The Carolina Hurricanes put their regular-season struggles in the rearview mirror and stormed into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a dominant 4-1 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday.
The victory was a testament to a team that prioritized health over momentum in the closing weeks of the season. Carolina had stumbled to the finish line, losing seven of its final eight games after clinching its seventh straight playoff berth back on April 3. But with key players finally back on the ice and a raucous crowd inside PNC Arena fueling them, the Hurricanes came out flying.
Rookie Logan Stankoven stole the show in his postseason debut, scoring two second-period goals to break the game open and give Carolina a 3-0 cushion. It was a statement performance for the 21-year-old, acquired at the trade deadline in a deal that saw the Hurricanes move on from high-profile January addition Mikko Rantanen.
“He’s a gamer,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Stankoven. “The moment’s never too big for him.”
Jalen Chatfield jump-started the Canes’ offense just 2:24 into the game, finding the net to put Carolina up early. Stankoven followed in the second, first burying a slick feed from Jordan Martinook — who had stripped Devils captain Nico Hischier — then later ripping a power-play shot off the inside of the post for his second goal.
Andrei Svechnikov sealed the win with an empty-netter in the final minutes, capping off a relentless offensive effort from Carolina that saw them outshoot New Jersey 45-24.
Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom did everything he could to stem the tide, finishing with 41 saves on a physically punishing afternoon for his team. The Devils lost multiple players to injury throughout the game, including defenseman Brenden Dillon, who was helped to the tunnel in the second period after a collision with Carolina’s William Carrier. Coach Sheldon Keefe later said Dillon wanted to return, but team doctors held him out.
New Jersey also saw defenseman Luke Hughes briefly exit in the third after falling awkwardly into the net and clutching his left shoulder, though he returned later. However, center Cody Glass was not as fortunate, needing assistance to the locker room after getting caught by an inadvertent high stick from Markstrom amid a chaotic crease scrum.
The Devils’ lone bright spot came during a 4-on-4 stretch in the second period, when Hischier took a cross-ice feed from Jesper Bratt and rifled a shot past Frederik Andersen to cut the deficit to 3-1. Andersen was otherwise sharp, finishing with 23 saves, including a clutch stop on Timo Meier midway through the third.
The Hurricanes’ penalty kill came through late, snuffing out a Devils power play with eight minutes remaining to maintain control and stifle any hopes of a comeback.
Game 2 of the series is set for Tuesday in Raleigh, where the Hurricanes will look to build on their commanding start and the Devils will attempt to regroup both physically and mentally.
“This is what we waited for,” Brind’Amour said. “Now it’s about keeping the foot on the gas.”
