime goal by a defenseman in that Devils versus Rangers series to give the Devils their first win in that series, and they would go on to beat the Rangers in seven.
This time, the Devils repeated that game three feat with an overtime goal by defensemen Simon Nemec
and, now, the Devils are hoping lightning strikes twice with this series versus the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils have improved each game in this series from being completely dominated in game one to controlling most of the play in game three.
The Devils need to continue that push even though injuries continue to mount on the blue line. Already down the electric play of Luke Hughes and the blue line wall of Brandan Dillion, the Devils lost Johnathan Kovacevic early in game three. Even with the return of veteran Jonas Siegenthalar, the Devils are depending more on depth and less on experience in this series.
The biggest factor for the Devils coming home is the last line change. The Carolina Hurricanes match lines with the best of the NHL and know how to shut down top lines. Having the last change gave freedom to players like Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt to play their game against the Canes. The Devils were able to slow the waves of attacks the Hurricanes are known for and take control of the game.
Consistency is key for the Devils in today’s matchup. Like much of the regular season, the Devils play a strong two periods and always seem to take one 20-minute period off.. This happened during Friday’s game too at the Rock as New Jersey allowed the Canes two unanswered goals to tie up the game.
The fans and Devils’ faithful were on full display on Friday and will need to be again to help the Devils tie
up this series.
