Devils Lose Special Teams Battle in Game 2 | GAME STORY

RALEIGH, N.C - The Devils are down but certainly not out.

Especially after a push-back performance like in Game 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I thought we could have easily won that game,” Brett Pesce said. “I think we actually gave it everything we had and came up short. It’s the playoffs but at the end of the day, we have to lose at home. I’ve been in series where I’ve been down 2-nothing and came back and I’ve been up 2-nothing and came back and we lost. I think we just have to carry the momentum.”

The Devils trail the Hurricanes 0-2 in the series after a 3-1 loss in Game 2.

But the effort and resiliency was ever apparent. At the end of the day, much of it could be boiled down to the battle of the special teams.

The Devils conceded a second period shorthanded goal by Jordan Martinook and were 0-for-3 on the power play. The penalty-kill, however, was a perfect 3-for-3.

"Special teams are the difference," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We knew coming into this series our power play has been our edge all season long and it was going to be a real challenge for us going up against this penalty kill and it could be a big factor in the series and it’s really what, in a lot of ways, been the story in the first two games.”

“Our special teams, we lost the special teams battle two times in a row and in playoffs, the game is so tight 5-on-5 you need special teams to come up big," Pesce added. "Penalty and power play...we lose the game, arguably because of that.”

Jesper Bratt scored for New Jersey in the first period before the Hurricanes came up with a two-goal second period, with goals by Shayne Gostisbehere and a shorthanded goal by Martinook.

After a lopsided Game 1, weighing heavily in the Hurricanes' favor, the Devils balanced out the matchup in Game 2, despite the overall score. The Hurricanes had 28 shots on net, compared to their nearly 50 in Game 1.

Now it’s all about keeping the same pace and working for those extra inches.

"We’re pretty much doing everything right. A game like today, just obviously didn’t get the bounces with us," Bratt said. "I think there were a lot of times that we created a scramble in front and the puck could have just bounced our way and we would have been standing here with a different result today. I think overall there’s a lot of belief in this room that if we continue playing this kind of hockey, it’s going to come our way. We’re just going to keep working and realize this is the level we need to play at to win against a team like this.”

Seth Jarvis secured the Hurricanes win with the empty-net goal with 36 seconds to play.

Here are some observations from the game:

• Less than a minute after the Hurricanes tied the game at one in the second period, Carolina thought they may have scored a second time to take their first lead of the game. A shot bounced under Markstrom and just inches from fully crossing the goal line before former Hurricane, Brett Pesce, cleared the puck from the net.

The refs did not signal a goal and reviewed the play, confirming that the puck never fully crossed the goal line.

“Lucky sticks,” Pesce laughed. “I kind of just saw it behind Marky. Honestly, I didn’t even know if it was in or not but I figured why not, just try to fish it out of there. Thankfully, it didn’t fully cross.”

It wouldn't be the only time in the period he saved a goal, helping out Jacob Markstrom. He also managed this backhand sweep out of the crease a play which was followed up by Pesce blocking a shot in front of an empty net.

“You can tell this guy wants to win," Keefe said of Pesce's performance. "We shoved him over on his left side tonight; he’s playing with Dougie who he’s never played with as a partner. He just left it out there. There’s a lot of those type of efforts that you want to see get rewarded but our reward tonight, I guess, is just going to have to be the fact that we know we can compete in this series and take that home."

• The Devils' came out for the start of the game imposing their game onto the Hurricanes and not sitting back.

It's what led to Bratt's opening goal, with Nico Hischier's line hemming in Carolina before New Jersey changed lines on the fly with Mercer jumping on the ice with Haula and Bratt, continuing to outwork the Canes. The Devils had a shoot-first and attacking mentality on full display, a recipe that gave them their early 1-0 lead.

• After suffering an injury in Game 1, Cody Glass was able to return to play in Game 2. He centered the Devils third line alongside Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen.

• New Jersey was playing without two essential pieces to their team. Both Brenden Dillon and Luke Hughes were out with injuries sustained in Game 1. Dillon suffered his injury in the second period of Game 1, while Hughes was injured in the third.

“We’ll have to get back to Jersey after today and see where they’re at," head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Tuesday morning.

In their place, Dennis Cholowski and Simon Nemec entered the lineup, both players making their Stanley Cup Playoff debuts. This also meant the coaching staff relied heavily on the top four defensemen, who carried the majority of the workload, especially with special teams play involved.

Dougie Hamilton played 23:59, Brian Dumoulin played 23:48, Brett Pesce clocked in at 23:14 and Johnny Kovacevic had a total of 19:54 time on ice.

"The four guys that took on the bulk of the work did an unbelievable job for us,” Keefe said. “I thought Nemec came in and gave us good minutes, Cholowski when we needed him to get the guys a breather, he did a nice job. I thought that group did well, despite the circumstances. And forward group helped them, put a lot of pressure on the puck, got control of the game early, put us in a good spot."

Nemec ended the game with 14:12 time on ice and Cholowski played 9:12.